New Member to join MHSAA Rep Council

October 15, 2012

Elections were completed recently to fill positions on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s legislative body, its Representative Council, and one new member was among those selected.

Reese athletic director Dave Derocher will join the council to represent Class C and D schools in the northern section of the Lower Peninsula. He was elected to a two-year team, as were seven others who were re-elected and will begin terms during the council’s fall meeting.

Saginaw Heritage athletic director and assistant principal Peter Ryan will continue to represent Class A and B schools in the Lower Peninsula’s northern section, Buchanan athletic director Fredrick Smith will continue to represent Class A and B in the southwestern section, and Brighton athletic director John Thompson will continue to represent Class A and B in the southeastern section. Negaunee superintendent James Derocher will continue to represent Class C and D schools in the Upper Peninsula.

Grand Haven assistant superintendent Scott C. Grimes was re-elected to a statewide at-large position, and Clare Middle School principal Steve Newkirk was re-elected to represent junior high and middle schools. Vic Michaels, director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, will continue to represent private and parochial schools.

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.

Additional elections took place to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. St. Ignace superintendent Donald Gustafson was chosen to represent Class D schools. Michael Berutti, who serves as principal, athletic director and football coach at Iron River West Iron County High School, was elected to represent athletic coaches.

Gwinn Nickname Featured by NFHS

September 24, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

It can be said that Gwinn is a model town when it comes to choosing a unique high school nickname.

The small Upper Peninsula community is the only one in Michigan with the school nickname Modeltowners, inspired by its birth as an iron mining community just more than a century ago.

Gwinn’s nickname was detailed as part of an “Unusual Nicknames” feature in this month’s edition of “High School Today” published by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The full report is below.