Meaningful and Memorable

Hi there! My name is Carla Johnson and I am the new director of the Decatur Conference Center. I have plans for this blog that include fun and easy ways to make everyday life more meaningful and memorable.  That’s what we are all about at DCC…making your events meaningful and memorable while relieving you of the stress of planning and implementation.

First, though, I wanted to do a bit of an introduction. I grew up here in Decatur and moved to Fort Worth to pursue a college degree. I then spent the next 32 years working in higher education administration in the UNT System. Most of those years were spent at UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth’s Cultural District. One of the responsibilities I enjoyed the most was event planning and I bring that client frame of reference with me to DCC.

My husband, James, and I moved from Fort Worth to Decatur in 2017. He was raised in southern California. Small town life is a big change for him but he loves it. Not long after we moved, I looked out the kitchen window to see that our neighbor’s cows had jumped a low spot in their fence and ambled across the road and into our yard. We both ran outside, James texting the neighbor as we went. I stopped in the middle of the yard, waved my arms and yelled “Hiyaw…git on now!” and, just like that, the cows turned and went back to their pasture. The look on my husband’s face was priceless. He was trying to reconcile the wife he knew with what he had just witnessed. I shrugged and told him “once a Decatur girl, always a Decatur girl.”

A little more than 90 days into the job, I am having the time of my life rediscovering my home town and reconnecting with that Decatur girl. I am constantly inspired by my colleagues across City departments for their dedication to our community. The DCC team is fantastic with every person committed to creating the best experience for our clients and each other every single day.

This is the space where we will tell our story…the story of a venue and staff that exist to serve the people of our community, to literally provide warmth and shelter in times of community crisis, and to be a gathering space for the times that comprise our lives including school, corporate, and family events.  I hope you’ll follow along on the journey.