Like most people from my generation, I was born at a young age. After that, I grew up in the small Village of Shepherd, home of the Maple Syrup Festival, where I participated in almost every extracurricular activity available.
I moved to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan. My undergraduate studies were architecture, with a side of marching band, and my graduate studies were urban planning. Don’t tell my mom, but I also nearly got additional masters degrees in urban design and behavior and the environment (applied cognitive psychology).
After school, I moved back home to help out with some family issues. I wasn’t able to work, at first, but once some of the adventures settled down, I worked several seasons at the City of Mt Pleasant in the parks department where I was in charge of general maintenance of the city cemetery (Riverside Cemetery) and the adjacent park (Nelson Park).
While there, I was appointed to serve on the Village of Shepherd Planning Commission. I also worked with the Mt Pleasant Community Development office to develop a plan to revise the City’s main commercial strip, Mission Street. I cleverly titled that project “Mission Revision.” If you visit there and see all of the brick walls along the street, that’s because of me.
My first professional urban planning job took me to northeast Indiana. I was in charge of a four-person department that reviewed zoning permits, conducted code enforcement, and prepared materials for the plan commission and board of zoning appeals. As only the second person to work there with a background in planning, there were a lot of opportunities to develop processes and pursue innovation. I was appointed to serve on the City of Angola Historic Preservation Commission and volunteered as a board member of the 101 Lakes Land Trust.
After a couple of years there, it was time for a change; my wife and I wanted to live in a place with a higher quality of life. We packed our things up and moved to Ann Arbor. Moving like that without a job waiting for you is both exciting and frightening. I got a job as a claymonger (clay production technician) with Rovin Ceramics, the clay making part of Motawi Tileworks.
My next urban planning position was serving as the Director of Planning and Zoning at Dexter Township. I oversaw the ordinance officer, summer planning intern, reviewed site plans, reviewed and issued zoning permits, prepared staff reports for the Township Board, Planning Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals, and drafted an entirely new zoning ordinance from scratch.
Recently, I have worked as a zamboni operator/shift manager at Vets Ice Arena and the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. (It is literally one of the coolest jobs to have in summer time!) I am also a certified USA hockey official.
My wife and I bought our home in the old village in 2013, after an extensive search of all of the communities in the area. (Dexter by choice!) Much of our free time since then has been spent working on our house. We still have a bunch of outdoor work to do and have just started on the landscaping, so pardon our dust if you stop by.
We do not have any children, but we have hosted three foreign exchange students. (You should give it a try too!) Right now, we have a furry kiddo, our fun-sized labrador named Wally (Wallace for formal documents and when he’s done something mischievous).
So, that’s me in a nutshell.
I look forward to meeting you and continuing to serve you!