THUNDER BAY -- Joanne Kembel’s grandchildren already have her retirement planned out.
As she prepares to step aside from her 28-year-role as executive director at the United Way of Thunder Bay, Kembel says her six- and eight-year-old grandchildren have told her they want her to buy a set of walkie-talkies so they can get a hold of her when they want her to come pick them up at any time.
She’s OK with that.
“As the executive director, a lot of my time has gone into my job here. Now I want to spend more time with my grandchildren and my family and I want to enjoy the beauty of our community,” she said on Tuesday.
“Living on the lake, I’m very lucky to have that and I want to really maximize that opportunity. And I’m looking forward to doing some traveling.”
Kembel, who will be replaced at the helm by long-time assistant director Jered Zieroth, said she’s seen plenty of changes over the decades.
When she first took over in 1988, the annual campaign goal was just $665,235. This past year they raised $2.65 million.
“The campaign has grown significantly over that period of time. With the campaign, that means we acquired and were fortunate to have a lot more donations and we have a tremendous volunteer crew that is doing this in our community,” Kembel said.
However, some things never change. There are always more funding requests than money raised, and the allocation process has become much more sophisticated over the years.
Her goal all along has been to ensure every single dollar raised is used to its maximum potential.
Kembel will be missed, Zieroth said.
“Joanne has been the best boss that I’ve ever had and we’ll miss her incredibly,” he said.
“But I also know that she is just a phone call away.”
Zieroth said moving forward, the biggest challenge is continuing to understand the needs in the community.
“But more importantly, how we can partner with other organizations and others in our community to be able to meet those needs,” he said.
Kembel will step down later this spring.
