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Board Leadership

The Michigan Retailers Association is guided by a group of dedicated leaders from across the retail industry. Our boards provide strategic insight and governance to help ensure MRA continues to serve the needs of our diverse membership.

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Bo Brines
Director
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Bo Brines

Director
Bo Brines is owner and president of Little Forks Outfitters, an Orvis shop and retailer of quality fly fishing equipment and outdoor clothing, located in downtown Midland. A Midland native, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He took over an office products supply store from his father in 1989, then started his current business in 1995. He is a board member of the Midland DDA, former president of the Midland Downtown Business Association and was that organization’s 2004 “Business Person of the Year.” He was first elected to the Michigan Retailers Services board in 2011, and left to join the MRA board in 2018. Brines served as Chair of the MRA Board from 2020-2022.
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Thomas P. Clement
Director
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Thomas P. Clement

Director

Thomas P. Clement is Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel to the Michigan Retailers Association and Retailers Insurance Company, along with serving as a Director on the Michigan Retailers Services, Inc. Board. Prior to joining Michigan Retailers, he was General Counsel for the Michigan Supreme Court, where he managed litigation matters involving the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the State Court Administrative Office. He also served as the legislative liaison to the executive and legislative branches, representing the Court on policy and legislative issues.

Clement has practiced law since 2002. He joined the Supreme Court in 2016 after leaving the Michigan Attorney General’s Office as a Division Chief, where he supervised a team of 12 attorneys specializing in licensing and regulatory issues. He also played a key role in working with the Legislature and Governor’s Office to address the epidemic of prescription drug and opioid abuse.

Previously, he worked in private practice, primarily concentrating on state and federal criminal law and general civil litigation, after starting out as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the Eaton County Prosecutors Office.

Clement currently serves on the Michigan Crime Victim Services Commission as an appointee of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. He formerly served on the State Bar of Michigan’s Board of Commissioners as an appointee of the Michigan Supreme Court, in addition to the State Bar of Michigan’s Criminal Jurisprudence and Practice Committee, the Michigan Community Corrections Board, and the Supreme Court and Attorney General joint task force on elder abuse.

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Kim Edsenga
Director
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Kim Edsenga

Director

Kim Edsenga is Managing Counsel and Director, Compliance with Meijer. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and Michigan Law School. Before joining Meijer in 2014, she spent eight years in private practice at two Chicago firms, specializing in borrower-side private equity finance transactions. As Managing Counsel, she oversees a legal team supporting Meijer’s retail operations, pharmacies and finance business units. As Director, Compliance, Kim is responsible for social compliance, licensing, corporate policies, and record retention/information classification. She was first elected to the MRA board in 2020.

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David Ford
Director
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David Ford

Director
David Ford has been with the Ford Insurance Agency since 1985, first joining the company as a licensed insurance agent. In 2001, he took over as the Agency’s president, and has served in that capacity ever since. Ford takes pride in the industry and has been very involved in various industry organizations, such as the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA). He’s received multiple awards from MAIA over the years, including the 2016 Agent of the Year award. He also previously served on the Agent’s Advisory Council for Fremont Insurance Company. Ford was first elected to the Retailers Insurance Company board in 2022.
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Andrew Gemmen
Vice Chair
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Andrew Gemmen

Vice Chair
Andrew Gemmen is president and co-owner of Gemmen’s Ace Hardware in Hudsonville. The business was founded by his grandfather, Al Gemmen, in 1955 and is part of Ace Hardware Corp., the world’s largest hardware retail cooperative, based in Oak Brook, Ill. He officially joined the family business in 2000 after gaining experience outside retail hardware by working in concrete construction and for Art Van Furniture and Target Corporation. He holds a business degree from Central Michigan University. He was elected to the RIC board in 2016. Gemmen was elected Vice Chair of the Retailers Insurance Company Board in August 2024.
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Bill Golden
Past Chair
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Bill Golden

Past Chair

Bill Golden is president of Golden Shoes, a family owned and operated shoe store in downtown Traverse City since 1954 and which succeeded a shoe retailer dating back to 1883. A Traverse City native, he began working in the store at age 14 and joined the store full time in 1981. He is active in numerous community projects and serves on the board of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority. Golden Shoes was honored as Michigan Retailer of the Year in 2005 in the small retail category. He was first elected to the Michigan Retailers Services board in 2012, and left to join the MRA board in 2018. Golden served as Chair for the MRA board from August 2022-2024.

