Pillar of MHCA, Summerfield announces retirement
Institutions are only as strong as their people and with the pending October retirement of Finance and HR Manager Wendy Freund Summerfield, MHCA is losing a pillar.
Wendy has been with the MHCA for 31+ years, delivering distinguished and professional service to members, colleagues and co-workers, acting always as a trusted and compassionate member of the management team.
We at MHCA are forever in her debt for her attention to detail, but also for her kind, fair and discerning manner.
“I don’t think there has been a board member in the past 31 years who has not benefitted from personal contact with Wendy and her sage advice,” MHCA President & CEO Chris Lorenc said. Lorenc noted Wendy was his first hire when he joined MHCA a year earlier, and there hasn’t been a day since “when I wasn’t thankful for making that decision.
“She is a trusted, loyal colleague and friend in the office, always available to me to provide and offer advice, a confidante with whom I could share questions, concerns and discuss future direction. I will miss that relationship with this very, very special person.”
Wendy has been a careful steward of numerous MHCA program and administrative portfolios, including financial management of MHCA, WORKSAFELY® and WORKFORCE® programs, the TRIP Canada fund and management oversight of the Western Canada Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association. In the latter aspect, she was central to the planning and execution of numerous successful annual conferences held in the United States, Mexico and Hawai’i.
In her support roles, Wendy has been indispensable to numerous committees, including the Board and Executive Committee.
“I have always been in awe of Wendy’s grasp of the accounting details and big-picture financials,” MHCA Board Chair Dennis Cruise said. “I’m a numbers guy, and super-impressed with how she knows the columns, where they’re heading and her ability to summarize with a laid-back, confident frankness.”
Wendy has also managed MHCA human resources and assisted legal matters.
“All of us – Board, staff and members – will miss Wendy’s presence, humour, candor and astute insights into all matters of the association,” Lorenc added.
Discussion about the search for Wendy’s successor has started, with the objective of having a person in place ahead of the retirement date to provide some overlap.
“We all just want to wish Wendy, from the bottom of our hearts, a fabulous and fun retirement,” Lorenc said.
“The rest of your life starts in October and no one has deserved this more than you, Wendy.”
