Dana Huber: Getting Life In Sync

We can look to nature to discover its rhythm of restoration. Each season supports reset and growth in a pattern that transforms. The cycle of renewal is all around us, and Dana Huber, vice president of marketing and public relations at Huber’s Orchard, Winery, and Vineyards, says, “It’s all about balance.”

Dana is a hometown girl. Raised just a mile away from Huber’s Orchard in Starlight, Indiana, she stays connected to her roots. “I’ve always been content to live here,” she says. Staying within a two-hour drive from home for her college years, Dana attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where she received a bachelor’s degree in business. She worked for notable corporations such as Humana and Kindred Healthcare before answering the pull to work at the family business in 2007. Which family business, you ask? Dana is married to sixth-generation Huber family member, Ted, and they have two sons.

For those who don’t know, Huber’s Orchard and Winery is a Kentuckiana staple. As familiar as bluegrass and racehorses, Huber’s has been family-owned since 1843. Known for its seasonal u-pick fruits and vegetables (and of course their pumpkin patch that Peanuts characters would find ‘most sincere’), the farmstead has grown over the years to include wines and spirits, homemade ice cream, and a kids’ fun park.

Huber’s dedication to enhancing connections and building family memories comes from carefully considered plans by Dana and her team. “We’re putting the right people in the seats to take our company to the next level,” Dana says. While there will always be challenges, Dana says she’s more able to lean into restorative moments since her organization is growing in such positive ways.

One way she finds such restoration is through serving her community. Dana serves on Our Southern Indiana Regional Development Authority, which aims to develop plans and recommendations to draw investment and quality-of-life improvement to Southern Indiana. “Serving in that capacity brings me that energy and restoration,” she says.

Not stopping there, Dana is also the vice chair for Wine America and recently joined the Regional Board of Advisors for Indiana University Southeast. “I wanted to contribute to educational institutions,” Dana says. She and her family are working with local education, hoping to inspire graduating high school students in finding their career calling, she continues. “All of this work is therapeutic.”

With Dana’s full schedule, finding blocks of restorative downtime can be challenging, but trusted mentors told her early in her career about the importance of work/life balance. She has learned to stop and ask herself if things are working in harmony. “Am I bringing my best self to work? And how do I do that?” Dana says. “When I think about restoration, I think about balance… Finding that space for restoration should be a [priority of a] 10, and this might fluctuate any given week, but it helps to bring your best self to whatever you’re doing.”

If you’re ready to make a change when it comes to resetting, Dana suggests working on becoming present in the moment. “I didn’t do this early enough, and my suggestion would be to work on quality time versus the quantity of time,” Dana says. “Over the years, I’ve learned a lot, and I make sure to listen from those lessons.”

By Tonilyn Hornung | Photo of Dana by Randy Daniels