ALEXANDRIA, Va.–United States Senate FCU has named its new headquarters building after a long-time and legendary Capitol Hill staffer, an honor that received national media coverage from CBS This Morning.
The Bertie Bowman Building now honors Herbert “Bertie” Bowman who has worked on Capitol Hill since 1944 and who spent 44 years on the board of U.S. Senate FCU, including two terms as chairman, beginning in 1966. The credit union said “Mr. Bowman’s longevity of service to the institution far precedes any other person within the organization to this date.”
Current USSFCU Chairman of the Board Christopher D. Shunk pointed to Bowman’s integrity, focus and dedication, saying he has always been a fighter and an advocate for standing up for what’s right and always advocating for the ones tasked to get the job done.
The ceremony dedicating the new headquarters building in Bowman’s name was held in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Room at the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Bowman’s story is remarkable. He ran away from home in South Carolina in 1944 when he was just 13 years old after a chance meeting with then South Carolina Sen. Burnett Maybank in his hometown. Bowman told CBS News Correspondent, "Before he can get in his car, I was pulling on his coattail, 'If I come to Washington, can I stop by and see you?' He said 'Yes.’”
Bowman hopped a train to Washington and found Maybank’s office on Capitol Hill. The senator gave Bowman a job sweeping the Capitol steps for $2 a week, which he paid out of his pocket. Bowman would go on to get work as a janitor, a cook and a shoe shiner before eventually making it to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he served as a clerk and then as the hearing coordinator. Although he’s now 88, Bowman remains active in working for the Senate.
Sharing Advice
He’s also known on Capitol Hill for giving newly-elected senators advice, CBS News noted, telling the news station’s Nancy Cordes, "Oh I tell em,' you know, 'You got to kind of — when you walk out your door, look left or right and say, 'Hello, how are you this morning?'"
Bill Clinton, while still a student at Georgetown University, even worked for Bowman as a messenger for the Foreign Relations Committee.
Bowman, said Clinton, was "exactly the kind of person you'd want to take you under his wing, if you're a 20-year-old student just working your first job in Washington,” the former president said during the CBS interview.
Following the ceremony held by U.S. Senate FCU to officially name its headquarters for him, Bowman told CBS News, "And I feel so honored, I'm just the happiest guy in the world.”
“It is with full-hearts and extended gratitude that we honor Mr. Bertie Bowman for his extended service to the U.S. Senate and the United States Senate Federal Credit Union,” the credit union said. “The credit union would not be the institution it is today without the guidance of Mr. Bowman.”
The CBS Interview can be watched here.