Ozarks Profile: Barbara Ray

What is your job?

General manager, The Montclair, 1000 E. Montclair.

Tell us about your organization.

The Montclair is an independent living facility for people 55 and older, although Ray said the average age of the residents there is 82. The facility opened in 1988 and is owned by Municipal Mortgage and Equity in Baltimore and managed by The Shelter Group, also a Baltimore company. The Montclair, which employs about 50, comprises 158 units. It offers studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments and its services to residents include transportation, three meals per day, activities, 24-hour security, an emergency call system and housekeeping services.

What is your educational background?

Ray graduated from Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa.

What jobs led you to your current one?

Prior to The Montclair, Ray's employment consisted of bookkeeping, secretarial and front desk work. Ray began with The Montclair as an administrative assistant in August 1988. She became an assistant manager at the property the following year and took over accounting and payroll duties. When the manager left The Montclair in 1993 to stay home with her twins, Ray served as the acting manager and later was promoted to the position of general manager. Ray said she had no previous on-the-job experience in dealing with older people, but she applied for her first position with The Montclair because she thought the facility might be a possibility for her grandmother, to whom she was close. After she began as the administrative assistant for the facility, Ray said she felt she had found her calling in life. "Even after 12 years, I can't imagine anything I would rather be doing," she said. "I'm very challenged, and The Montclair a very gratifying place to work."

What is the best part of your job?

"Helping people. It's really nice to be able to provide the quality of life for our residents that we have provided here during the last 13 years." Ray said she has learned a lot from her residents at The Montclair, and she has enjoyed seeing them flourish and make new friends there.

Give us some personal information.

Ray grew up in southern Iowa, then spent her high school years in Des Moines. She and her husband Doug moved from Iowa to Branson in 1978, then moved to Springfield 10 years later. They have two children, Jessica, 18, and Shawn, 15, and now live on a farm near Clever. Ray said she enjoys reading and gardening and spending time at Table Rock Lake in the summers.

by Melissa Wilson