Contact:
Jessica Weirauch
Michigan Municipal League
[email protected], 734-669-6311
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 16, 2024
Ann Arbor, Mich. — Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Don Gerrie was named to serve as the League’s Board of Trustees president for the 2024–25 term. Gerrie has served on the 20-member board since 2021 and as vice president for the 2023–24 term, where he worked alongside Monroe Mayor Robert E. Clark, who served as president.
“I am really excited for Don Gerrie to be the next board president,” said Clark. “He brings a lot of experience and exposure from his position as the mayor of Sault Ste. Marie. He will be a representative of the Upper Peninsula. I think it shows the entire state that we are united and must have representation statewide. Don is a great guy, and he is here based on all his past successes and his leadership here on the board.”
Gerrie was selected to serve this role during the 2024 Convention on Mackinac Island. The board also elected Lapeer Mayor Pro Tem Joshua Atwood to serve as vice president. Atwood is in line to become president in 2025–26.
Gerrie was elected as mayor in 2019–24. He previously served as city commissioner from 2007 to 2019. He was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, graduating from Sault Area High School and Skill Center. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration/accounting from Alma College and attended MBA courses at Lake Superior State University.
Gerrie has worked as area director for the USDA Rural Development since 2003 and previously worked in banking for 12 years. He is an advocate for community service, with his personal philosophy “service is the price you pay for the space you occupy.” Gerrie has volunteered to serve and held leadership positions on the board of directors for many local organizations that have a positive impact on his community, including Sault Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way of the EUP, Sault Historic Sites, Northern Transitions, Presbyterian Church Trustees and the Sault Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
His wife, Jaimee, is an associate professor of nursing at Lake Superior State University and has a legal nurse consulting business. They have always enjoyed outdoor activities on Lake Superior in the summer and watching their kids play hockey every winter and now seeing their first grandchild grow up.
“I am excited about the community wealth building concepts that the League is working to advance and is working together with its members on,” said Gerrie. “I come from a small community, work with rural communities and know the challenges we face. I am interested to learn about the challenges larger communities face, and how we can work together to move forward.”
The League’s membership also selected five new members to join the 2024–25 board during its annual business meeting held at Convention. The new members are Bridgman City Manager Juan E. Ganum, Berkley Councilmember Dennis Hennen, Zeeland Mayor Kevin Klynstra, Marquette City Manager Karen Kovacs and Ferndale Mayor Raylon Leaks-May.
They join Gerrie, Atwood and other volunteers who remain on the board: Wayland Mayor Jennifer Antel, Greenville City Manager George M. Bosanic, Troy Councilmember Rebecca Chamberlain-Creanga, Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley, Harper Woods Mayor Valerie Kindle, Farmington Mayor Joe LaRussa, Rogers City Mayor Scott McLennan, Grandville Councilmember Joshua Meringa, Pontiac Deputy Mayor Khalfani Stephens, Hastings Mayor David J. Tossava, Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington, Detroit Director of Government Affairs Stephanie Grimes Washington and Lake Isabella Village Manger Tim Wolff.
The League’s executive Director and CEO Dan Gilmartin thanked the outgoing trustees for their service: Monroe Mayor Robert E. Clark, L’Anse Village Manager Robert LaFave, Mason City Manager Deborah Stuart and Holland City Manager Keith Van Beek.
For additional information, contact the League’s Jessica Weirauch, Director, Marketing and Communications, at 734-669-6311 or [email protected].
Michigan Municipal League is dedicated to making Michigan’s communities better by thoughtfully innovating programs, energetically connecting ideas and people, actively serving members with resources and services and passionately inspiring positive change for Michigan’s greatest centers of potential: its communities. The League advocates on behalf of its member communities in Lansing, Washington, D.C. and the courts; provides educational opportunities for elected and appointed municipal officials and assists municipal leaders in administering services to their communities through League programs and services. Learn more at mml.org.
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