Board of Directors and Governance
Mennonite Seniors Housing Network Inc. is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.
Board of Directors
Meet the dedicated volunteers that make up our Board of Directors:
Hans Werner, Chair
Hans and Diana met in high school at MCI in Gretna and after completing an Engineering degree and getting married he joined her family’s farm near Winkler. Hans returned to studies after farming for 20 years and then taught Canadian and Mennonite History at the University of Winnipeg. During that time, he was also the Executive Director of the Plett Foundation.
Hans has been a Director and Chair of several Boards, including terms as Chair of the Boards of the Winkler Credit Union and Red River Mutual Insurance. He has served as moderator of Mennonite Church Manitoba, Congregational Chair at Bethel, and most recently the Board of Governors of Canadian Mennonite University where he was Chair of the Finance Committee.
Hans and Diana are retired and are members of Bethel Mennonite Church. He enjoys travelling, sailing on Lake Winnipeg, and occasional writing and teaching assignments.
Wendy Janzen, Vice Chair/Property Chair
Wendy and her husband Brad met at the University of Manitoba studying their respective fields, and married upon graduation. Neither having family in Manitoba, they struggled to feel Manitoba was home until they became members at Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship. At FGMF, they became part of a community, made many friends that made Winnipeg feel like home with their son Jacob, and daughter Fiona.
Wendy is a Vice President with Colliers Project Leaders where she leads a team of professionals who deliver capital construction projects as the owner’s project manager for private and public sector organizations. Wendy is known professionally for her organizational and leadership skills, and a genuine interest in the people she leads. She is passionate about building meaningful communities with her clients, for their organizations and their communities throughout Manitoba.
In her free time, Wendy loves spending time with her husband, children, and dog at home or travelling abroad, reading, and practicing yoga for physical and mental fitness.
Rudy Friesen, Treasurer
Rudy taught high school chemistry and mathematics at Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna and mathematics in Winkler. For some variation in vocation, he worked in business management/administration at MCI, and also in Taiwan under the auspices of Mennonite Church Canada & US. He enjoyed almost 10 years in the finance office at Canadian Mennonite University and is closing out his working career as a part-time shuttle driver. He enjoys reading, cycling, and road trips with his wife, Sue. They are members of Bethel Mennonite Church.
David Hodge, Secretary
David is currently the Chief Strategy Officer of Agi3, a technology start-up focused on Artificial Intelligence use in agriculture.
Prior to Agi3, David held the position of Executive Vice-President and Chief Information Officer of Great-West Life, where he was responsible for overall technology strategy, operations, delivery and security for Great-West Life, Canada Life, and London Life.
Prior to his 10 years as a Chief Information Officer, David held a variety of roles as a senior technology executive and technology industry consultant, including creating and operating a global technology shared services organization spanning six countries. He has extensive experience in risk management, financial services and retail industries, and significant experience leading information technology integration and consolidation through many mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. He has worked with several industry vendors in senior technology positions, including almost 5 years as a systems engineer with Apple, and created his own software startup, focused on software for academia.
He is a guest lecturer at the University of Manitoba and has been a guest speaker at more than 100 Provincial, National, and International conferences, and most recently was a keynote speaker at Gartner’s International Symposium event, where he presented on large scale implementations of Robotic Process Automation & Artificial Intelligence.
David has served on several Boards and Advisory Groups including the Information & Technology Association of Canada, Canadian Information Processing Society, Concordia Hospital, Autumn House and is a past Chair of the Board of the United Way of Winnipeg.
David is married to Barbara-Anne Hodge, and together they have four Children and two Grandchildren. David and Barbara-Anne are long time members of First Mennonite Church, where David has served many terms on Council, and has Chaired a number of specific-purpose ad-committees/task forces.
Eleanor Andres, Governance
Eleanor Andres has been practicing law for thirty-five years, divided almost equally between public service and private practice. She is currently practicing law as sole practitioner on a part‑time basis. In 2014, she retired from many years of full-time employment with the Manitoba Department of Justice, Civil Legal Services Branch, as General Counsel and leader of the business and IT law team of lawyers. Her primary areas of practice have been in construction, procurement, and business (including non‑profit organization) law. (She claims to have had some part in bringing the Jets back to Winnipeg.) During much of this time she also served as a delegate of the Canadian Government on a working group of the UN Commission on International Trade Law. A smaller part of her practice has involved real estate, trusts, estates, and tax matters. Working part-time allows her to contribute her legal skills to a variety of non‑profit organizations with big dreams and small budgets, not to mention the time and opportunity to explore a whole new knitting world at Ravelry.com.
