Michigan Municipal League Convention 2021
The Michigan Municipal League’s 2021 Convention is taking place this week in Grand Rapids, Sept. 22-24, 2021 with more than 400 municipal officials from throughout the state attending. Numerous safety protocols and precautions related to COVID-19 were put in place in an effort to make the in-person event safe for attendees, guests, and League staff. The Convention is the League’s premiere annual event and it was the first in-person Convention since 2019 due to the pandemic. The Convention focused on Community Wealth Building and Trust and Belonging. The League defines community wealth building as strategies that build community and individual assets, creating resilient and adaptable systems to address social and economic needs.
Our community wealth building pillars are tied together by two things: trust and belonging. An essential part of any community, trust and belonging represents inclusive, supporting communities where every member feels proud of where they live. The League will work with our partners to provide thought leadership, training, advocacy, resources, and best practices to build community wealth. The six pillars of Community Wealth Building are arts and culture, sustainability, public health and safety, financial security, infrastructure, and lifelong learning. All education sessions, local educational tours, and related events were tied to Community Wealth Building and those pillars.
During the event, League members also will select the 2021 Community Excellence Award (CEA) winner, the 2021-22 MML Board President and Vice President, and the new members for the MML Board of Trustees.
For the annual CEA competition there are four finalists among 25 communities entries this year – a record since the program began in 2007. The four finalists with links to their projects are Delta Charter Township – Delta and Lansing township’s Waverly Pathway; East Lansing – The Daytime, Nighttime, Anytime, Place Project; Rochester Hills – Reimaging, Reinventing, and Renewing Auburn Road; and Sterling Heights – REcreating Recreation in Sterling Heights. League members attending the Convention will hear presentations from officials from the four communities and then vote for their favorite project. The winner will be announced Friday, Sept. 24, at the conclusion of the Convention.
View all the details of this year’s Convention, which session topics and issues, here: Michigan Municipal League Home Page (mml.org).
This year’s planned speakers, moderators, and educational tour guides are: League President William Wild, mayor of Westland; Teresa Lynn Weatherall Neal, President and CEO of LEAD 616, a leadership development company; Rosalynn Bliss, Mayor, Grand Rapids; Sheri Welsh, Pres. & CEO, Welsh & Associates; Bobby Hopewell, Pres. & CEO, Mobile Health Resources, Former Mayor, Kalamazoo; Mark Washington, City Manager, Grand Rapids; Deb Stuart, City Manager, Mason; Tim Dempsey, Vice President, Public Sector Consultants; Craig Searer, Executive Director, ArtPrize; Katie Moore Exhibitions Manager, ArtPrize; Mark Miller, Managing Director of Planning and Design Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.; Lynée Wells, Founder & CEO, Aligned Planning; Andrew Moore, Executive & Planner, Williams+Works; Christopher Germain, Senior RRC Planner, MEDC; Roberto Valdez, Village President, Blissfield; ohn Schrier, Attorney, Parmeter Law; Robert La Fave, Village Manager, L’Anse; Minya Irby, Cooper Irby Brewster Professional Services; Theresa Rosado Nanasy, Owner, Casa de Rosado Galeria; Ryan Soucy, Senior Economic Development and Community Planner, Central Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Regional Commission; Marilyn Vlach, Treasurer, Central Neighborhood, Traverse City; Jamiel Robinson, Founder/CEO Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses; Ana Jose, Program Manager, Transformando West Michigan; Minya Irby, Agency Principal, Cooper Irby Brewster Professional Services; Eric Hufnagel, Mayor, St. Johns; Executive Director, Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness; David Anderson, ISK’s Director of Housing; Member of Kalamazoo County Public Housing Commission; Mayor of Kalamazoo; Lyn Raymond, Director of the Lakeshore Housing Alliance at Greater Ottawa County United Way; Kathy Winczewski, Councilmember, Ludington; Dr. Timothy Scarlett, Associate Professor of Archaeology, Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University; Veronica Paiz, Councilmember, Harper Woods; John Willis, Chief Equity Officer, City of Jackson; Cardi DeMonaco, Jr., Councilmember, Eastpointe; Rob McCarty, Managing Partner, The Image Shoppe; Colleen Brown, Mayor, City of Montrose; Matt Naud, Resource Recycling Systems
