Larry Bridge, a former corporate financial executive who joined the Conference staff as controller in 2007, was elected as Conference Treasurer by members of the 2014 Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference. Bridge has been serving as interim treasurer since Patricia Morris retired in October, 2013.
"I am grateful to you for placing this significant trust in me," Bridge told the Conference members. "We will seek as a Conference Center staff to serve you to the best of our abilities so that we can move forward with our vision and mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformaton of the world."
Rev. Paul Ritchey, chair of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration (CFA), nominated Bridge after describing a thorough search process, conducted with the help of a consulting firm. As the process came to a close, Ritchey said, they realized that they already had an ideal choice with outstanding professional skills already on the staff.
During the process, six candidates selected by the human resources consulting firm were interviewed by representatives from the personnel team, Board of Pensions, Council on Finance and Administration and the Cabinet early in the week. After narrowing the field, they presented two candidates to CFA on April 24. Bridge was the unanimous choice.
An active member of Salem UMC in Wexford, Bridge has nearly 40 years of financial management experience working with multi-national corporations.
He worked for 27 years in finance at various levels for Westinghouse, including chief accountant, chief financial officer for one of the business units, and as vice president of investor relations for Westinghouse/CBS. After leaving that post he formed an investor relations consulting business with offices in New York and around the globe.
For 10 years, Bridge commuted weekly between New York City and his home in Pittsburgh before retiring to spend more time with his wife and family. He came out of retirement for a time to work with one of his sons in his business.
Bridge has served as chair of the administrative board, as well as other committees at Salem UMC. He also has been active in the community, serving on the Pine-Richland School Board, the Park and Recreation Board and the Pine Township Police Pension Board.