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At the Institute A New Chairman for the Board, and More Staff to Advance Our

Projects

1998 was a year of great milestones and exciting achievements for the Institute. Our membership grew to more than 1,400 families, organizations, businesses, and local governments. And we hired a number of talented and accomplished people to work tirelessly on your behalf. Also, Chairman Ted Curranhas passed the baton to Bob Sutherland. A Frankfort resident and former college president and diplomat with the U.S. State Department Ted helped oversee the Institute's expansion and brought new strength and structure to our internal management. He has the deepest gratitude of the staff and the Board, for guiding the Institute faithfully through 1997 and 1998 with his wisdom, graciousness, energy, and wit.

Ted Curran

Bob, a lifelong resident of Leelanau County and member of the Institute's board since 1997, is building with his wife Amy Sutherland one of the region's most innovative and successful small companies. Cherry Republic, a distributor of more than 20 different gourmet cherry products, is among the largest buyers and sellers of tart cherries in northern Michigan. Bob served as a Leelanau County Commissioner from 1992 to 1994. He is a board member of Friends of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, is on the steering committee of the N.W. Michigan Council of Governments Greenways Project, and sponsored an orchard preservation project that is managed by the Leelanau Conservancy. In 1996 he was instrumental in preventing the exchange of land owned by the Homestead Resort for a large parcel of public land in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Bob Sutherland

"As the Institute chairman, I'm hoping to really increase our membership, begin to utilize our board's talents more, and strengthen ties with other organizations in the state," said Bob. "I also want to help increase the public's participation in their government. That is where the Institute has shown that we can make a big difference." Bob is a graduate of Glen Lake High School and Northern Michigan University. He also has been active for 10 years with the Beach Bards Bonfire, a summertime storytelling and poetry group, where he leads the children's hour.

New Institute Staffers The new staff members hired last fall start with Deb Negri Jackson.She and her husband Dave Jackson were among the first members of the Michigan Communities Land Use Coalition (MCLUC), which later became the Institute. As an administrative assistant Deb now manages the Institute's database, responds to inquiries from members, and helps with bulk mailings and membership building. "Deb has actively supported the Institute since the beginning," said executive director Keith Schneider. "We knew there would be a place here for someone with her ability and warm personality. She's enthusiastic about everything we've asked of her, and as we expanded in 1998 we ended up asking quite a lot. Deb has really helped improve communications with members."

Deb Negri Jackson

Raised in Lansing, Deb earned an associate degree from C.S. Mott Community College in Flint, and a B.A. in Applied Liberal Studies from Western Michigan University in Lansing. She began her career as a typist and secretary for the Michigan Department of Social Services, then worked as an administrative assistant at the state Department of Corrections in Lansing. Before joining the Institute she managed records at the Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee. Deb and Dave live in Bear Lake. (continued on next page)