Julie Staveland, MI Department of EGLE; Amy Tweeten, City of Petoskey; Mike Coyne, Account Executive, Dewpoint; Mike McGowan, Systems Engineer, Dewpoint; Ross Gavin, Councilmember, Berkley; Linh Song, Councilmember, Ann Arbor; Eric Hufnagel, Mayor, St. Johns; Executive Director, Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness; Ryan Kilpatrick, Executive Director, Housing Next (Ottawa County); Yarrow Brown, Executive Director, Housing North (Northwest Lower Peninsula); Rock Abboud, President Pro Tem, Beverly Hills; Steve Robbins, Founder and Owner of S.L. Robbins & Associates; Sean Beckman of Professional Rower Services; John J. Gillooly, Attorney, Garan Lucow Miller; Nick Curcio, Attorney, Curcio Law Firm; Leslie Dickinson, Attorney, Foster Swift; Stephanie Adams, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks; Amy Brower, Executive Director, Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association; Ryan VerWys, President & CEO Inner City Christian Federation, Grand Rapids; Jan van der Woerd, Vice President, Real Estate Development & Management, Inner City Christian Federation; Robert LaFave, City Manager, Community Solar Array, City of L’Anse; Mark Vanderpool, City Manager, City of Sterling Heights; and Glenn Wilson, President & CEO, Communities First, Inc.
Also speaking were League staff Chris Hackbarth, director of state and federal affairs; John LaMacchia, assistant director of state and federal affairs; Shanna Draheim, Policy Development Director, Michigan Municipal League; Helen Johnson, MML Foundation; Jennifer Rigterink, Legislative Associate, Michigan Municipal League; and Herasanna Richards, Legislative Associate, Michigan Municipal League.
Michigan Municipal League Convention 2021
The Michigan Municipal League’s 2021 Convention is taking place this week in Grand Rapids, Sept. 22-24, 2021 with more than 400 municipal officials from throughout the state attending. Numerous safety protocols and precautions related to COVID-19 were put in place in an effort to make the in-person event safe for attendees, guests, and League staff. The Convention is the League’s premiere annual event and it was the first in-person Convention since 2019 due to the pandemic. The Convention focused on Community Wealth Building and Trust and Belonging. The League defines community wealth building as strategies that build community and individual assets, creating resilient and adaptable systems to address social and economic needs.
Our community wealth building pillars are tied together by two things: trust and belonging. An essential part of any community, trust and belonging represents inclusive, supporting communities where every member feels proud of where they live. The League will work with our partners to provide thought leadership, training, advocacy, resources, and best practices to build community wealth. The six pillars of Community Wealth Building are arts and culture, sustainability, public health and safety, financial security, infrastructure, and lifelong learning. All education sessions, local educational tours, and related events were tied to Community Wealth Building and those pillars.
During the event, League members also will select the 2021 Community Excellence Award (CEA) winner, the 2021-22 MML Board President and Vice President, and the new members for the MML Board of Trustees.
For the annual CEA competition there are four finalists among 25 communities entries this year – a record since the program began in 2007. The four finalists with links to their projects are Delta Charter Township – Delta and Lansing township’s Waverly Pathway; East Lansing – The Daytime, Nighttime, Anytime, Place Project; Rochester Hills – Reimaging, Reinventing, and Renewing Auburn Road; and Sterling Heights – REcreating Recreation in Sterling Heights. League members attending the Convention will hear presentations from officials from the four communities and then vote for their favorite project. The winner will be announced Friday, Sept. 24, at the conclusion of the Convention.
View all the details of this year’s Convention, which session topics and issues, here: Michigan Municipal League Home Page (mml.org).
