Though she may not want to admit it, Paulette Rennie’s career in the financial industry has been a bit longer than stated in the announcement of her retirement.
“They forgot that I spent 15 years with Toronto Dominion,” joked Rennie. That adds up to a 40-year career for the president of Valley First, who recently announced she would be retiring in June.
Over that long career, Rennie said she has seen a lot of change, starting with the technology, which has gone from a lot of manual work to a fully computerized workflow.
Another change, partially fuelled by the technological advances, is greater ability to interact with and help their clients.
“It is a partnership,” said Rennie, who adds financial institutions, like Valley First, have also developed stronger relationships with the communities they serve.
“An important part of who we are at First West is our local connections,” said First West Credit Union CEO, Launi Skinner. “Paulette’s incredibly valuable insights have helped us make and navigate through some of the harder decisions and larger projects we’ve tackled in recent years. We wouldn’t have enjoyed the same level of success without Paulette’s experience on our side.”
Rennie also served as a board member with the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan as well as an advisory member on a number of committees for the City of Penticton.
“We feel we are part of the community,” Rennie said.
One example of that community support is the Granfondo, which Valley First sponsored. Rennie said it is rewarding to work with people like Axel Merckx to create these community events.
“People come to us with some experience and an idea, and say, ‘we could use some help,’” said Rennie.
“We are just thrilled to have helped Axel Merckx establish the Granfondo,” said Rennie, who was also invited to be a director on the board that helped establish Challenge Penticton. There was a lot of work to do for that, and a lot of questions to answer like what the new race would look like and how it would differ from the Ironman, which Penticton hosted for 30 years.
Rennie, who is president of the Valley First and Enderby & District Financial divisions of First West Credit Union, announced her retirement during the credit union’s annual general meeting on May 9.
“Paulette is an inspirational and transformational leader,” said Skinner. “From the branch to operations to senior leadership, she’s done it all. When I first met Paulette I was struck by her passion for the credit union and how she represents the co-operative principle of neighbour helping neighbour. Her retirement is a real loss to First West and the credit union system.”
Rennie joined Valley First in May 1989. Following a brief stint in Vancouver, she returned in 1995 to open the Cherry Lane branch in Penticton. Shortly after, Rennie moved to the Valley First regional office and over the next 12 years took on increasingly senior roles before being appointed acting chief executive officer, where she helped lead the local credit union through its merger with Envision Financial to create the First West Credit Union.
Choosing to resign in June was a deliberate move, according to Rennie. In the past, she chose to take vacations in spring, fall or winter, allowing employees with young families more opportunity for summer vacation. But now she has plans to enjoy all that Penticton and area has to offer in the summertime.
“We love this community and this area,” said Rennie, who plans to use her new free time to enjoy family, traveling and lowering her golf handicap.