We enjoyed two great presentations from members today. Brenda Holden and Kay Baker each gave a "classification talk" - allowing us the opportunity to get to know them better. We learned that Brenda is a St. Paul native, currently residing in Arden Hills. She has been a member of the Arden Hills City Council since 2002. Her involvement in government and politics started earlier however. She took a break during her college years to work for Congressman Bruce Vento, then went on to have a long career working in various capacities for the State of MN, starting in the Revenue Department, followed by years with the Health Department where she served as a Director. Brenda retired in 2017 but continues her work with Arden Hills city government. Brenda's husband sustained a spinal cord injury several years ago while on a ladder doing tree trimming, which has been life changing for them both.
We learned that Kay Baker is also a St. Paul native and is also recently retired after a long career with one organization - in this case St. Joseph's Hospital. Kay started as an EKG technician and spent the last years of her career as Director of Community Relations for not only the hospital but the entire Health East system which St. Joe's Hospital became a part. In this role, Kay created a number of innovative programs involving employees and the community. She started a Health Career Camp where students had the opportunity to come onsite and learn about hospital careers. Another program allowed hospital employees to become more knowledgeable about state and local government. Kay was previously a member of the St. Paul Rotary Club, but looked for something closer to her Vadnais Heights home after retiring.
Thanks to Brenda and Kay for these excellent presentations!