Retailers Mutual Board of Directors

Chair

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. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he is a former board member of the National Association of Music Merchants. He also serves on the Michigan Retailers board and was first elected to the Retailers Fund board in 1998.

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.

Secretary Treasurer

Jean Sarasin is executive vice president of Michigan Retailers Association and Retailers Mutual and also serves as secretary of the MRA board. She oversees the Association’s finance, membership and customer service areas and manages 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, senior vice president in 2001 and to her current position in 2008. She was first elected to the Retailers Mutual board in 1997.

Past Chair

Thomas Ungrodt is president and chief executive officer 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 NMU Foundation. He is a former chair of the Retailers Fund.

John K. Godfrey is past CEO of the former Godfrey Jewelers, Battle Creek, a family-owned jewelry business established in 1911. Mr. Godfrey is also an elected city commissioner and former mayor of Battle Creek and serves on the Battle Creek Unlimited Downtown Advisory Committee, the board of the Downtown Battle Creek Association and the Citizens Downtown Parking Advisory Committee. A graduate of Michigan State University, he is a former president of the Michigan Jewelers Association and was first elected to the Retailers Fund board in 1985.

Jeff Joyce is vice president and co-owner of Mieras Family Shoes, Grand Rapids. The fourth-generation, family-owned company has three stores, three mobile sales vans and a unit inside a major manufacturer. Mr. Joyce earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Western Michigan University and has spent more than 25 years working in the family business. He serves as a board member of Grand Rapids Christian High School and was first elected to the Retailers Mutual board in 2010.

Larry Meyer is retired chairman and CEO of Michigan Retailers Association. A graduate of North Central College in Illinois and the Northwood University MBA program, he is a former U.S. Navy officer and has received appointments from three Michigan governors, including director of the Michigan Department of Commerce. He served two terms on the Lansing City Council and was elected in 2009 to the Lansing Community College Board of Trustees. He also serves on the boards of Partnership for Learning and St. Vincent Catholic Charities. He is an original board member of Retailers Fund.

Rod Phillips is owner of Country Casuals, Petoskey, a small chain of year-round and seasonal ladies’ apparel stores located throughout northwest Michigan. He attended Michigan State University and worked as a commercial pilot before starting the retail business with his wife, Judy, in 1974. He serves as a member of the Petoskey Downtown Development Authority. Mr. Phillips was first elected to the Retailers Fund board in 1999.

Peter Sobelton is owner-partner in several retail property companies and the former owner of two retail businesses, Sundries Plus and Churchill’s Ltd. tobacco and gift stores in Birmingham. He is a past chair of the boards of MRA, Retailers Fund and Michigan Retailers Services, Inc. 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 currently serves on the board of the downtown Birmingham Principal Shopping District.