Lucas Redekop, Finance
Lucas works in the finance department at Canadian Mennonite University as a Senior Financial Analyst. He received his CPA designation April 2019. Lucas, his wife Alison, and their sons Levi and Emmett attend Home Street Mennonite Church. Lucas previously worked as a manager for two years at the Sargent Avenue MCC thrift Shop in 2009-10.
LeAnn Friesen, Rentals
LeAnn was born and raised in Winnipeg and lives in Wolseley with her partner, James. Other than a 3-year old MCC term in Lebanon, LeAnn and her family have lived in Winnipeg and attend Charleswood Mennonite Church. For education, LeAnn went to CMBC, and University of Manitoba, finally settling on a nursing career. For 20 years, she worked in community health in the north end, as well as worked as a forensic assault nurse. Currently, she is working at Headingly Corrections in the medical department. LeAnn enjoys cycling and traveling with James, and spending time with her adult children.
Linda Enns, Resident Services
Linda grew up in southern Manitoba. Her formal education includes degrees in agriculture and theological studies. She has worked as a spiritual care provider in corrections as well as in various healthcare settings. Linda also served with Mennonite Central Committee in Bolivia and the Middle East (Lebanon and Egypt). Linda worked as Tenant Resource Coordinator at Bethel Place during 2001-02. Since then, Bethel Place and those who live and work here have held a special place in her heart. Linda and her husband Gordon Janzen are members of Home Street Mennonite Church. She enjoys quilting, volunteering, cross-cultural friendships, gardening, and spending time with their 3 young adult daughters.
Art Wiebe, Property
Art and his wife Alma are members at Bethel Mennonite Church. Art graduated from CMBC and has spent most of his working life as a carpenter and construction site-superintendent, with short periods of work for Manitoba’s Emergency Measures Organization. He retired from Westland Construction Ltd. in 2011. He has volunteered on both the WMES and Westgate boards while his children were students there, several terms on the BMC’s Property Committee, Chiara House, and MDS. Art and Alma have a personal interest in the work of the Pilgrim Group at BMC, and Bethel’s membership in the Supportive Communities Network. We embrace the BMCS Inc’s mission “to compassionately meet the needs of residents…regardless of faith tradition”.
Bruno Klassen, Property
Bruno and his wife Caroline moved to Winnipeg in 2014 to be near their children and grandchildren. After graduating from MCI, Bruno attended CMBC for two years, while also spending four years with CBC Hymn Sing. He then spent four years studying singing in Detmold, Germany. After his time in Germany he joined his father-in-law’s business for a planned one-year stint. Ten years later he bought the business, and after thirty years, retired from an enjoyable career in retail.
He has always been active with choral singing and assisting with various arts organizations. He and his wife sing in multiple choirs, and attend many of the fine concerts in Winnipeg. Aside from volunteering at the Selkirk MCC thrift store, and at Bethel Place, he helps with their children’s renovation and repair projects. He and Caroline attend Charleswood Mennonite Church.
Alf Dyck, Property
Alf is a retired Professional Engineer who spent his entire career with Price Industries (formerly E H Price Ltd.) after graduation from the U of M Mechanical Engineering program.
Price is a Winnipeg based, worldwide manufacturer and distributer of Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) components in the commercial and industrial construction market.
Over the last 15 years of his employment with Price, Alf held the position of Vice President of Product Engineering, primarily responsible for new product design, development and testing as well as technical support and training. He has extensive experience in building and leading teams of engineers/technologists/drafters for the development of innovative and profitable HVAC products in accordance with company goals and objectives. Through this process Alf has held several patents for products successfully launched and in production currently.
As a member of the Board of Directors, Alf participated in developing and monitoring the annual goals and objectives of the company mainly to drive growth and achieve profitability.
Alf travelled extensively in North America as well as Europe and Asia, participating in product presentations, seminars, training programs and attending industry conferences. He has interacted with Consulting Engineers, Architects and contractors in design, construction and commissioning of HVAC systems and been involved in a variety of complex and prestigious projects including the new Apple Headquarters building in Cupertino California.
Alf has served on the Boards of Sunset House and Autumn House. He was a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba for close to 40 years and is a life member of the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the Friends of Engineering (Manitoba) Inc.
Alf and his wife Jean Boyes have two daughters and the recent addition of a grandson. They are both long time members of First Mennonite Church. Alf and Jean enjoy travelling, spending time at the lake, gardening, and skiing.
Herb Peters, WMSCI & Wpg Mennonite Benevolent Society
Herb grew up in Steinbach. After completing his studies in undergraduate History and Law, he practiced law in Winnipeg for 37 years. He had a general commercial law practice and was privileged to act on behalf of a number of not-for-profit and charitable organizations. Herb retired as a partner at MLT Aikins at the end of 2018. Herb and his wife Donna Peters-Small are members at and attend Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship. They enjoy travel, time spent with good friends and their active and growing family (which includes five young grandsons).