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NTH’S MASTER GARDNER IS RETIRING

6/4/2021

26 Comments

 
A.K.A. ESOP Champion / Wellness Warrior / Payroll Fairy / Healthy Food Pantry Purveyor
After 24 years of service with NTH, Karyn Rekuc is embarking on a new adventure!  She will be retiring this month, and relocating with her husband, Dennis, to sunny Florida! As we prepare to wish her well in retirement, we reflect upon her many personas and contributions over the years.
 
We knew her first as our Payroll Fairy, a character she embodied every other week, sometimes in costume and sometimes with candy, as an extension of her Payroll Administrator position. Some even know her “big hammer,” jokingly threatened when some could not seem to get time and expense in timely or correctly.

For the past 10 years, Karyn has also been NTH’s Employee Benefits Administrator, our go-to resource for anything health / benefit related and designated as our Wellness Warrior. It was from this role that her passion for advancing employee engagement and NTH’s ownership culture found a new outlet. Always an active participant in engagement activities through the years, lending her event planning enthusiasm and skills to help on various committees, Karyn proactively stepped up to take more of a leadership role, becoming our ESOP Champion.

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She sowed the idea of consolidating the Fun, ESOP and Wellness committees, largely consisting of the same team members with overlapping responsibilities and objectives, bringing them together as one Ownership Communications Committee (OCC). Since then, she has led the OCC in furthering NTH’s commitment to supporting the overall wellbeing of employee owners by expanding our wellness program. Under her leadership, and with support and participation of other committed team members, the OCC grew from one that occasionally hosted events to one that planned a year-long schedule, packed with educational activities and information, healthy eating and exercise information, fun games, on and off-site activities and more to engage employee owners.

From her proactive participation in a Wellbeing University, Karyn brought back to the OCC the idea of employee wellbeing as a business strategy and not just a program. Perhaps it is fitting that Karyn is a master gardener, for it was this seed planting that sprouted the concept of our Wellness Tree, and her nurturing and cultivation that grew the Wellness Tree and wellbeing program – to generate award-winning recognition for NTH’s culture of camaraderie, ownership, fun and inclusion. In 2018 The ESOP Association of Michigan recognized NTH as the ESOP Company of the Year; and in 2019, Karyn received recognition as the 2019 Employee Owner of the Year.
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Her party planning and hosting skills were ever present through her active participation in engagement events, especially the holiday festivities and Company picnics, and even included the help of her sidekick, Dennis. Her love for gardening found its way to the care and beautification of our Northville entry, ensuring visitors and staff were greeted with a bright spray of the season. Her passion for wellbeing manifested in a healthy pantry in Northville for staff to enjoy.
 
Karyn leaves a legacy of ownership commitment, engagement and wellbeing along with multiple shoes to fill – OCC Leader, Northville Gardner, Health Pantry Purveyor. A testament to the extent of Karyn’s impact, filling these shoes will mean engaging multiple staff. While COVID has curtailed activities for the past couple of years, we are moving towards more in-person contact and an opportunity to again come together for  fun activities. Current OCC members are looking for new employee owners to help take up the charge to expand on the program and activities already cultivated under Karyn’s leadership. We are also looking for a new gardener to continue Karyn’s beautification efforts outside the entry of our Northville building. When protocols permit, connoisseurs of Karyn’s healthy pantry will have to decide on a new purveyor. 
 
We do not say good-bye to Karyn, for we are sure visits back to Michigan will include a stop in Northville or participation at an NTH activity. We do say “Thank You” for 24 years of service, and for the legacy Karyn has left behind.
 
Though COVID restrictions prevented us from planning an in-person event fitting our ESOP Champion and Wellness Warrior, we hope that you will take a few minutes to send well wishes to Karyn by leaving a comment below. These will be pulled together into a very nice memory book and sent to her in Florida.
26 Comments
Pamela Golden
6/4/2021 03:14:17 pm

Karyn,

I'm so extremely happy for you and Dennis. You worked hard and deserve to enjoy this next phase of your life. I wish you health and happiness in your retirement. Praying God showers you with many blessings. It's been a pleasure working with you for 21 of the 24 years. God Bless!

Reply
Sam Yaldo
6/7/2021 03:34:53 pm

Karyn,
I wish you the best of luck in your well deserved retirement. We will certainly miss your smile (and your candy), but look forward to hearing from you and all the fun and adventurous things you will be doing in sunny Florida. Have fun and take care.
Sam

Reply
Basima railany
6/8/2021 09:50:47 am

Karyn

wish you good luck in your retirement. I will miss you and miss your e mail every day , I learn a lot from your articles for health and food.
Enjoy and be happy as I know you always smiling and good helper

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Robert M Grzybowski
6/8/2021 11:45:28 am

Hope you enjoy the Florida lifestyle like I do in Naples, FL. Where in FL are you going? Enjoy.

Reply
Lisa Dilg
6/9/2021 11:55:00 am

Karyn,

I can't believe it's happening already! Though you will be very much missed, and it will take several staff members to replace all that you do, I am thrilled for you and Dennis and it will be so wonderful for you to spend time close to your daughter. Good luck, have fun and don't give us a second thought :) Ok, well, maybe visit occasionally to rub it in!

Reply
Marguerite McKiever
6/11/2021 01:14:18 pm

Karyn, wow we've both been here with NTH for 24 years! You have definitely brought sunshine to our NTH workplace. Wish you & Dennis nothing but the best of God's blessings & will look you up one day when I'm in Florida! Enjoy the sunshine & your retired endevours!

