On the 19^th of February Uniting Country SA and Uniting Country Housing’s (UCSA|UCH) Chief Executive Anthea Pavy announced her intention to retire. After 31 years with the organisation, and 17 years as the Chief Executive, Anthea believes that it is the right time to say farewell to UCSA and UCH and begin her well-earned retirement.

“This decision has definitely been one of the hardest of my life… I can genuinely say that I have loved every minute of working for this organisation, in particular the people I have worked with and the people that the organisation works to support. However, the time has come for me to spend some more time doing things with, and for my family, doing some things to try and maintain my health and generally slowing down a little.”

When Anthea first took on the role of Chief Executive the organisation had 60 staff and one office located in Port Pirie. Over the 17 years of her tenure, she has assisted the organisation grow to over 300 staff and 100 volunteers operating from 27 sites across country SA. UCSA and UCH now supports individuals and families in Ceduna, Clare, Coober Pedy, Indulkana, Kadina, Peterborough, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, and Port Pirie. Anthea has fostered this growth to care for regional communities and has worked to keep the needs of country people in the minds of key decision makers in government and other peak body organisations.

UCSA and UCH’s board had the following to say about Anthea’s retirement ‘It’s an understatement to say that Anthea will be missed.  In her time as Chief Executive she has transformed Uniting Country SA into a modern organization, highly effective and widely acknowledged as a leader in its field.  She has achieved this without ever compromising its heart.  Anthea is remarkable.  Every person she works with, whether employee, volunteer, member of the Board or member of the community knows how approachable and calm she is.  At the same time, her breadth of knowledge and consummate management skills have earned her the respect she deserves.  We wish her a wonderful retirement.’

 Anthea says there are “some fundamentals to providing good leadership within an organisation including leaving your ego at the door and always remembering that no one person in an organisation is more important than anyone else. The key to everything is respect, respect for yourself and for the people you work with and for. I know that a leader is only ever as good as the people around them and I have had some amazing people around me which has meant this agency has gone from strength to strength in servicing the people who seek our assistance.”

“What I am most looking forward to in my retirement is spending time with my family, as well as taking the time to enjoy the small things in life like going out for lunch with friends. I look forward to continuing to give back to my community through new ways”

Uniting Country SA and Uniting Country Housing wishes Anthea all the best in her retirement. Anthea will remain as Chief Executive until an appropriate candidate is appointed by the Board over the next few months.