He’s had to deal with hurricanes and floods, government policies and church ministry, and with people who are cyber connected and those who don’t even have a pager, much less a cell phone. And through it all, it was to work toward protecting the faithful and the local Church.

“From the beginning, policies and procedures put in place were designed to protect the faithful, the goods entrusted to us and also the people caring for those goods,” Russell J. “Rusty” Chimeno, states when reflecting on his time as chief financial officer for the diocese.

“I want to thank Rusty for serving the Diocese of Beaumont well during these past 13 years,” Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, said. 

When Bishop Joseph Galante was installed in 1994 the diocese faced financial challenges, and Chimeno was selected as the first chief financial officer.

“Rusty has always had in his heart the best interests of the diocese and its parishes, missions, and schools.  Helping all entities in the diocese to become and remain financially solvent for the sake of the mission has been a major focus for him,” Sister Esther Dunegan, chancellor of the diocese said. “Assisting the Bishop to restore financial solvency of the diocese was a huge challenge when he was first hired, and he has been instrumental in attaining this goal.”

Among the first challenges Chimeno faced was the need to organize the finance department and address financial concerns at the diocesan level. After getting that under control, the department began working on processes and controls and accountability.

“Under the leadership of Bishop Curtis Guillory and initially Bishop Joseph Galante, with determination Rusty guided the diocese into modern accounting and improved procedures for insurance, real estate, investment policy for the diocesan pension plan and ministry endowments, and employee compensation and benefits,” said Msgr. Michael Jamail, vicar general of the diocese. “Rusty combined his professional skills with active parish commitment, especially on behalf of the poor and powerless. I have learned by observing Rusty and will miss our daily interaction; our friendship, gratefully, remains.”

The next focus was on the parishes and the schools, and that still today remains a challenge because of the diversity of the people involved.

“We have big schools like Kelly High School with all kinds of student activity groups, and then there are small schools, just as we have very large parishes and very small missions,” Chimeno said.

“They are all in the same system and to try to meet all their needs within that system is challenging.”

But, according to Chimeno, the biggest challenge overall has been changing mindsets. To integrate financial considerations into decision making both at the diocesan and parish level and in the school systems has been no small task.

“To implement this 100 percent of the time in every area is not a possible goal, so you have to take a look at what you’ve accomplished and realize that the ripple effect will continue to have a positive affect,” said Chimeno. “I feel good about what we have accomplished. I am proud of where we are and find great satisfaction in having been a part of it.”

Chimeno said that although it is easy to put out a policy, if there is not understanding of why the change is necessary, it will not be accepted. Since the Department of Finance was formed it has been a priority of those in the department to establish programs that enable ongoing education and enrichment.

This has been accomplished through meetings held on diocesan, vicariate and parish levels. It has also been accomplished through CEMI courses which offer the opportunity to bring about a better level of competency and understanding of policies, programs and procedures.

With the arrival of Hurricane Rita came unexpected challenges for nearly all the parishes within the diocese. The finance department was a key player in the recovery process.

“The innumerable hours spent and personal sacrifice made by Rusty to help restore the facilities of all of our locations after Hurricane Rita are commendable,” Sister Dunegan said. “That was a thankless job for over two years, but Rusty and others hung in with the overwhelming task and inherent frustrations.”

During his tenure, Chimeno has seen many changes in the way the financial aspect of the diocese are handled. Among them, the automation of record keeping, creating an infrastructure for the internal control system to work, compiling the temporalities manual, formalizing the budgeting process and financial reporting to various interested groups, including the faithful.

“Because the Church is not exempt from complying with secular government rules and regulations, Rusty has helped to navigate us through this somewhat precarious and expanding ‘minefield’,” Sister Dunegan said.

“As I read newspaper articles from around the country about embezzlement in religious entities and the lack of proper safeguards and internal controls, I appreciate even more the forward-looking procedures that Rusty has proposed and implemented throughout our diocese — procedures that the USCCB and the National Diocesan Fiscal Managers’ Conference have long promoted,” she said. “While we are a small mission diocese, we are ‘on the front line’ with regards to our fiscal integrity, thanks to Rusty.”

Parishes now have a requirement to produce a financial report to the faithful which instills an overall awareness of fiscal responsibility, an understanding of internal controls and the need to be accountable.

In January, Chimeno will join the Mehaffy Weber law firm as firm administrator. In this position he will oversee accounting, human resources, information technology and facilities. Mehaffy Weber has offices in Beaumont and Houston, but Chimeno will be based primarily at the Beaumont office.

“I intended to retire from the position with the diocese, and I never seriously thought about a change until this opportunity came about,” Chimeno said. “It was tough making the decision, but now that it’s been made, I’m very excited about it. It has given me a sense of revitalization of self, of faith, of profession and starting of new relationships.”

After graduating from Lamar University with an accounting degree, Chimeno worked at a local CPA firm for five years before going to work at St. Anthony Cathedral as youth minister. He spent three years in that ministry before returning to an accounting position for a year.

Chimeno shares that his first job was an auditor for a downtown law firm. They had a firm administrator, and he saw first-hand what the administrator did. He thought it would be something he would find fulfilling, but nothing ever came of it.

“Now, all of a sudden when this came up, it was the very job I was interested in all those years ago,” Chimeno said.

A familiar face in the diocese, Chimeno plans to remain active with involvement in the ACTS community and by continuing to serve on St. Anne parish council. He is also president-elect of the Southeast Texas Chapter of CPA’s which is a commitment that will keep him busy.

“What excites me the most is the opportunity to make a difference, which is what motivated me here. I wanted to make a difference and I tried in everything I did to accomplish that,” Chimeno said.

“Jesus came to serve, not to be served, and I have strived to provide service over the last 13 years to the best of my ability.”