I am beyond delighted to introduce our newest Rotarian, Sue Bennett, the current Executive Director of Leadership Tomorrow (and yes, she is my successor).I’m not going to tell you that before LT, Sue was a non-profit consultant, or that she was the Senior Learning Manager with Philanthropy Northwest. I’m not going to tell you that she went to Stanford, has two grown children, or is on the Board of the WA Women’s Foundation. I’m not going to tell you that she’s an avid hiker and yoga enthusiast.
Instead, I’m going to tell you two stories. First – I met Sue in the early ’90s in her role as a consultant to a non-profit on whose board I served. We were doing Strategic Planning, and Sue was the hired consultant. My reaction upon working with her? I thought to myself, “NO ONE is that cheerful all the time!” The fact is I was wrong – she IS that cheerful! Sue is one of those people who approaches life with a true “glass half-full” kind of attitude. We became friends soon after, and our friendship continues today.
The second story – about 9 years ago, Sue, another friend, and I were hosting a surprise party for someone. As we were waiting for our guests to arrive, Sue let us know that she was thinking about leaving her job at Philanthropy NW. She wanted us to keep our ears open in case we heard about anything that might be a good fit for her.
At that point, a lightbulb went off in my brain because I knew I would be losing a senior staff member soon. I realized that not only would Sue be the perfect person to take the job to another level, but was also someone who could possibly, take over for me when I was ready to retire. Fast forward to 2016 when the LT board began the process of forming a search committee to find my replacement. Long story short, after an arduous process, (and I do mean arduous), Sue was selected from a pool of six finalists for the position. She’s now been at LT for more than eight years (five as Executive Director) and she’s doing a FABULOUS job! I could not have asked for anyone better to continue the program’s legacy of helping to build extraordinary community leaders.
Sue will be a great addition to Rotary – she’s an amazing non-profit executive, lifelong learner, great mentor, and wonderful friend. She’ll be an asset to any Seattle 4 committee lucky enough to snag her. I’m thrilled to introduce her to Rotary and to all of you. Please join me in welcoming Sue Bennett, classification, non-profit, to Seattle 4!
