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A Walk Through History
AS TOURS GO, WENDY Klingenberg Roe offers a unique view of nearly every facet of the Council’s organization. All through her life she has been connected to the Council in various capacities. She began her affiliation with the Council as a client – a toddler needing specialty shoes. Her view of the Council dramatically changed when she became an employee. Finally, as a director on the Council’s Board, she witnessed the work that takes place behind the scenes to make the organization successful. In all that time, through growth and challenges on all levels, Wendy witnessed the Council's passionate adherence to its values and mission.
"My experience with the Saskatchewan Abilities Council has really moved from the very narrow to the very broad. As a client I see the Council from my own, very narrow perspective of how the organization - through Nestor Lemus and Patrick Hill in Pedorthics - meets my needs so I can go about my daily life," explains Wendy Klingenberg Roe. Wendy was born with a foot abnormality that made it necessary to have custom-built shoes in order to walk from the time she was a toddler. As her feet grew, so did her relationship with staff at the Council.
"The staff had such an impact on me that I became very interested in the Council. Years later when I saw an opportunity to work there, I immediately applied. I became Assistant to the Executive Director and the Board for ten years. In that time I saw the inside of not only Pedorthics or the Orthopaedics department, but of the whole operation. I witnessed the pressures, stresses and very real rewards that we all experienced in doing our part to meet the Council's mission."
The Saskatchewan Abilities Council's mission is to work with people of varying abilities to enhance their independence and participation in the community through vocational, rehabilitation and recreational services.
Wendy went on to explain, "I was also in the enviable position of viewing the Council as an organic whole and seeing how each function contributed to the organization." Over 350 people province wide are employed by the Saskatchewan Abilities Council to meet the needs of approximately 35,000 people in Saskatchewan with varying levels of abilities.
Eventually Wendy moved on to become the Assistant Registrar responsible for awards and financial aid at the University of Saskatchewan. However, her involvement with the Council didn’t stop there. She was invited to serve as a volunteer on the Council’s Board of Directors, which she did for one year.
"Finally, as a director, I experienced the Council from an even more broad perspective, looking at strategic direction, external pressures, opportunities and the fiduciary and governance work that is not glamorous in the least but that the organization cannot exist without," said Wendy.
"Having the benefit of three distinct but overlapping perspectives, I know how the Council, such a large and diverse organization, maintains a single common goal. It's that the focus of every director, every manager, every staff member and every activity is brought back time and again to the Council’s mission and values. The faces I see have changed, and the way I see the Council has changed, but that focus on helping people find independence? That hasn’t changed” Wendy said.
The Council continues to build on its strengths and successes in keeping with its vision, mission and values.
