Classification Speech: Kathleen Merner

Bert Gray and Kathleen Merner had decided to move out of their old home within five years...but Bert got the very first job he applied for, so she wound up having to come to Sycamore sooner than expected.

 

Merner had been a member of a Rotary Club along with her husband Bert; she says the club had a few activities and projects going on, but found that the Sycamore club was much busier -- and much more involving.  She hopes to become more active with our various projects, as they settle in to life here in northern Illinois.

 

Kathleen has a background in parks and recreation administration; she has been Executive Director for two different park districts, and held similar jobs for the McHenry County Conservation District and the Cook County Forest Preserve District.  She says the latter was challenging, not for the amount of work but because of the politics behind it; rank there is determined not by job title, but by how much power your patron holds --

and if an employee's benefactor is higher-ranked than yours, they they won't listen to you.

 

Kathleen is now looking forward to a quieter life in DeKalb County, and is taking college courses in something outside her area of expertise -- pastry baking.