SOURCE, along with Nashville’s music community, will celebrate the careers of eight special women at the 2014 SOURCE Awards at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum at Historic Municipal Auditorium September 23.
Founded in 1991, SOURCE is a nonprofit organization supporting women executives and professionals who work in all facets of the Nashville music industry. In 2003, the annual SOURCE Awards were established to pay respect to and honor the women who helped develop, build, and make major contributions in the industry.
The 2014 SOURCE Awards honorees, announced at a luncheon at ASCAP on May 22, include: Areeda Schneider-Stampley (CBS Records), Audrey Winters (Music City News), Betty Clark (Talent & Model Land Agency), Dometra (Dee) Bowers (SAG-AFTRA), Katie Gillon (Wrinkled Records), Kitty Moon Emery (The Global Action Platform), Mary Ann McCready (Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy), and a posthumous award to Patsi Bale Cox (New York Times best selling author and journalist). The Nashville PRIDE would like to tell you a little bit about one of those awardees.
With a big smile and even bigger heart, Dometra Bowers began her career in the music industry in 1974, thanks to Jimmy Bowen, as an administrative assistant at MCA Records. She moved to MCA Music as an administrative office assistant working for Jerry Crutchfield until 1980.
David Maddox, then executive director of the Nashville AFTRA ‘local,’ recognized Dometra’s potential and brought her into the AFTRA family. Since 1986, she has continued under Randall Himes, local executive director for SAG-AFTRA and assistant national executive director of Sound Recordings.
As a 34-year employee, Dometra has worked in almost every capacity in the office. From finding recording sessions, broadcast and commercial work for SAG-AFTRA members, collecting overdue compensation, administration of AFTRA’s extensive health and retirement benefits to issues of SAG-AFTRA membership, Dometra has just about done it all. She has served as a liaison to SAG-AFTRA Nashville performers, including hundreds of royalty artists and session singers, working on administration of SAG-AFTRA contracts. Currently she is office manager, membership services, contract administration for established SAG-AFTRA members and potential new members.
“Every day on my job is a new adventure,” she said. “I am motivated when at the end of my work day, I can look back and see that I have had a direct and positive effect on someone’s life.”
A deeply spiritual person, Dometra was called into the Gospel Ministry in 2005, ordained in 2007. In 2008, along with her husband Larry, she was called as co-pastor and pastor of Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Carthage, Tennessee. Her faith and deep compassion for others leads her to lend support to a number of local charitable organizations.
“I am inspired by helping and encouraging others on this awesome journey, called ‘life,’” she said. She strongly believes that her greatest mission is to provide counseling and encouragement to people in need.
Dometra has one daughter, Demica, who along with husband, Pompey Hawkins, presented her with a grandson and joy of her life, Peyson Luke Hawkins, December 17, 2012.
