LUMBERTON — A former school teacher who’s chosen a career in retail is now at the helm of the Belk department store in Lumberton.

Patrick Dunbar started the job about three weeks ago.

“Things are going well,” said a busy Dunbar last week as he and his staff worked on Christmas promotions and prepared for a charity sales event. “I have an office but I’ve only been in it once since I’ve been here.”

In his short time here, he’s overseen a major reconfiguration of the sales floor at the store.

The company had already planned the design changes before Dunbar arrived at the Lumberton store.

“I just had to execute it,” he said.

Dunbar, 41, was born and raised in Indianapolis. An education major at Franklin College, he earned degrees in history, biology and English. His first teaching job out of college brought him to North Carolina, where he taught at Central Cabarrus High School for five years.

Then in 1996 Dunbar packed it all in and headed for New York City.

“I had no job and no place to live,” he said of his adventure to the Big Apple. “I had always wanted to live in New York and I knew if I didn’t do it when I was young, I wouldn’t ever do it.”

Dunbar landed a job at the famous Macy’s department store in Herald Square, where he got his first taste of retail.

“I started in sales. I was the first Tommy Hilfiger clothing specialist that they ever had,” he said. He did that job for just three months before his supervisors put him on a fast track to management.

“It was the teacher thing that they liked. They knew I could manage a classroom and that was an easy transition to managing in retail,” Dunbar said.

In 1999 Dunbar moved back to North Carolina, near Charlotte, where two of his brothers reside.

By then, he’d been bitten by the retail bug, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the business.

“It’s something new every day, and I’m definitely a people person so dealing with the public was not an issue — although it’s challenging at times,” Dunbar said.

He took a job at the Belk flagship store in Charlotte, a four-story cavernous retail facility.

Dunbar worked as an area sales manager for four years, then as an assistant buyer for one year, and the last several years as a merchandise coordinator, which he said is basically an assistant store manager.

He was tapped to take over the Lumberton store and he began his new job in early October. The store employs about 45 people.

“It’s a friendly store, and customers will get a value here, for sure,” he said.

Dunbar and staff are busy preparing for the Belk’s Fall Charity Sale. In exchange for a $5 donation, customers will receive a ticket admitting them to the Charity Sale from 6 to 10 a.m. Saturday, and entitling them to discounts.

Customers will receive $5 off their first purchase of $5 or more at the event, and Belk cardholders will receive double Rewards points for card purchases.

“It’s a win-win for the charities,” he said.

Dunbar plans to buy a home in Lumberton once he sells his house in Monroe.