On retirements and celebrations

by Larry Meyer
MRA Chairman and CEO

A few weeks ago, MRA staff in Lansing met for a luncheon celebration of the retirement of Retha Lachance, who worked at the Association for nearly 19 years. It was delightful—a celebration of a wonderful woman and the relationships and commitment that made her the kind of employee every organization regrets losing, even though we are glad for what awaits her in retirement.

It was only the second retirement MRA had marked in the past decade, but not the last of this year. I, too, will retire at the end of this year—only 10 months (and eight Retailer issues) from now.

The tricky part about retiring from a statewide association like ours is that I count among my colleagues all you member businesses. I’ve visited some of you in your stores and spoken with many more of you as we worked on various initiatives. How can we mark the formal end of that relationship?

Our plan is a series of breakfasts, held in 24 cities around the state between April and September, to which we are inviting all members of the Association who can make the trip. We tried to pick cities that would be reasonable drives for most of you— including four U.P. stops, despite the relatively low concentration of members up north.

Dates and specific locations are still being finalized, but here is a list of cities included on my tour (in the approximate order of the breakfasts): Ann Arbor, Livonia, Battle Creek, Cadillac, Sault Sainte Marie, Marquette, Escanaba, St. Ignace, Birmingham, Wyandotte, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, Auburn Hills, Kalamazoo, Alpena, Traverse City, Port Huron, Holland, Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, Bay City or Saginaw, St. Joseph, Brighton.

We hope to publish the exact dates in the next issue. Watch also for an individual invitation to breakfast.

Please consider coming. Allow me the chance to thank you in person for your membership while we talk about retail issues of concern to you and the future of your business.

You can’t work somewhere for 35 years and not build up a lot of memories—especially not at an organization in an industry that has witnessed so many changes over the years. In my last columns, then, I hope to share with you some of my most memorable stories of my time at MRA.

The beginning:
my wife, Gail, and I were not at all sure about a move from Washington D.C., where I worked for the American Retail Federation, to Michigan. In early December, with my first son, Kevin, a baby at the time, Gail and I made the long drive to Michigan in a Volkswagen Beetle.

Early December was not the best time to form an opinion about Michigan. By March, after months of my working 10-hour days and traveling many days, anxious about how to keep the Association out of bankruptcy, Gail and I were wondering about this decision.

All it took was one business trip that May to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island to turn our thinking around. Michigan’s beauty was now obvious, and we took in the relaxed pace of the area and knew we had made a great decision.

Now, of course, we’re Michiganders, regardless of where we may travel after my retirement.