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You know, I think we all have unsung heroes in our life, right? We have people who make our business bigger and better. They make the machine work.
Maybe the public, your key investors or your bankers don't get to see them. But the reality is, without these people, how do you even get off the ground? Please excuse me while for the first time I dedicate my CEO article not to the industry or our trends, but to a few of those who have earned a loud thank you.
One of the biggest factors of the Washington Hospitality Association tripling in size since we've taken over has been my business partner, Teran Petrina.
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Teran worked for the association for 19 years before she retired in March. The last position she held was as chief financial officer.
With her strong leadership, I was able to step back from the administration of the association’s finances so I could work more closely with our members, especially during times of crisis, such as the pandemic years.
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Most importantly, her work with our Retro program is unmatched. Over the years, Teran streamlined all Retro program processes, such as billing, data management and distribution. Basically, she moved our
management of Retro from manual, hand-keyed systems into integrated, mostly automated processes.
Under her leadership, the Retro pool grew from 1,650 participants and $39 million in standard premiums to 2,600 participants and $56.6 million in standard premiums. Over the last eight years, she's been a member of the L&I Retro Advisory Committee, alongside our members.
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Behind the scenes, she moved our accounting process from 100% paper based to a fully integrated software system. She envisioned and built our Business
Development department to find great programs for our members. With ferocity and integrity, she fought for our members right up to her retirement day.
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Words cannot express how grateful I am for Teran and her commitment to the Washington Hospitality Association.
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The association has also said goodbye to two other longtime superstar staff members in recent months: Cathy Fox and Jen Hurley, both of whom worked in our membership department and provided incredible customer service, hard work and
passion to help our industry.
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We will miss Teran, Jen and Cathy very much and wish them the very best in their future endeavors.
Thank you to WorkSafe for sponsoring this newsletter.
As always, it's an honor to serve you,
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Anthony Anton
President & CEO
Washington Hospitality Association
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Photos: Teran and Anthony; Teran and Retro sub-committee member Patrick Knutson of the Olympia Oyster House; Cathy Fox and Jen Hurley.
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