Joe Swanson, Chair, is North Metro Detroit District Team Leader
for Target Corporation and is responsible for operations, profitability
and human resources for 11 Target stores in Oakland and Macomb counties,
with a total of 2,000 employees. He has been a member of the Target
team for 24 years. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2001.
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James P. Hallan, President and Chief Executive Officer, became
President and CEO in 2008 after serving as President and Chief Operating
Officer since 1989. He joined Michigan Retailers as General Counsel
in 1985. He is chair of the Board of Directors of Delta Dental Plans
of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana and a director of the Delta Dental Plan
Foundation. He also serves on the Association Advisory Council for Blue
Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and on the boards of the national Council
of State Retail Association Executives and the State of Michigan YMCA.
jhallan@retailers.com
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Barb Stein, Vice Chair, is owner/operator of Great Northern
Trading Co., Rockford, a specialty gifts and home decor store she opened
in 1977. She is Chairman of the Rockford Downtown Development Association
and serves on the Benefits Committee for the Rockford Area Chamber of
Commerce. She previously served on the Michigan Retailers Services,
Inc., board and was first elected to the MRA board in 2001.
greatnorthern@i2k.com
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D. Larry Sherman, Treasurer, is retired President of Sherman
Shoes, Inc., Birmingham. He is a former Chairman of MRA, Retailers Fund
and the National Shoe Retailers Association. He was first elected to
the MRA board in 1982.
dlssaba@aol.com
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Peter R. Sobelton, Past Chair, is owner/operator of Sundries
Plus, Troy, sundry stores and cafeterias in office buildings in Greater
Detroit. He is a former Chairman of Retailers Fund and Past President
of the Tobacconists Association of America. He was first elected to
the MRA board in 1998.
splus@sbcglobal.net
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Dan Marshall is President of Marshall
Music Company, one of the largest full-line music retailers in the
country. The Lansing-based, family-owned company operates stores in
Lansing, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Detroit and Traverse City. He serves
on the board of the National Association of Music Merchants and was
first elected to the Retailers Mutual board in 1998 and the MRA board
in 2008.
danmarshall@marshallmusic.com
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Orin Mazzoni Jr. is President of Orin
Jewelers, Inc., a family-owned business with stores in Garden City
and Northville. He is Past President of the Michigan Jewelers Association,
Vice Chairman of the Garden City Downtown Development Authority and
past Garden City Chamber of Commerce "Member of the Year."
He was elected to the MRA board in 2007.
orinjr@orinjewelers.com
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Joseph McCurry is vice president of The High Point Group and
retired District General Manager for Sears, Roebuck and Co., where he
was responsible for the Detroit district. Previously he served as a
store general manager for Sears in Illinois and Wisconsin. He was first
elected to the MRA board in 1997 and is a past board chair.
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Larry Mullins, is owner of Brandon
Tire & Battery in Ortonville. He is a former Chairman of Michigan
Retailers Services, Inc., a former President of the Michigan Tire and
Vehicle Service Association and a board member of the Tire Industry
Association. He was first elected to the MRA board in 1996.
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Jean Sarasin is MRA Executive Vice President and oversees the Association's
finance, membership and customer service areas as well as managing its
day-to-day operations. She joined MRA in 1981 after working in the banking
and bookkeeping fields and was named Vice President of Finance in 1990.
She was first elected to the MRA board in 2002.
jsarasin@retailers.com
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John C. Smythe is president and CEO of Michigan Commerce
Bank, an affiliate of Capitol Bancorp Limited, with offices in nine
Michigan communities. He previously was president of Capitol Bancorp’s
Great Lakes Region - East and president and CEO of Capitol National
Bank in Lansing. He is also chairman of the board of Amera Mortgage
Corporation. A graduate of Michigan State University, Mr. Smythe has
also served on the boards of the American Red Cross and the Lansing
Community College Foundation. He joined the MRA board in 2006.
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Thomas Ungrodt is President and CEO of Ideation, Inc.,
Ann Arbor, a leading producer of marketing solutions for independent
gift retailers. He is also owner of three Michigan gift stores and is
chair of the Northern Michigan University Foundation board of trustees.
He is a former chair of the Retailers Fund board and rejoined the board
in 2005, and he was elected to the MRA board in 2007.
tungrodt@aol.com
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James Walsh is a recently retired CFO of Meijer, Inc.
He joined the Grand Rapids-based retailer in 1992. He previously held
executive positions with Warehouse Club, Inc., Household Merchandising,
Inc., and Jewel Companies, Inc. all in Illinois. He was named to the
board in 2007.
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