MEHco President Nominated "Woman of Distinction"

Susan Munro had been nonminated for the category of Entrepreneur as part of the YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Distinction for 2007.  Susan, or Sue to those who know her, is a woman who, through vision, determination and hard work has made an ‘encroachment’ into the world of optical disc production and brought that technology to Edmonton .

Sue enrolled in the Electronic Publishing program at the Westerra Institute of Technology in Stony Plain.  Tapping in on a creative energy she didn’t know she had and an enthusiasm that grew daily, Sue did well in her program and graduated with honours as the first to be formally trained in digital design and publishing.  The class hit the job market and were in high demand.  As a single Mom of two children - Girl Fallon and Boy Cody - she recognized she needed to make a good income and still be available to her family, Sue immediately started her own business, Munro Design and worked both from home and on-site; her reputation and client list quickly grew.

Perhaps it was the late nights, the long hours or just the pure success of what she was doing that inspired her and gave her the confidence to take one more leap, but this would be a big one and would risk everything she had built as a marketing and communications professional in visual and digital design over the past 18 years. 

In 1999 Sue began looking into the world of disc manufacturing.  She toured trade shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles looking for the right equipment at the right price.  With an outstanding business plan and the bank behind her, Sue bought the specialized equipment she’d need from China and in 2001 MEHco Inc. was born.  This was it, the opportunity to bring the relatively unknown skill and technology of disc reproduction to not only Edmonton but to cenral Canada .  A shop was set up in Edmonton ’s west end, more equipment and computers were bought, staff were hired, specially trained and the work began.

Her goal was simple and her expectations high, to become the leading designer, producer and duplicator of customized, high quality optical discs for business, entertainment, software and education sectors in central Canada and northwest United States .  Sue has reached that goal and her work continues today as Sue is the only woman in North America who owns and operates a reproduction facility such as this.  Her accomplishments in creating a thriving, strong business have made her a leader and expert in the industry.

With MEHco’s success, Sue saw opportunities to share the technology and success of MEHco to provide a service to her community.  Success on Tracks was created as a fundraising initiative with a unique twist.  Success on Tracks joins the talents of indendent musicians with Sue’s talent for creating and marketing CDs.  Musicians donate original tracks to the program and Success on Tracks makes that audio library available to the voluntary sector. Organizations looking for fundraising initiatives can then select from these tracks to custom create audio CD packages of great independent artist talent in trade for donations.  Success on Tracks opens doors for artists, exposes the talent of independent Musicians to the entertainment industries and helps raise money for charities, internationally – what an idea!

When Sue talks about MEHco or Success on Tracks, her face lights up.  She shares that excitement with other women as a member of the Alberta Women Entrepenuer Association and also with Digital and Interactive Media Design students at NAIT, SAIT and Grant MacEwan as a regular guest speaker.  Sue shares her knowledge of the industry but also challenges students to think outside the box and look at the possibilities.

Sue has not only made her business a success but she has brought this technology to central Canada , leadership in business and opportunities to Albertans. A real woman of distinction.