SAU Women in Leadership Conference

Living, Learning, Leading:

A Family Legacy Perspective from the Third Generation

Tricia (Merillat) McGuire

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Tricia (Merillat) McGuire, the youngest of three sisters, is an educator by trade, having spent ten years in the public school system as a teacher and developer of curriculum and assessment materials.

Tricia no longer teaches in a class-room, choosing instead to play an active role in her children’s lives by teaching them the Christian values in which she was raised. She volunteers as the Special Projects Director at Lenawee Christian School in Adrian, Michigan. Tricia also holds a board seat at Lenawee Christian Ministries and is Vice President of the Merillat Family Foundation. Tricia graduated from Anderson University with degrees in Education and Early Childhood Development. She also attended Eastern Michigan University where she earned her Master's degree in Education.

Tricia applies her Christian faith and family values when focus-ing on the continuation of a family legacy. As the granddaughter of Orville and Ruth Merillat, founders of Merillat Cabinetry, she was able to see the impact they had on the local community and the beginnings of the family legacy. As the daughter of Richard and Lynette Merillat, she was exposed to how a family legacy can be furthered. Now, with three children of her own, she is following in the footsteps of her parents and grandparents and accepting her role in the continuation of the family legacy beyond its current 60-year tenure.

Tricia is married to David McGuire, whom she met while in college at Anderson University, in Anderson Indiana. Following graduation, they both moved to Michigan where they started their careers, and later, their family. Tricia and David have three children - Vaughn (16), StellaRose (15), and EvelynViolet (13.5).

Meet Angel Kono!
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All about Angel. "As women, we wear multiple hats and I am no exception. In my 20's and 30's, my main roles were wife to Brian and mom to four great kids. As I shifted into career mode in my 40's, I spent a decade doing professional counseling and being an adjunct professor at SAU. Currently, I am shifting again into a pastoral role, but my favorite hat to wear remains the one that connects me to family--wife/mom/mom-in-law, and the best one of all, Gram!"
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Angels workshop will include how We live in a noisy world where we are 'hearing' all the time, but few of us take time to really 'listen' to those around us. We lead better when we listen better! Join me in exploring the concept of active listening as it applies to learning from those we lead and those who lead us.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out yesterday and to everyone who helped make this year’s conference a success! It was an amazing day filled with wonderful women, inspiring messages, good food, and lots of smiles. Can’t wait for next year!