Meet the Staff: Clarinda Herfst

Clarinda is our Assistant Director of Business Administration at Charis Camp & Conference Centre. 

Clarinda, what is your role @ Charis these days?
I take care of all the accounts receivable and payable, payroll, month end and anything to do with finances at the camp.  It’s kind of boring to describe but I love it.

How did you end up at Charis?
It all started with my husband Rick working here doing maintenance and telling me there was need in the kitchen. I didn’t know anything about camp at that point!  I started working here in the kitchen in 2010 with Morris Jalbert and Dan Wedel. The quote in those days was “try not to freak out” because something always seemed to go wrong. In 2012 Darren Duncalfe was helping out in the office and he asked me if I was interested in working in the office. I said yes, as long as I could keep driving my bus.  The camp was really struggling with maybe a booking a week so I sat in the office and prayed for more bookings. Summer camps only had 20-30 people in each. What a change in 6 years….we have to turn groups away and our Summer Camps have wait lists.

I love the community here, building relationships and I know this is where God wants me to be.  

Tell us about some of your favorite moments at Charis so far!
So many good memories here it can't be just one.

• It still really stands out to me that Dan Wedel made a huge sign in the kitchen for me that said “Try Not To Freak Out" and it hung in the kitchen for many years!!!
• The time Dan showed up with a frozen turkey at 11 am and we had to serve turkey dinner at 5 PM.
• The way that Morris drank everyone's coffee while working in the kitchen.
• When a certain young lady started showing up to "study" in Brian's office.
• When we had a small FIRE in the dining hall while 150 people were eating breakfast and we had to evacuate them and cook an entire new meal and then  all the staff sat outside and and had timmies and had the best time together!!
• The first time our camps sold out and we saw the lineup of people for registration and you just wanted to tear up but there was no time.
• The time Cristal and I had a girl day for all the female cabin leaders and just spend time with them.
• Every year when the Charis Adult Retreat is here new memories are made and they're one of my fave groups.
• Also I so fondly remember how excited Genevieve was about all the plants she had planted and had growing in her little green space and she drove me around the camp in the gator to show me everything.
• Oh, and I can't forget the time Brian made me a pink camp t shirt!!!  ​     

    I love that everyday when you get to work you just never know what could happen!!!

Wow, those are a lot of awesome memories!
What does life @Home look like for you?
I have 8 kids now and 2 beautiful grand-babies. Rick and I have been married 31 years. I was a baby when we got married.  Only two of our kids live at home now but everyone still drops in all the time. There were years where friends stayed with us and we had 3 kids packed into a bedroom...it's much quieter now.  In my free time I like playing with my grand-babies. We enjoy hiking, baking, playing games, having campfires and going camping with them! My kids just love coming home and hanging out together.

When I’m all alone I love to knit and do embroidery or curl up in bed and watch Netflix but that rarely happens.

FUN FACTS

• Growing up I always just wanted to get married and be a mom. I never thought I’d work
• I grew up in Holland. I moved to Edmonton in the middle of a snowstorm when I was 9 years old. It was the first time I had seen snow. None of us spoke English when we immigrated. I would love to visit Holland with Rick one day.
• We moved to Chilliwack because there was a larger Dutch community here.
• I have been bus driving for 25 years and used to bring all my kids with me in their car seats. I love it because of the kids; all my babies are on the bus!
• I just went back to school for Bookkeeping and Accounting; never thought that would happen

Thank you for sharing so many memories, Clarinda! And thank you for crunching the numbers at Charis for the team!

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What the team thinks is awesome about Clarinda:
Clarinda has a great sense of humor and a  heart to see people connected to one another and to God. She  is thoughtful and is good at noticing important details. She is always up for some fun. Clarinda adds to the office with her smile, warm welcome,  love for Jesus, essential oils and another essential-coffee! 

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