Spokane businessman Chud Wendle, who has worked as an auto dealership executive, real estate broker, and most recently as district director for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, has been named the new executive director of the Hutton Settlement Children’s Home here.

Wendle will succeed Michael Butler, who has been working at the children’s home for 29 years, including the last 21 years as administrator, and plans to retire in November. He will start in July, working alongside Butler until Butler’s retirement, and will be just the fifth administrator at the children’s home, which was founded in 1919 by Levi Hutton.

Wendle says he’s excited to take over the top executive position at an organization that aligns closely with his personal passions and that he became familiar at a young age.

“My mom was on the (Hutton Settlement) board for over 35 years, so oftentimes I would be on campus playing with the kids who were out there,” he says, adding that he “just watched through her eyes as she grew in her service” to the organization.

Hutton Settlement is a nonsectarian, social-service nonprofit dedicated to nurturing, educating, and preparing children who are in need of a healthy home. On its website, it describes its vision as being to use excellence in residential care and family engagement “to empower each child to lead an independent and fulfilled life of value and contribution.”

The Hutton Settlement campus is located in Spokane Valley, just off the intersection of Upriver Drive and Argonne Road, and includes four large homes on about 320 acres of land. The organization also maintains an administrative office on the ninth floor of the downtown U.S. Bank Building, at 422 W. Riverside.

It has an annual budget of $1.8 million, employs 27 people, and serves about 32 children per year ranging in age from five to 18, says Kelly Green, its director of community relations and communications. It’s privately endowed, and therefore isn’t dependent on government funding for support. It doesn’t turn children away because of a parent’s or family’s inability to contribute financially. It’s not receiving financial reimbursement for many of the children currently living there, but it asks for contributions of up to $200 a month from those who are able to pay, Green says.

Hutton Settlement describes itself as an option for children in need of long-term care. Placements may last for as little as one year, or a child may continue to live there through high school. Referrals come from parents, grandparents, family members, case managers, therapists, educators, and other child welfare advocates.

Hutton Settlement is governed by a 21-member, all-woman board whose members come from a variety of backgrounds, Green says.

Dr. Leanne Ager, board president, couldn’t be reached for comment, but said in a press release that Wendle “is uniquely equipped with the necessary skills and passions to lead us into the future.”

Wendle has been serving as McMorris Rodgers district director for about two years and says he will leave that post at the end of May. Before that, he worked as a residential and commercial broker for Coldwell Banker Tomlinson in Pullman, Wash., from 2008 to 2014 and as president of family-owned Wendle Motors from 1999 to 2007.

His real estate experience also included partnering with John Stejer in Northtown Square LLC, which developed the Northtown Square shopping center. It opened seven years ago at 4727 N. Division, across Division Street from NorthTown Mall, on the former location of the Wendle Ford auto dealership.