Doing some good and loving every minute of it: This is Jennifer Jerrett

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at [email protected].

The nostalgia has already set in and tomorrow it becomes official. Her grandfather would be so proud…

Jennifer Jerrett is the Rotary Club of Huntsville’s newly elected president. It’s the same title her grandpa, Vern Payne, held 42 years ago. He was also the mayor of Huntsville back in the early 1960s.

Jennifer is a bubbly, 45-year-old mother of two teenage boys, who’s super excited to tie the knot next year (second time’s a charm!). She’s a people person who has a whole lot of pep in her step. She enjoys helping others, which apparently runs in her family. She has always been one to take in a stray dog. She loves to laugh, lives life to the fullest (but with integrity) and gets a deep sense of fulfillment by giving back. She’s been a Rotarian for the last three years, sits on the board of directors for Huntsville Hospice as well as the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce and is also a crisis responder for Muskoka Victim Services. Indeed, Jennifer’s life is overflowing. And as busy as it is and as intense as she can sometimes be, she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I’m an extrovert,” she says with a laugh, then adds she has a Type A personality like most other Rotarians. “I like to give back… I always have. My family has always been very caring and gives back to the community. Every year, my family sponsors Festival of the Arts performances.”

She stayed in the family business as a funeral director for 15 years prior to her big move from Toronto to Huntsville back in 2011. Her desire for giving back lead her to becoming a fundraiser in the healthcare sector in the city for 12 years and she thrived, knowing her small contribution was making a huge difference.

There’s always been family ties to the area. Her mom was born and raised here and the family had a cottage on Pen Lake. Her decision to relocate was somewhat of a leap of faith. She can be impulsive at the best of times. With no job lined up, Jennifer bounced from job to job before she was able to find a “forever home” as a sales consultant for Chartwell Muskoka Traditions. Her workplace is where her grandmother resided for five years before passing away at 100 years old (and two months, to be exact).

The more I thought about moving north, the more I wondered what I was waiting for. Life is short; you have to take the bull by the horns. When I first moved to Huntsville I wanted to get to know the community better so I joined Rotary. It was an instant family. Being a member of Rotary, there’s some nostalgia there with my grandfather having been the president. I can follow but I like to lead. I like to exceed at things. It’s extremely rewarding on many levels. I wanted to be able to do a bit more and I was fortunate to be able to move my way up the ladder.

As the newly elected president, Jennifer isn’t the least bit apprehensive about what that is going to entail. It means leading the club, sticking to its mission and values and giving back to the local community as well as internationally. Rotarians are all striving to achieve the same goal: they want to do the greater good. With an endless number of initiatives and incentives and millions in financial donations, the Rotary Club of Huntsville is vital to the town. Over the last decade, the club has donated $100,000 to the Hospital Foundation, built the pavilion at Avery Beach as well as the Rotary Youth Park, spearheaded and funded the Rotary Band Shell, as well as many other local projects the Rotary Club has been instrumental in bringing to fruition.

I love the sense of community we have here. I love how our town pulls together when there’s a need. The people in our town are beyond generous. We have a lot of charities and they always come through. It’s remarkable and it’s amazing to be apart of that.

Jennifer is delighted and honoured to be part of a group that works endlessly and diligently to deliver so much good in the world. And with her upbeat and sunny disposition, positive outlook on life and desire to want to help others, she’s the perfect fit as the Rotary Club’s new president.

“It’s about all of that and building relationships that will last forever,” she says. “As a Rotarian, you could go to another country, call a meeting, and get invitations for tours across the city. It’s the biggest community that I’ve ever encountered. It’s an honour to take the reins as the Rotary Club of Huntsville’s president.”

Jennifer loves to travel and isn’t one of those people who thinks the world is small. It’s huge and vast and there’s so much to see and do and cultures to learn. She’s been to Italy, Scotland, Australia, Hawaii and will be visiting Ireland in September. Sure, it’s nice to do the tourist stuff, but Jennifer likes “to get right in there with the locals.”

Jennifer will tie the knot next year with her loving man Brent Finn. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Jerrett).

And when she’s not working or lending a hand to all the charitable organizations she’s involved with, Jennifer loves to pick up a camera. You only get one chance to “capture the moment” she says, and that’s what she loves about it. There’s something to be said for sitting on the dock looking at the water or sitting at restaurant taking it all in.

“Life goes by so quickly,” she says. “I think it’s important to just stop and take it all in.”

Check out Jennifer being inducted as the Rotary Club of Huntsville’s new president here.

(A special thanks to Doppler publisher Liz Rice for suggesting this week’s extraordinary person!)