Sister Emmanuel Renner Award honors an alumna for her service to the College of Saint Benedict and recognizes her contributions as a leader, steward and volunteer to her alma mater.
Alumna Profile: his year’s winner of the Sister Emmanuel Renner Award is Annette Bouta Hendrick from the Class of 1971. Annette is a trailblazing telecommunications executive, community leader and lifelong steward of the Benedictine values that shaped her at Saint Ben’s.
She broke barriers throughout her career at Northwestern Bell:
- First female district manager
- First female division manager
- First female vice president of new product development at Bell Communications Research following the Bell system breakup
In 1978, she returned (while working full-time in St. Paul) and taught a night course: How to Be Successful in Business. Bennies benefited from her firsthand experience in management, and she thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to mentor young women navigating professional aspirations.
In 2006, she asked then-President MaryAnn Baenninger, “What is it you do to help these young women be prepared?” Baenninger grabbed that opportunity and invited Annette to step up and serve on the CSB Board of Trustees – from 2007-2016 – where she eventually served as chair of the Building and Grounds Committee.
She led efforts to establish the first comprehensive long-range facilities management plan with cost projections and budget alignment. As committee chair, she was also an important voice in bringing to life the recruiting and student-engagement benefits of building the Saint Ben’s Athletic Fields.
“The world isn’t the same as when I was here,” she says. So Annette continues to support and speak for a Saint Ben’s that truly prepares women for the future.