By Barb Arland-Fye
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — Tom Tallman of St. Paul the Apostle Parish will begin duties as the new Chief Financial Officer for the Diocese of Davenport on Nov. 6. He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer for Bethany for Children and Families, Inc., in Moline, Ill.
Tom Tallman has been appointed Chief Financial Officer for the Davenport Diocese.
Tallman, 51, succeeds Nikki Gartner as the diocese’s CFO, a canonical position that requires the appointment of the diocesan bishop. “Tom has had many years of experience working at a local non-profit organization and he has been an active member of his parish community, which will serve him well in the CFO position,” said Bishop Thomas Zinkula.
In his 27-year career with Bethany for Children and Families, Inc., Tallman said he was part of a team that impacted people’s lives. He has a passion for that work and finds its extremely rewarding. The diocese also does great work that impacts people’s lives, he noted.
“We have a mission at Bethany of keeping kids safe, strengthening families and fostering healthy communities … and that’s what the Catholic Church is all about,” he told The Catholic Messenger. “I’ve done some great work at Bethany and would like to do the same for the diocese.”
His talents are in finance and accounting. “I’m not going to be on the front line, but I will be doing the back office service to help the people who do the front line work and hopefully give them a few more resources to do their work.”
Tallman said his years on St. Paul the Apostle Parish Finance Council and School Board “have enlightened me on the interdependency between the local parish and diocese. Working together, nothing is out of reach.”
“Tom is a very active member of the parish,” said Father Tony Herold, St. Paul the Apostle’s pastor and the diocese’s vicar general. “He was a former member of the parish finance council and his wife, Amy, is a counselor in our parish school. Tom, Amy and family come to Mass as a family and are visible at parish activities. Tom is a man of evident faith and will be a great asset to the diocese. I have known Tom as his pastor and I look forward to working with him as vicar general of the diocese.”
Tallman plans to spend the first 60 days in his new job becoming familiar with the day to day responsibilities. “I’m looking forward to learning and helping where I can.” Ultimately, he looks to move the mission of the diocese forward. He cites that mission: “As a Eucharistic community, we live out Jesus’ call to go and make disciples of all nations and to love God and neighbor.”
He describes himself as a product of the diocese, having arrived in Davenport in 1970 at age 5. A graduate of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School and Assumption High School-Davenport (1984), he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Iowa State University (1988) and a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Ambrose University-Davenport (1993).
He and Amy have been married 18 years and have three children. Michael, 17, is a junior at Assumption High School. Daughter Grace, 14, is an eighth-grader and son Joe, 11, is a sixth-grader at St. Paul the Apostle.
In his spare time, Tallman enjoys spending time with his family, including golfing with Michael, a member of the Assumption golf team. Tallman also coaches in the Rising Knights football program and has coached basketball. “The energy of those kids is infectious,” he said.
