Let’s all join together and THANK PENE HUTTON for her over 20 years of service, serving as D7090 Executive Secretary, and Secretary to 20 District Governors!
We all have stories of how Pene helped us, mentored us, shared words of wisdom, direction, jumped in, threw out a lifeline, and shared her humor. She has been our “Go To” for over 20 years. We cannot thank Pene enough for her commitment to continuity and being a resource for almost everything in Our Best of Friends D7090.
Pene initially chose to retire from her employment with D7090 the end of June so she could spend more time with family. As many of you may know, Pene suffered the tragic loss of her son Matthew in April, and she chose to complete her role a little earlier, at the end of May. We have been supporting her during this time of profound grief. Her longstanding volunteerism and employment with our district has been invaluable. She truly lives her life as “Service Above Self”.
We all extend our most heartfelt “Thank-you to Pene Hutton”! We all cherish her friendship in Our D7090 Family of Rotary.
-submitted by Lisa Bishop
Pene’s Role
As years progressed, Pene’s role became larger and larger, spreading her responsibilities into many areas serving our district, including bookkeeping, insurance, procedural and continuity resource, event planner & registrar, Zoom, ClubRunner & Website Administrator, and more. This was a multi-skilled position, and the decision was made to divide up the tasks, and as much as possible, reallocate these tasks back to specific committees, and also find individuals, thereby utilizing our Rotary volunteers.
Moving Forward
A task force Chaired by Ross Gowan (thank-you, Ross!), was struck last January, met, and created a critical path to map out the dissemination of the many tasks and responsibilities that Pene dutifully carried out for years. Pene fully supports us with transition continuity and knowledge exchange with the many individuals and standing committees, who are taking on tasks, and helping in the transition. We are working hard to utilize our Rotary Volunteers to take on these many tasks and roles.
We all extend our most heartfelt “Thank-you to Pene Hutton”! We all cherish her friendship in Our D7090 Family of Rotary. We hope to hold either a virtual or in-person thank-you in the future to celebrate and thank Pene. We all have stories to share, and we want to express our gratitude.
We thank PDG Melisa Schrock for jumping in to support and take on district inquiries in the Spring. Thank you to PDG Ralph Montesanto who is leading the District Executive Secretary Transition Task Force that commenced their work in June. Thank-you AG Sue Czyrny for volunteering and accepting key tasks. So many have pitched in.
Pene’s Official Rotary BIO
Penelope (Pene) Hutton has been the District 7090 Executive Secretary since 2003, serving 20 governors. She joined the Rotary Club of Greater Jamestown AM in 1996 and has served in many roles, including president, secretary and treasurer. She was Assistant Governor from 2001 until she became district executive secretary in early 2003. Pene is a five-time Paul Harris Fellow/Sustaining Member of The Rotary Foundation.
Pene has a diverse professional background. She was the director of Chautauqua Leadership Network, a leadership development program, from 1999 to 2015.
Prior to relocating from Washington D.C. to New York in 1996, Pene served a five-year appointment (1991 to 1995) with the Resolution Trust Corporation where she specialized in the nationwide management and disposition program for commercial non-performing RE assets.
She spent most of her early life in south Florida where she was a schoolteacher, a co-owner of a steel erection company and a commercial banker.
A member since 1996 of Lakewood Baptist Church, she has been leading women’s Bible study groups since 2002. She is a speaker with Chautauqua County Victim Impact Panel sharing her story about the loss of her son Michael due to a drunk driver and encouraging those mandated by the courts to attend the panel to "not drink and drive". She loves animals especially Shar-peis and her current Shar-pei is named DAVE whose unusual social behavior has made the entire neighborhood his fan club.
Pene holds a BA in Christian education and makes her home in Jamestown, New York with her husband, P. Christian Yates. They have five sons (two deceased), three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.