MHSAA Building Named for Retiring Director
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 26, 2018
To recognize 32 years of leadership and service to Michigan educational athletics, the MHSAA Representative Council has named its home office in East Lansing after longtime Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts, who will retire in August.
The dedication of the “John E. ‘Jack’ Roberts Building” was approved by the Council during its Spring Meeting, May 6-7 in Gaylord, with the fabrication and assembly of the lettering financed by several private donations.
The building, located at 1661 Ramblewood Drive in East Lansing, opened as headquarters for the Association on January 3, 1997. The 20,000-square-foot, two-story facility houses MHSAA staff offices and resources including a publications library, plus multiple conference spaces frequently used to host meetings not only for MHSAA business but by leagues, coaches associations and other groups joining people from across the state.
Roberts, who announced his retirement April 24, will conclude his tenure next month as the second-longest serving full-time executive director during the MHSAA’s 94-year history. He is the fourth person to serve that leadership role full time, following Charles E. Forsythe (1931-42, 1945-68), Allen W. Bush (1968-78) and Vern L. Norris (1978-86). Roberts currently is also the nation’s longest-serving executive director of a state high school athletic association.
“This is an entirely unexpected honor,” Roberts said, “and while I am proud of the building, I’m even prouder of the people who have worked in it.”
The metallic lettering announcing the building’s name was designed by Image360 of Brighton and placed on the façade at the center of the building below the large MHSAA logo facing the property’s parking lot.
John Peckham, then of Martin Property Development of East Lansing, oversaw the original Ramblewood project. The building was designed by Keystone Design and built by Granger Construction.
Prior to the move to its current offices, the MHSAA was housed at 1019 Trowbridge Road in East Lansing from 1976-96. The MHSAA moved to the Trowbridge location from a downtown Lansing office it had leased since 1958.
With his retirement upcoming, Roberts also will leave the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Board of Directors later this week during the Summer Meeting in Chicago. He also will conclude an extended term as board chairperson of the NFHS Network. Roberts previously served as an assistant director for the National Federation from 1973-80 and came to the MHSAA in the fall of 1986 from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which he served as executive vice president.
Assistant Director Mark Uyl was chosen by the Representative Council in May to succeed Roberts as MHSAA executive director.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 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 more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
Ross Named Broadcast & Media Coordinator
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 19, 2021
Jon Ross, bringing vast experience in video production and after working both as television media and in media relations, has been added to the Michigan High School Athletic Association staff as broadcast & media coordinator, a role in which he’ll focus primarily on video production, day-to-day efforts by the MHSAA Network and other communications duties.
Ross, who began at the MHSAA in late December, is taking on many of the duties formerly handled by John Johnson, who retired Dec. 18 after 33 years as communications director and then director of broadcast properties.
Ross’s variety of past experiences already have served the MHSAA well during his first weeks in his new position. In addition to generating “This Week in High School Sports” played on more than 100 radio stations statewide and the “MHSAA Minute” produced weekly with State Champs! Sports Network, Ross stepped in almost immediately to direct MHSAA Network broadcasts of Fall playoffs that were restarted in January and worked with FOX Sports Detroit for its production of the 8 and 11-Player Football Finals during Jan. 16 and Jan. 22-23, respectively.
“Jon has been a wonderful addition to our team,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “His background in video production will serve the MHSAA well, and he’s done an outstanding job jumping in mid-stream with our Final fall tournaments being completed in January followed by an immediate move to winter events. Jon is a terrific addition to the MHSAA team.”
Ross began his media career in June 1999 at the first of three television sports department stops, a string that concluded with his tenure as a reporter and anchor from 2002-05 for WILX in Lansing.
Most recently, Ross served from Feb. 2018 until this past December as a communications representative and senior editor for the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, for which he helped manage development of statewide campaigns including “Click It Or Ticket” and “Drive Sober, Get Pulled Over.” In addition to content creation, Ross worked in media relations including as occasional spokesperson for the OHSP, along with managing budgets and execution of federally-funded campaigns and serving as chairperson of the 2019 Michigan Traffic Safety Summit which drew nearly 500 attendees.
At the MHSAA, Ross’s responsibilities also will include providing content for the Association’s websites including the fan-focused Second Half, managing MHSAA.tv and eventually media credentialing and other on-site communications functions at MHSAA events.
“My time working in sports never seemed like work, and I’m excited for the opportunity to be part of what the MHSAA is building as it continues to expand coverage especially with video and other digital ventures,” Ross said. “I’ve known John Johnson going back to my time in the media, and I can appreciate even more now the work he did in making the MHSAA a national leader in promoting school athletics. I hope my experiences will help us build on what he created as we continue to engage more with our schools and specifically athletes, coaches, officials and families to tell our story.”
Ross was born in Escanaba and is a 1995 graduate of Saginaw Heritage High School and 1999 graduate of Michigan State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with specialty in kinesiology.