Meet Providence Associate David Hudgens

Tell us something about yourself: where you come from, your family, your job, etc.

I am from New Goshen, Indiana (10 minutes north of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods). I have lived in this area my entire life. My wife and I have been married for 25 years and have one daughter. She is a graduate of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and currently works as an English teacher at West Vigo High School (WVHS). My daughter is also a student at WVHS and is a member of her class senate.

I attended Indiana State University and graduated with a degree in print management and a minor in packaging technology. After college, I was a production manager at Sony DADC and then North American Lighting for a total of more than 20 years.

A little over two years ago, I was given the opportunity to advance my career as a manufacturing engineer at Acuity Brands Lighting in Crawfordsville, Indiana. I really enjoy my work there. I have the chance to be an active partner in ensuring we meet our production goals. I work with several team members every day on safety, quality and process improvements.

The knowledge and experience I gained during my time as a supervisor helped me greatly in considering the impact on operators when making changes to processes and procedures.

What are you passionate about and why?

I love the outdoors. I love being outside, whether it's hiking, walking in the woods, or taking occasional trips to state and national parks. We try to be good stewards here with our garden, chickens, and beekeeping.

We own farmland near New Goshen and have partnered with a farming family who also believes in and practices sustainable land management.

List three things that someone who wants to get to know you should know about you.

1. I'm a weather fanatic. Sometime in elementary school, I saw a documentary on the Discovery Channel about tornadoes. I've been hooked ever since. I later got my amateur radio license and became a trained storm observer. We would go out into open areas and report any severe weather to the National Weather Service. It wasn't quite like Twister, but it was still a lot of fun. Don't be surprised if I ask you out of the blue how much you think the average cloud weighs. (Google it and you'll be amazed.)
2. There are many things I have taught myself over the past few years. Brewing and winemaking, small electronics projects with Arduinos and Raspberry Pi, woodworking and carving. You could say I'm a jack of all trades who doesn't really know anything. But I enjoy these hobbies.
3. I love all types of auto racing, especially open-wheel racing. I have watched the entire 24 Hours of Le Mans or Daytona more than once. I also try to watch or listen to the Cubs at every opportunity.

How do you like to spend your time?

Gardening, caring for our small flock of chickens, hiking, camping and geocaching have been my favorite pastimes over the last few years.

What attracted you to the business relationship with Providence Associates?

Living in this area, I have always been close to Saint Mary's and when my wife worked there in the Woods External Degree (WED) department and attended classes, I was able to spend some time on campus. The story of Saint Mother Theodore really fascinated me and I sought to learn more about her and the difficulties of her journey to the area, her faith and her legacy.

Her story inspired me and one day I found a mention of the Providence Associates program online. I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved in something connected with her and the Sisters of Providence. I have enjoyed the opportunity to attend the annual retreat, meet people from all different backgrounds and hear their stories.

Tell us about your experience as a Providence Associate

Because I am “local,” I feel like I had a special opportunity to be a Providence Associate and be able to visit the sisters anytime. Working with the volunteer coordinator, Sarah Knoblock, I was able to tell her about my interest in the outdoors and my desire to volunteer at the White Violet Center.

She put me in touch with Tara and John Michael, who gave me some tasks around the alpacas. I really enjoyed the volunteer work and was later asked if I would like to work directly with the alpacas on the weekends.

For the past few months, I have spent my Saturday mornings opening and tending the barn for the alpaca cows. It's not all glitz and glamour; my initial training was intensive in dealing with manure.

But I realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity and responsibility to work with these animals, even if my trunk now smells a bit funny because of the boots I've cleaned out.

Who accompanied you on your journey to becoming a Providence Associate? Tell us about this process

My companion at the beginning of my journey as a Providence worker was Sister Ann Margaret O'Hara.

I enjoyed my meetings with her because I could come after work and go through the workbook and lessons with her.

We learned a lot about each other's lives. She told me about her childhood and her later life as a teacher and administrator. She really had some colorful experiences.

Sister Ann Margaret loved hearing about my daughter and her dance performances. One December, my daughter's dance school came to Providence Health Care to perform their Christmas program. I made sure Sister Ann Margaret sat in the front row.

What does it mean to you to be a Providence employee?

It means the opportunity to give back and carry on the vision of Saint Mother Theodore. I often wonder what she would make of all this, and I believe she would be happy that so many people are working in their communities to carry on the charism that was so dear to her heart.

What are your hopes for the Providence community in the future?

I hope that more of the younger generations will be as inspired as I was and join the Providence community in one way or another. I realize that membership numbers and involvement in any type of organization has become a challenge.

I've tried to show the activities I've been involved in on my social media feeds and also in general conversation. I get a kick out of it when someone asks me what a Providence Associate is. I've directed a few to check out the website at ProvidenceAssociates.org.

Would you like to add something else?

I chose Theodore as my confirmation name because I always wanted to be reminded of the influence that Saint Mother Theodore had on me, both in my decision to become Catholic and in my decision to join Providence Associates.