Reply
Lauren Fabry
6/11/2021 01:25:42 pm

Karyn,

I've truly enjoyed working with you and getting to know you for the past two years! I will miss our chats in the office, but I am so happy for you and know that you will enjoy the new journey! I hope that you enjoy your retirement to the fullest!

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Brett Schwenke link
6/11/2021 01:47:54 pm

Karen:

You were one of the first people I met in the office on my first day, two years ago. Thank you for being kind and understanding as I learned BST 8 and 10. I am excited for you and your family on the adventure called retirement - and Florida! I hope your road trip down is filled with air-drumming and guitar strumming to 80s tunes. How Rad is that?! Peace and hugs - Brett

Reply
Steve McManus
6/11/2021 03:03:49 pm

Karyn,

I'm so happy for you! You will be missed. I enjoyed working with you and how helpful you always were. I wish you all the best and know you will be having a lot of fun. Take care.
-Steve

Reply
Elizabeth Smith
6/11/2021 03:39:10 pm

Karyn,
It has been such a pleasure working with you. I wish I could have spent more time with you. Nonetheless, I am grateful for our time together. Enjoy your retirement! You deserve it, especially after the Sage and BST 10 conversions. 😂

Reply
Ben Naber
6/11/2021 04:43:43 pm

Congratulations on retirement Karyn!

You were one of the first smiling faces welcoming me to NTH. Thank you for ALWAYS being there to answer questions and lend a helping hand. You inspired me to join our OCC, and we’ll aim to carry on your legacy. We’re lucky to have you as such a great leader, have fun in Florida!

Safe travels,
Ben Naber

Reply
Zhiren Zhu
6/11/2021 05:19:32 pm

Happy retirement, Karyn! Thank you for always being so uplifting and patiently answering my repetitive questions about BST, health insurance, PTO, all sorts of forms ... Florida just earned 800 extra wellness points with your relocation. :D

Reply
Dawn Comerford
6/14/2021 07:37:38 am

Karyn,

You truly are an amazing person and you will be missed. It is time to start the next stage in your life, retirement with Dennis and being closer to your daughter. I wish you all the best!!

Reply
April Williams-Boehm
6/14/2021 08:14:56 am

Karyn - All the best for this new chapter in your life! It's been a pleasure!

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Bridget Caddell
6/14/2021 08:28:14 am

Karyn! I am so excited for you and Dennis to take this next adventure. I know you will get a handle on "retirement" living quickly. Although, I will miss my "work mom" I know you have passed on so many valuable skills to help me succeed. For that I am forever grateful. You will be missed dearly!

P.S. Save a pool floaty for me!

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Bhushan Modi
6/14/2021 10:31:43 am

Happy Retirement, Karyn! Congratulations on this new phase of your life. It’s time to kick back and enjoy. You have earned it. We will miss you!

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Carol Kieling
6/14/2021 10:44:07 am

Wishing you and Dennis all the best as you fade into retirement and head Florida. I will miss you and our OCC ventures tremendously, especially the golf outings we did together. Can't wait to see your new golf cart when you get it. Have a Bloody Mary with me in mind as you tool around your neighborhood in it! Thanks for the memories, best of luck!

Reply
Keith Swaffar
6/15/2021 10:52:00 am

Karyn: It has been a great pleasure working with you these last 24 years. Your timeliness and helpfulness, no matter what the issue, was always appreciated. You will be greatly missed but certainly deserving of retirement. Best wishes for a long and very enjoyable retirement!

Reply
Charlie Roarty
6/15/2021 03:21:12 pm

Karyn,
Your sunny disposition and unending patience has brightened many Monday mornings getting time and expenses in. (Because of you, the term "Payroll Troll" is a term of endearment.)

Your work on the OCC has been a huge help in developing our ESOP culture and I thank you on behalf of the Trustees.

Although you will be missed, you have prepared us well. Best of luck in retirement.

Reply
Anthony Sinatra
6/17/2021 08:00:39 am

Karyn,

Congratulations on you're retirement. It has been a pleasure working with you through the years and you will be missed. Best of luck to you in the future.

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Michelle Kitzinger
6/23/2021 12:46:24 pm

Karen, I wish you all the best of luck on your new adventures! Thank you for being so kind and welcoming! We will definitely miss your presence here.

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Bill Lansing
6/24/2021 10:59:26 am

Karyn,

Congratulations!! You made it! Retirement in warmer weather sounds amazing. I'm sure the weather down there will better match your sunny disposition. Enjoy Venice and the Gulf!

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Brock Bosack
6/28/2021 05:24:49 pm

Congratulations Karyn! I hope your retirement treats you as well as you treated everyone here at NTH. I'm sure it will! You definitely made me feel welcome and included when I first started at NTH and you had a huge hand in making NTH culture what it is today.

Also, I never knew that you did the gardening around the Northville office entrance. I always thought it looked nice and just assumed that a landscaping company planted the new plants each year. Have fun in Florida!

Reply
Melanie Linn
6/30/2021 09:32:05 am

Congratulations Karyn! I wish you and Dennis the best with your much deserved retirement! It was a pleasure working with you over the years. It's hard for me to picture you sitting around your pool with a cocktail in your hand and not the wooden hammer! All the best! ~Melanie

Reply
Erik V
7/2/2021 04:01:24 pm

Thank you, Karyn. Safe travels. Check out the Dali museum in St. Petersburg.

Reply
Jackie Roehl
7/9/2021 10:50:35 am

Karyn,

I've enjoyed working with you the past 24 years, both personally and professionally. Like I said - I really feel like you helped make NTH a home, not just a workplace. I wish you and Dennis all the best in your retirement years. I hope we can get together for a cocktail (or 2) whenever I get down that way - or when you're up this way!

Take care.

Reply



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