"I thought I knew what they were looking for in a hire. So, I researched some bible verses that I could easily quote," Marcie said. "But I just remember thinking, 'I'm so fake, they're going to see right through me.'"
Marcie Truby initially went through the interview process for a purchasing manager with Ty Stolp, Betenbough Homes director of construction support, which ended in a final interview with Walter Cunningham and Jeanna Roach.
After not getting the position, Marcie reflected on the experience. She sought to gain a deeper understanding of what Betenbough was and why she felt such a strong desire to be there. Then, one day, a job description for a general manager of The Willows Event Center came across her screen.
"I remember reading the job description and thinking, this is awesome, this is right up my alley," she said. But after her first experience with the interview process, she felt like there was no way she could land the job."
"God showed me that it did not matter which one of us could quote more bible verses."
Despite those thoughts making their way through her head, she decided to apply for the position anyway. Leading up to her first interview, Marcie knew she needed to address the previous interaction. "I knew I needed to come clean on where I was in my life and what I knew about spirituality," she said. "Religion had never been a part of my life. I wasn't opposed to it, but it wasn't a part of my life."
Marcie confessed those things to Walter, expecting him to dismiss her as an unqualified candidate, but he didn't. Instead, he wanted to continue getting to know her, so the interview process continued, and once again, she made it to that fateful, final interview. This time it was with Rick and Holly Betenbough and Walter.
"I just thought, here it is again. They will ask me all these questions, and I don't know what I am going to say. I remember breaking down in that interview and telling them that I didn't know if I could be a spiritual leader. I didn't know how," she said. "Holly looked at me and said something I've kept close to my heart to this day."
Holly told her everybody is on a journey, and it is okay to be wherever you are on that journey. They only wanted to know that Marcie wanted to be on the journey with them. Marcie sat there thinking about what Holly was saying and responded, "If being on the journey meant being in a beautiful place with wonderful people and getting this feeling in my chest every time I come here, then yes," she said. "Whatever that is, I want more of it."
Once Marcie started, she began spending regular time with Marcus Murphy, Biblical teacher at Betenbough Companies, simply learning more about God's teachings. One story, in particular, she was drawn to is the story of Cain and Abel.
"That was a pivotal moment for me because I have always just functioned with the mindset that I am a good person, so that must be good enough," she said. "After reading the Cain and Abel story, I learned it is so much deeper than that. It's not just about giving but giving your first and your best to God."
As Marcie grew as a leader and in her faith, God worked through some of her insecurities by providing opportunities for her to be a spiritual leader. "I had members on my team that came from church backgrounds and were even leaders in the church. So how am I going to be a spiritual leader to them?" she said. "But God directed me."
"I knew one of my team members was going through something really hard. Without a thought, I grabbed him and just started praying. That was the first time I ever prayed out loud for someone," she said. "I have no idea what I said, and it probably was not eloquent, but at that moment, God showed me that it did not matter which one of us could quote more bible verses. All that mattered was that someone loved him, and he knew God was there with us."
In September 2021, Marcie felt God calling her to take the next step in their relationship: making a public proclamation through baptism. As someone who had walked so closely with her through the first days of her spiritual journey, Marcie’s first call was to Marcus who she asked to baptize her. Marcie also wanted four other people present: her husband, Brittany Davis, Alyssa Mendez and Edie Guess. Marcie explained that these three Betenbough employees represented past friendships, new friendships and overall support in her life and spiritual walk.
Surrounded by her husband and the Betenbough team members that impacted her spiritual journey, Marcie made her public proclamation to God, in her friend, and former coworker, Ariel Gargula’s pool. "It was October 7, and the water was still warm. I was so happy, the sun was shining, and it was just perfect," she said. "It was about nothing more than me finally saying 'I'm fully committed to you, God. Send me.'"
That commitment now permeates through every area of Marcie's life, including work. She explains that she has been in quite a few leadership roles in her lifetime, but this is the first place where God is at the center of her leadership.
Marcie admits she has not always been the best leader. She describes her former leadership style as keeping her people at arm's length. It was easier to keep that boundary and bark orders at them, but it was cowardly.
"Spiritual leadership, at its core, is about love and loving your people," she said. "To really love someone deeply and get to know them, that's so much more impactful."
As Marcie reflects on her first few years at Betenbough, she knows the journey only makes sense with God. "I don't know how I got to Betenbough. I was looking for a job, a place to be," Marcie said. "I had no idea why I was here or what the impact would be on my life."
Marcie Truby leading one-on-one
Marcie Truby takes time to dig deeper into the Bible