Barbara Dugas-Patterson was selling vitamins in Austin when she decided to return to banking.
The 64-year-old, who retired in 2022 after three decades in banking, was serving on the Fort Worth-based First Command Bank board of directors when she volunteered to lead the bank in an interim role in October.
That choice led to a permanent position.
“I felt like it was a great use of my skills, and so it led to where I sit today,” Dugas-Patterson said. “I had no intention of coming back to work full time.”
By the end of the year, Dugas-Patterson was named First Command Bank’s president and CEO.
“They just won me over by their wonderful leadership and care for our clients,” she said.
Dugas-Patterson’s experience — including senior roles at JPMorgan Chase and Citi — made her a strong fit for the bank leadership role, said Mark Steffe, CEO of First Command Financial Services Inc.
“During her tenure as interim bank president, her steady leadership, sound judgment, and clear strategic focus demonstrated that she is exceptionally well suited to lead the bank into its next chapter,” Steffe said in a statement.
Dugas-Patterson, who grew up in Beaumont, said she is overseeing the bank’s operations while providing strategic leadership for the institution’s future.
First Command Financial Services, the bank’s parent company, has 181 offices nationwide that serve more than 300,000 military families, including those impacted by the partial government shutdown that began Friday.
“We’re at an inflection point in the bank where we can leverage current technology and lay a strong foundation where we can scale the bank, where we can reach more military families in the future,” she said.
About 75% of the bank’s financial advisers are veterans or military spouses, which gives the bank insight into the challenges military families face as they seek financial security, she said.
“The moving around, the cost to do so, all the stresses of being in the military,” she said. “We want to help those men and women who serve and their families achieve financial stability and grow a legacy of financial wealth for their families.”
With proper planning, military families can achieve financial goals even in a tough economy, she said.
“About 70% of military families are feeling financial strain, not much different from many Americans that are going through it right now,” Dugas-Patterson said.
During a government shutdown last year, First Command offered $6.8 million in pay advances to nearly 900 federal employees and military servicemembers. Another $5 million was donated to the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance relief society.
Dugas-Patterson said about 10% of the bank’s 8,000 clients took advantage of the payday advances.
“Planning pays off when times are difficult,” she said.
Dugas-Patterson said she is working to make sure the institution is financially stable and efficient while expanding the bank’s digital footprint to serve more military clients in the future.
While Dugas-Patterson is focused on banking, the vitamin-injection business she and her husband started in Austin is taking a back seat as she gets to know Fort Worth better.
“We’re big on proactive health,” she said. “I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur to try it out, so we’ve been doing that for a few years. … I have a passion for education, financial wellness and health wellness, as well.”
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
Disclosure: First Command Financial Services is a financial supporter of the Report. The Report’s news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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