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Baker announces plans to retire in fall
June, 2001
After serving the Massachusetts Conference for 21 years and the United Church of Christ for a total of 31, Susannah Baker has announced plans to retire this fall.
Baker, the Associate Conference Minister for Policy and Administration, has been the person behind the scenes of the Conference, taking on such tasks as organizing Annual Meeting, staffing the Board of Directors and supervising Conference support staff and facilities.
“The Massachusetts Conference could not have thrived and developed as it has without Sue Baker,” said Interim Conference Minister and President Erwin Bode. “She has been crucial in all the directions we have headed in the last 20 years, and she has been a great help for all the staff in understanding what it is to be a Conference of the United Church of Christ.”
Baker started out in 1979 as the Associate for Administration, handling office management, Annual Meeting planning and the Nominating Committee, and supervising the Conference news editor. Over the years her job grew to include staffing the Board of Directors, developing Conference policy, supervising all the Conference centers and staffing the Commission on Communication.
She has worked to transform Annual Meeting from an open, loosely run gathering to a tightly organized and choreographed event, to formalize a system for carrying out Board policies, and to computerize the office and develop a centralized database.
“Almost every year there has been something new to do,” she said. “I never expected to stay this long, but it’s a great gift to be able to get up in the morning and go to an interesting job, and to know you’re doing something worthwhile, all the while working with wonderful people.”
Baker started working for the UCC in 1970, taking an administrative job with the United Church Board for World Ministries in New York. She then went on to work in the UCC President’s office,working with Valerie Russell to staff the Task Force for Women. She served as the coordinator for the first National Meeting of Women in 1979.
Baker will stay on until October 31st, to ease the transition to a new Minister and President in September.
Instead of conducting a search to replace Baker, the Board of Directors has decided instead to reorganize the staff and divide up her duties.
Conference Business Manager Dawn Hammond has been appointed the Associate Conference Minister for Administration and Finance. Hammond will direct all financial and accounting functions, implement Conference policy, staff the Board of Directors, oversee the Conference centers and supervise support staff.
Joanna Bickford, currently the administrative assistant to the Minister and President and staff to the various search committees, will be elevated to the role of Associate for Administration. Bickford will provide Annual Meeting planning, staff the nominating committee and oversee office management in Framingham.
Tiffany Vail, the current Associate for Communication and Communication Technology will take on the added responsibility of staffing the Commission on Communication.
Debby Dionne, the current bookkeeper, will become the Accounting Manager, taking on the oversight of the day-to-day accounting functions for the Conference. And two new, part-time employees will be hired, an accounting clerk and an administrative assistant to the Minister and President.
“I had a sense of great relief when I knew all this could come together,” Bode said. “This will provide continunity of staff and a solid undergirding for future directions. It also allows us to recognize the important gifts of the people on the staff and their abilities to do these ministries.”
Baker said it is fitting that various people should be taking on her work. “I feel good that with my leaving people are being promoted into bigger jobs,” she said. “If there’s one thing I have felt the most satisfaction from, it has been in encouraging talented staff members to step up to bigger jobs.”