MHSAA News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Dec. 14, 2007
Contact: John Johnson or Andy Frushour
517.332.5046 or www.mhsaa.com
Three New Members Elected To Representative Council;
Officers Chosen For 2007-08
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Dec. 14 – Elections were recently completed to fill positions on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s legislative body, its Representative Council, and three new members will be joining the board to replace retiring individuals.
Rudy Godefroidt, superintendent for Hemlock Public Schools, was chosen to a position representing junior high/middle schools. Kristen Isom, athletic director of Adrian Madison High School, was elected to a seat representing Class C and D schools in the southeastern section of the state. Robert “Chip” Hansen, superintendent of East Jordan Public Schools, was picked to represent Class C and D schools in the northern section of the Lower Peninsula.
Godefroidt’s and Isom’s positions are for two years, while Hansen will serve for one year to complete the term of a position vacated in mid-term.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities; and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee. The Council meets three times annually, and five members of the Council convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools.
Four other Council members were reelected to two-year terms during balloting conducted during the fall. Ken Dietz, athletic director at Watervliet High School, was chosen again to represent Class C and D schools in the southwestern section of the state. Lafayette Evans, director of athletics for Detroit Public Schools, will again represent the City of Detroit. Dan Flynn, teacher/coach at Escanaba High School, was reelected to a position serving Class A and B schools in the Upper Peninsula. Karen Leinaar, athletic director of Benzie Central High School, was voted to a statewide at-large position.
At its annual fall meeting on November 30 in East Lansing, the Representative Council chose its officers for the 2007-08 term. James Derocher, superintendent of Negaunee Public Schools, is the new president of the Council. Keith Eldred, dean of students at Williamston High School, was reelected as vice president. Vic Michaels, director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, is the new secretary-treasurer.
Additional elections took place during the fall to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. Donald Gustafson, principal at St. Ignace LaSalle High School, was chosen to represent Class C schools. Catherine Shamion, superintendent of Ewen-Trout Creek Consolidated Schools, will serve Class D schools. Thomas Smith, superintendent of Escanaba Area Public Schools, was elected to a Class A and B schools position.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,600 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.
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AT&T, Farm Bureau Insurance Henry Ford Health Systems and MEEMIC Insurance Company
are year-round MHSAA Corporate Partners