This year’s planned speakers, moderators, and educational tour guides are: League President William Wild, mayor of Westland; Teresa Lynn Weatherall Neal, President and CEO of LEAD 616, a leadership development company; Rosalynn Bliss, Mayor, Grand Rapids; Sheri Welsh, Pres. & CEO, Welsh & Associates; Bobby Hopewell, Pres. & CEO, Mobile Health Resources, Former Mayor, Kalamazoo; Mark Washington, City Manager, Grand Rapids; Deb Stuart, City Manager, Mason; Tim Dempsey, Vice President, Public Sector Consultants; Craig Searer, Executive Director, ArtPrize; Katie Moore Exhibitions Manager, ArtPrize; Mark Miller, Managing Director of Planning and Design Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.; Lynée Wells, Founder & CEO, Aligned Planning; Andrew Moore, Executive & Planner, Williams+Works; Christopher Germain, Senior RRC Planner, MEDC; Roberto Valdez, Village President, Blissfield; ohn Schrier, Attorney, Parmeter Law; Robert La Fave, Village Manager, L’Anse; Minya Irby, Cooper Irby Brewster Professional Services; Theresa Rosado Nanasy, Owner, Casa de Rosado Galeria; Ryan Soucy, Senior Economic Development and Community Planner, Central Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Regional Commission; Marilyn Vlach, Treasurer, Central Neighborhood, Traverse City; Jamiel Robinson, Founder/CEO Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses; Ana Jose, Program Manager, Transformando West Michigan; Minya Irby, Agency Principal, Cooper Irby Brewster Professional Services; Eric Hufnagel, Mayor, St. Johns; Executive Director, Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness; David Anderson, ISK’s Director of Housing; Member of Kalamazoo County Public Housing Commission; Mayor of Kalamazoo; Lyn Raymond, Director of the Lakeshore Housing Alliance at Greater Ottawa County United Way; Kathy Winczewski, Councilmember, Ludington; Dr. Timothy Scarlett, Associate Professor of Archaeology, Department of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University; Veronica Paiz, Councilmember, Harper Woods; John Willis, Chief Equity Officer, City of Jackson; Cardi DeMonaco, Jr., Councilmember, Eastpointe; Rob McCarty, Managing Partner, The Image Shoppe; Colleen Brown, Mayor, City of Montrose; Matt Naud, Resource Recycling Systems
Julie Staveland, MI Department of EGLE; Amy Tweeten, City of Petoskey; Mike Coyne, Account Executive, Dewpoint; Mike McGowan, Systems Engineer, Dewpoint; Ross Gavin, Councilmember, Berkley; Linh Song, Councilmember, Ann Arbor; Eric Hufnagel, Mayor, St. Johns; Executive Director, Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness; Ryan Kilpatrick, Executive Director, Housing Next (Ottawa County); Yarrow Brown, Executive Director, Housing North (Northwest Lower Peninsula); Rock Abboud, President Pro Tem, Beverly Hills; Steve Robbins, Founder and Owner of S.L. Robbins & Associates; Sean Beckman of Professional Rower Services; John J. Gillooly, Attorney, Garan Lucow Miller; Nick Curcio, Attorney, Curcio Law Firm; Leslie Dickinson, Attorney, Foster Swift; Stephanie Adams, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks; Amy Brower, Executive Director, Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association; Ryan VerWys, President & CEO Inner City Christian Federation, Grand Rapids; Jan van der Woerd, Vice President, Real Estate Development & Management, Inner City Christian Federation; Robert LaFave, City Manager, Community Solar Array, City of L’Anse; Mark Vanderpool, City Manager, City of Sterling Heights; and Glenn Wilson, President & CEO, Communities First, Inc.
Also speaking were League staff Chris Hackbarth, director of state and federal affairs; John LaMacchia, assistant director of state and federal affairs; Shanna Draheim, Policy Development Director, Michigan Municipal League; Helen Johnson, MML Foundation; Jennifer Rigterink, Legislative Associate, Michigan Municipal League; and Herasanna Richards, Legislative Associate, Michigan Municipal League.