Wheeler Trustee Melissa Barton: Focusing on Operational Excellence
Melissa Barton, MBA, vice president at Gibbs Wire & Steel, translates the many hats she wears at work directly to service on the Board of Trustees.
“I’m involved in a lot of different functional areas on a daily basis at Gibbs. Wheeler is in a different business, but the elements of success and operational excellence are the same at both organizations. At Gibbs, we say, ‘plan, do, check, and adjust.’ That philosophy carries right over to how we need to look at the board operating at Wheeler.”
When she was first approached to serve by longtime trustee Bill Torres, the president and CEO of Gibbs, Barton said she took a critical look at what it meant to help lead a community organization of Wheeler’s scope and size.
“I knew the Wheeler name through our support of the Golf Classic, but when I learned more about the organization and what it does, I realized that I’d love to serve as a trustee,” she says. “I didn’t think I’d be the right fit at first; when you look at boards, they’re generally more seasoned executives, and I was on the earlier side of my career. But both Bill and Susan [Walkama] and the rest of the board were so welcoming, and more than happy to have different voices and views at the table.”
Making a difference locally also was appealing to Barton, both as a new parent and Connecticut resident.
“Greater Hartford is home to me, so knowing I could serve my local community mattered a great deal. I’ve been privileged in my life. I worked hard for what I have, but I never had to truly struggle. I never needed help with basic needs. With privilege comes a responsibility. That’s not lost on me, in what we do on the board, and what I want my children to see.”
In her role on the board, Barton has most recently been asked to chair the board’s governance committee, taking the reins from Jim Moylan.
“I’m carrying the torch forward,” she says. “Jim has done a great job thinking about board composition, strategy, and more. We’re looking at the nature of our meetings, the skillsets we have on the board, and, just as important, what we need. We have to keep pushing in those directions.”
Wheeler’s growth also necessitates the focus on operational success.
“Even when I look back at the past four years, there’s been so much new. Incredible growth and the need for services in New Britain and Waterbury, for example. I think we have so much more to do, and in Bristol, I’m excited about the future possibilities downtown.”
“I think it comes down to how we can serve our populations as we all recover from COVID. I believe we’re coming out of it, but so many people lost jobs, family, friends, routines, and normalcy. We’re not going to be straight back to normal. I want Wheeler to be a household name in how we can serve the state with our integrated care model well into that recovery.”
