Contact:
Matt Bach
Michigan Municipal League
c: (810) 874-1073; [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 27, 2022
City Manager of Boyne City to Lead Statewide Association
Michael Cain Named President of Michigan Municipal Executives
TROY, Michigan – Michael Cain, the city manager for Boyne City, is the new president of the statewide association representing Michigan’s municipal managers.
Cain was selected as the 2022 president of the Michigan Municipal Executives (MME) during the organization’s annual Winter Institute, which took place Jan. 25-28 in Troy. Cain succeeds Battle Creek City Manager Rebecca Fleury, who now serves as immediate past president. Cain has spent the past year as the organization’s president-elect and served as vice president and as a board member.
“The MME has been a very important part of my professional career from its very beginning,” Cain said. “I am proud and honored to have been selected by my peers to have this opportunity to give back and serve this organization, that has given so much to me, as its president in the year ahead.”
Michael Cain has served as city manager of Boyne City since 2002 and has more than 38 years of municipal management experience, having previously worked for Grand Traverse County, Traverse City, Fenton, Wolverine Lake, Troy, and St. Johns.
In his year-long term as president, Cain plans to build on the ongoing work of the MME and its members to continue to evolve and grow the organization to meet the opportunities and challenges facing local governments of all types today.
Cain specifically thanked outgoing President Fleury and the whole MME Board for their outstanding work in continuing to implement the organization’s member engagement effort and strategic plan during a very challenging year. This includes following MME’s newly adopted mission: “MME works to provide members professional development, support their personal growth, and promote the municipal executive profession in Michigan. In service to its members and their communities, MME seeks to enhance management excellence, continuous improvement, and high ethical standards.”
“As we prepare to enter into the 100th year of our organization, we want to encourage more people to consider a rewarding career as a municipal executive, and more communities and governments to explore the benefits of adopting the professional management model. Visit our website at mme.org or contact your nearest professional local government executive for more information,” Cain said.
“Out of 280 cities in the state of Michigan, 234 have professional managers, as do many counties, villages and townships,” Cain added. “It is important that the leaders of these communities have an organization to serve their unique professional needs here in Michigan so they can better serve their communities and the citizens and businesses in them. The MME provides first-rate educational, information sharing, and networking opportunities to its members who must hold themselves to the high ethical standards of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).”
Cain is a member of the ICMA and has been active with MME for many years serving as a member of its board and several committees. He’s also been very active with the Michigan Municipal League serving on several committees and is a past member of its Board of Trustees.
He is currently on the board of Networks Northwest and served as the chairperson of the Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet County 911 Authority for several years.
Cain believes in and works hard to remove unnecessary organizational silos, and promoting collaboration and cooperation within and between organizations, communities, and people, all while looking for ways to say yes. He is the past president and current board member of the Boyne Valley Lions Club and is an Eagle Scout. Cain received his master’s in Public Administration from Michigan State University.
In addition to selecting Cain as president, the organization elected the following to serve new roles and terms on the board: President-Elect Christine Burns, Village Manager, Spring Lake; Vice President Christian Wuerth, Village Manager, Milford; Matthew Butts, Assistant City Manager, Grandville; Aaron Desentz, City Manager, Mt. Pleasant; Brad Kaye, City Manager, Midland; and Laura Lam, Assistant City Manager, Kalamazoo.
The MME membership thanked outgoing board members John Shay, Administrator, Ottawa County; Cameron Van Wyngarden, Township Manager, Plainfield; Dana Muscott, City Manager, Bay City; and Juan Ganum, City Manager, Bridgman, for their service.
For additional information, contact Matt Bach, assistant director of strategic communications for the Michigan Municipal League, at [email protected] and (810) 874-1073.