Energy, dedication and a willingness to help
Teresa Black Hughes wasn’t old enough to drink at her first office Christmas party. In the 30 years that ensued, she’s witnessed the rise and fall of rates, real estate, and personal fortunes, all of which have left an indelible mark, strongly influencing her understanding of client needs.
She’s also witnessed the industry’s transformation over the years – presiding over it, in fact. Black Hughes was elected to her first Canadian Association of Financial Planners (CAFP, now Advocis) position in 2001, and appointed to chair the association’s national board of directors in 2007.
As chair, her name has appeared on association submissions to government and regulators. She introduced the associations’ new president and CEO (Greg Pollock), and stood at the board’s helm in 2008, encouraging Canadians to remain calm and speak with their financial advisors, as global markets slid into turmoil.
If we can see there is work we can do, and we do it, I think we will surprise ourselves about what can be accomplished.
The experience, she says, is not one of warm and fuzzy memories, but is still, nonetheless, one she is glad to have gone through.
During her career, Black Hughes has moved from positions of wholesaler service to agents in British Columbia, into financial planning, more than 20 years ago. She grew that advisory business and became partner, before joining Rogers Group Financial in 2012.
In other incarnations as a board member and chairperson, she’s served with two Chambers of Commerce, on the board of the British Columbia Christian Academy – playing an instrumental role in the school’s move away from near bankruptcy – and today serves on the board of Union Gospel Mission, most recently as chair for the last three years.
The school is a telling example of the energy she brings to her respective tasks, and gives some insight into her way of thinking, as well.
“We paid our tuition, and we loaned the school money, because I thought that’s what parents do,” she says. It was only in the meetings that followed that she realized the school, scheduled to move into a new location in only a few months, was actually bankrupt.
When someone asked if she knew anything about financial statements, Black Hughes got involved, spending almost three months at night, reconstructing almost four years of the school’s financial records. “My own lawyer counseled me against it, but I could see it was a problem that really needed somebody to stay long enough to figure it out.”
Her energy and dedication in the period that followed, in turn attracted four new board members who helped carry the school through that period.
“They said, if anybody is going to put in that kind of time, I want to be on the board with that person,” she says.
“Hard work matters. I don’t do it for accolades, I do it because I know I’m doing the right thing. I only sat on that board for two years and a bit longer, and I had done my part. That school continues on today, 20 years later. If we can see there is work we can do, and we do it, I think we will surprise ourselves about what can be accomplished.”
