After three years with the United Way Alberta Northwest, Brenda Yamkowy will be moving on at the end of June. She joined the organization as Executive Director in 2014 and feels it’s time to retire.
“It was a decision that was kind of made a year ago, knowing when I signed my contract a year ago that this would be my last year, but as it comes closer it’s always going to be tough to leave.”
She hopes to spend more time with her family, and already has a trip booked to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Her husband has been retired for a few years, and she’s ready to join him on his adventures.
During her time, Yamkowy helped expand to serve families across northwestern Alberta, and was part of the merger with the United Way of Slave Lake Society. She says she hopes she’s left the group stronger than before she arrived.
“And that it is also positioned in a way that it can reach out to the region a little bit more in accessing funds from the region, as well as looking at some great opportunities that we have in regards to 2-1-1 moving forward.”
2-1-1 is a is a free and confidential phone call that connects people with local services, and the United Way is looking to bring it to our region. The United Way’s board is now recruiting for Yamkowy’s full time replacement, with the hopes of having an overlap so she can pass on as much information as possible.
“My advice would be to just remember the great things that the community partners do as you move forward and talk about the United Way,” she says.