Press Release: Wespath Announces 2023 Calkins and Lee Award Recipients
For Immediate Release
Contact: Julie Capozzi
Managing Director, Communications
(847) 866-4111
[email protected]
Glenview, IL – Wespath Benefits and Investments (Wespath) conferred two distinguished leadership awards for extraordinary service to The United Methodist Church (UMC) during its recent board of directors meeting in Houston, Texas.
Mr. Brent Williams, retired director of Administrative Services for the Indiana Annual Conference, was named the 2023 recipient of the Charles L. Calkins Award. The retired Reverend William (Bill) Wyman Jr., who served as treasurer of both the Western North Carolina Annual Conference and Rio Texas Annual Conference during his career, was named the recipient of the Clay F. Lee Award. The awards were presented by Wespath Board Life and Governance Committee Chairperson Rev. Tom Parkinson, and Wespath General Secretary Andy Hendren.
The Charles L. Calkins Award—Brent Williams
Established in 1988, the Charles L. Calkins Award recognizes an annual conference pension and health benefits administrator who, in partnership with Wespath, has provided exceptional service in the administration of pension and health benefits within The United Methodist Church. The award is named for Charles L. Calkins who served Wespath as associate secretary from 1938 to 1952 and as executive/general secretary from 1952 to 1964.
The nomination for Mr. Williams was read by Wespath Managing Director of Church Relations Dale Jones. Dale remarked about Brent’s many contributions over the years, including his “leadership and involvement in reconciling all the many differences between the previous South Indiana and North Indiana conferences [as they merged to become one Indiana Conference] and assuring clergy across both of these former conferences would be OK.” Brent later worked to refine the retiree benefits program in the Indiana Conference in a way that preserved benefits for retired clergy while improving longer-term sustainability of the programs.
Jim Berner, former conference treasurer and director of Administrative Services for the West Virginia Annual Conference, accepted the award on behalf of Brent, who was unable to attend the awards ceremony, and shared Brent’s acceptance remarks. In his remarks, Brent acknowledged not only his contributions highlighted by Dale but also his work to establish the Association of United Methodist Conference Pension and Benefits Officers (AUMCPBO), of which he was the first presider. Brent also referenced his work over 13 years to incentivize clergy contributions to their personal investment plans, so that by 2017 nearly 97% of clergy in the Indiana Conference were eligible to receive matching funds.
The Clay F. Lee Award—Rev. Bill Wyman
Established in 1999, the Clay F. Lee Award recognizes former directors of Wespath who have given exemplary service and visionary leadership in caring for the pension and health benefit needs of The United Methodist Church. The award is named for Bishop Clay F. Lee who served Wespath as a board member from 1980 to 1988 and as president from 1992 to 1996.
Rev. Wyman, who served on Wespath’s board of directors from 2001 to 2012, was nominated by Jim Berner, who also served on Wespath’s board from 2004 to 2016.
As part of his board of directors’ work, Bill served as chairperson for Wespath’s new building project, leading the work to envision, design and construct Wespath’s headquarters in Glenview. Wespath moved into its new headquarters in 2010. In presenting the award, nominator Jim Berner shared that Bill’s “vision, coupled with his knowledge and skill as a communicator, provided leadership to accomplish this unenviable task.”
Jim went on to highlight, “Bill’s core values were above reproach. His desire and passion to care for and serve the men and women, clergy and lay of the annual conferences he served was exemplary. He was a person that every board member should strive to emulate.”
In accepting the award, Bill commented that serving on the Wespath board was a “highlight of my professional career.” He went on to share how the board during his service had “the opportunity to think about things outside itself,” which resulted in efforts like the Central Conference Pensions program and extending Wespath services to more Methodist organizations.
About Wespath Benefits and Investments
Wespath Benefits and Investments (Wespath) is a not-for-profit agency that has been serving The United Methodist Church (UMC) for over a century. In accordance with its fiduciary duties, Wespath administers benefit plans and, together with its subsidiaries, including Wespath Institutional Investments, invests over $24 billion in assets on behalf of over 100,000 participants and over 100 United Methodist-affiliated institutions (as of December 31, 2022). Wespath invests in a sustainable manner that seeks to achieve positive financial, social and environmental impact while upholding the values of the UMC. Wespath maintains the largest reporting faith-based pension fund in the world. For additional information about Wespath Benefits and Investments, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.