Vicki Benavides

I am a northerner by birth but a southerner in my heart.  My family spent their annual summer vacations in Bat Cave beginning before I was even a year old.  When I married my husband, Daniel, 33 years ago, we spent our honeymoon in our family’s cabin on the mountain side in Bat Cave and loved it so much we moved there less than a year later.

Children have always held a special place in my world.  My first job was as a babysitter and in college I worked as a nanny for a professor’s family.  I studied Interior Design and Textiles at Michigan State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Textiles.  After trying my hand at retailing for a few years, I realized that the work was not personal enough for me.

It took several long years for our children to come in to our lives.  And as each year passed with no babies, children became more and more important to me.  We were blessed with twin boys 24 years ago. Both have completed their undergraduate studies, one is a teacher and the other is a geology grad student.

I found my bliss when I began working with children in a local after school program and later as I worked with the boys in scouting.  When we joined the UU Fellowship of Hendersonville, I knew that I had found my spiritual home.  I was pleased to be offered the position of Director of Religious Education in 1997 and accepted happily.  My work here has truly changed my life.  I see things differently.  I am clearer about what I believe, value, and what matters most to me.  I feel that we give the children and youth of this congregation a gift. We give them the gift of welcome and acceptance.