Michigan Retailers Association Board of Directors

Chair

Barb Stein is owner/operator of Great Northern Trading Co., Rockford, a specialty gifts and home décor store she opened in 1977. She is active in the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce and is chair of the Rockford Downtown Development Association, chair of the HEART of Rockford Business Association and member of the Rockford Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. A graduate of Peirce College in Philadelphia, she has served on the Michigan Retailers Services, Inc., board and was first elected to the MRA board in 2001.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Jim Hallan became president and CEO of Michigan Retailers Association in 2008 after serving as president and chief operating officer since 1989. He also serves as president and CEO of Retailers Mutual. He joined Michigan Retailers as general counsel in 1985. He serves as a member and former chair of the Board of Directors of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, as chair of the national Council of State Retail Associations and is a former member of the board of Fremont Insurance Company. A former assistant county prosecutor, he is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Detroit College of Law.

Vice Chair

Thomas Ungrodt is president and CEO of Ideation, Inc., Ann Arbor, a leading producer of marketing solutions for independent gift retailers across the nation. He also oversees three Michigan gift stores. A graduate of Northern Michigan University, he serves on the board of the Northern Michigan University Foundation. He also serves as chair of the Retailers Mutual board, previously served on the Michigan Retailers Services, Inc. board and was first elected to the MRA board in 2007.

Treasurer

Peter R. Sobelton is owner-operator of Sundries Plus, Troy, a chain of sundry stores and cafeterias in office buildings in Greater Detroit. He is a past chair of the MRA, Retailers Fund and Michigan Retailers Services, Inc. boards and past president of the Tobacconists Association of America. Mr. Sobelton holds an MBA in finance and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Wayne State University. He also serves on the Retailers Mutual board and was first elected to the MRA board in 1998.

Secretary

Jean Sarasin is executive vice president of Michigan Retailers Association and Retailers Mutual and also serves as treasurer and secretary of the Retailers Mutual board. She oversees Michigan Retailers’ 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 accounting fields and was named vice president of finance in 1990, senior vice president in 2001 and to her current position in 2008.

Past Chair

Joe Swanson is north metro Detroit district team leader for Target Corporation and is responsible for operations, profitability and human resources for 12 Target stores in Oakland and Macomb counties, with a total of 2,000 employees. A graduate of Michigan State University, he has been a member of the Target team for 25 years. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2001.

Becky Beauchine Kulka is owner of Becky Beauchine Kulka Diamonds and Fine Jewelry located in Okemos. Her community-focused store was selected Michigan Retailer of the Year in 2006 and named one of the “coolest” jewelry stores in the nation by Instore magazine in 2005. She also received the 2002 Entrepreneurial Award from the Greater Lansing Business Monthly. She serves as president of the Michigan Jewelers Association, is a former member of the Michigan Retailers Services, Inc. board and was first elected to the MRA board in 2011.

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 was established in 1948 and operates stores in Lansing, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Troy, West Bloomfield, Allen Park and Traverse City. He is a past member of the National Association of Music Merchants Board of Directors and currently serves as chair of the Retailers Mutual board. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2008.

Orin Mazzoni, Jr. is president of Orin Jewelers, Inc., a family-owned business with stores in Garden City and Northville. He is past president and current member of the Michigan Jewelers Association board, a member of the Garden City Downtown Development Authority and past Garden City Chamber of Commerce president and “Member of the Year.” A graduate gemologist of the Gemological Institute of America, Mazzoni is a former member of the Michigan Retailers Services, Inc. board and was first elected to the MRA board in 2007.

Joe McCurry, an executive with the furniture industry’s Dovetail Alliance, is retired 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. A former staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, he was educated at Governors State University and Husson College. He was first elected to the MRA board in 1997 and is a past board chair.

Larry Mullins is owner of Brandon Tire & Battery in Ortonville and a former district manager for General Tire. He is a former chair of both the MRA board and Michigan Retailers Services, Inc., past president of the Michigan Tire and Vehicle Service Association and a member of the National Tire Industry Association board. A graduate of Lawrence Technological University, Mr. Mullins is also past president of the North Oakland Chamber of Commerce. He was first elected to the MRA board in 1996.

R.D. (Dan) Musser lll is president of Grand Hotel, the historic 385-room hotel built in 1887 on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, and is responsible for its daily operations. Along with his sister, Mimi, he represents the third generation of Musser family ownership and operation of the world’s largest summer resort. A graduate of Albion College, Mr. Musser is extremely active in the hotel and tourism industries, as well as in state, local and nonprofit service organizations. Boards of directors on which he serves include the Mackinac Bridge Authority and Albion College.

John Smythe is retired 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. A graduate of Michigan State University, Mr. Smythe also has served on the boards of the American Red Cross and the Lansing Community College Foundation. He joined the MRA board in 2006.

James Walsh is retired chief financial officer of Meijer, Inc. and an adjunct professor of finance at Grand Valley State University. He joined the Grand Rapids-based retailer in 1992 after holding executive positions with Warehouse Club, Inc., Household Merchandising, Inc., and Jewel Companies, Inc., all in Illinois. He holds degrees from Loyola University in Chicago and Northwestern University. He is a member of the board of Catholic Charities West Michigan and the finance committee of Heart of Michigan United Way. He was named to the board in 2007 and elected in 2008.

Board Member Emeritus

D. Larry Sherman is retired president of the former Sherman Shoes, Inc., Birmingham. He is a former chairman of MRA, the former Retailers Fund and the National Shoe Retailers Association. A University of Michigan graduate, he was named “Business Person of the Year” by the Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce in 1992. More recently, he chaired the Michigan Retailers Foundation “Links to a Legacy” fund-raising campaign. He was first elected to the MRA board in 1982.