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William J. Hallan
President and Chief Executive Officer
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William J. Hallan

President and Chief Executive Officer

William J. Hallan is MRA president and chief executive officer and serves in the same capacity for Michigan Retailers Services and Retailers Insurance Company. The Michigan Society of Association Executives named him a “Rising Leader” among state associations. He joined Michigan Retailers in August 2011 as vice president and general counsel. He expanded his responsibilities to include oversight of the Association’s legislative advocacy program in February 2012 and overall operations in September 2013. He was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder to serve on the Organized Retail Crime Board in 2013 and re-appointed in 2017. Prior to joining Michigan Retailers, he was a litigator in the Dykema Gossett law firm’s Bloomfield Hills office. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Toledo School of Law and a graduate of Denison University. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2014 and to the Retailers Insurance board in 2017.

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James P. Hallan
Director
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James P. Hallan

Director

James P. Hallan is retired president and CEO of Michigan Retailers Association. He joined Michigan Retailers as general counsel in 1985. He is a past chair of the board of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, and current board member of the Delta Dental Foundation and the Sparrow Health System. He is also past chair of the National Council of State Retail Associations, past president of the state YMCA 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.

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Jeff Joyce
Past Chair
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Jeff Joyce

Past Chair

Jeff Joyce is president and co-owner of Mieras Family Shoes, Grand Rapids. The fourth-generation, family owned company founded in 1922 has three stores, four mobile sales vans and a sales unit inside a major manufacturer.

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Becky Beauchine Kulka
Director
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Becky Beauchine Kulka

Director

Becky Beauchine Kulka is founder and CEO 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.

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John Leppink
Director
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John Leppink

Director
John Leppink is president of Leppink’s Incorporated, where he oversees the total store operations of four of the seven Leppink’s Food Centers, seven Save A Lot food stores, and one True Value Hardware. Leppink also operates LCL Development, LLC and RAAD Development, LLC leasing companies overseeing 40+ rental properties. Leppink’s Food Centers began in 1928 when John’s grandfather, also named John Leppink, opened a store in Belding. From there the company has grown to seven Leppink’s Food Centers, with John’s cousin, Ransom Leppink, owning and operating two and brother-in-law Richard Cole owning/operating one of them. As a third-generation grocer, Leppink grew up working in the stores. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University’s Food Marketing Program.
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Dan Marshall
Vice Chair, Michigan Retailers Association Board of Directors | Director, Retailers Insurance Company Board of Directors
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Dan Marshall

Vice Chair, Michigan Retailers Association Board of Directors | Director, Retailers Insurance Company Board of Directors

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, Troy, and Traverse City. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he is a former board member of the National Association of Music Merchants. He is past chair of the MRA board and a past chair of the Retailers Insurance board. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2008 and to the Retailers Insurance board in 1998.

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Orin Mazzoni, Jr.
Director
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Orin Mazzoni, Jr.

Director

Orin Mazzoni, Jr. is president of Orin Jewelers, Inc., a family owned business in 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.” Mazzoni is a graduate of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). He is a former member of the Michigan Retailers Services, Inc. board, and immediate past chair of the MRA board, which he first joined in 2007.

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Joseph McCurry
Director
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Joseph McCurry

Director

Joe McCurry is an executive with Credit Card Group and is based in Georgia. He previously was an executive with the furniture industry’s Dovetail Alliance and The High Point Group and is a retired Detroit district general manager for Sears, Roebuck and Co. He also 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.

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Larry Meyer
Board Member Emeritus
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Larry Meyer

Board Member Emeritus

Larry Meyer is retired chairman and CEO of MRA. The former U.S. Navy officer 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 earned a master’s degree in business administration from Northwood University and a bachelor’s degree from North Central College in Illinois. He is an original board member of Michigan Retailers’ workers’ comp program.

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Bryan Neiman
Chair
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Bryan Neiman

Chair

Bryan Neiman is President and CEO of Neiman’s Family Market, with four locations in Tawas, St. Clair, Clarkston, and Mayville. His parents, Hal and Jean Neiman, founded the company in 1983 by opening an Alpena IGA store, which later became Neiman’s Family Market. Joining his family’s business in 2007 as a Store Director, Neiman previously worked for The Fresh Market in North Carolina and Indiana. He holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational communications from Capital University. Neiman joined the board in January 2018 as the Michigan Grocers Association division representative. Neiman was elected as Vice Chair for the MRA Board in August 2022 and elected Chair in August 2024.

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Kendra Patterson
Director
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Kendra Patterson

Director

Kendra Patterson owns Michigan Barn Wood and Salvage, along with her husband. The business began in 2015 and re-located to a historic lumberyard in Mason in 2017. Patterson was first elected to the MRS board in 2022.

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Rod Phillips
Director
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Rod Phillips

Director

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. Mr. Phillips was first elected to the Retailers Insurance board in 1999.

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Raeann Rouse
Director
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Raeann Rouse

Director

Raeann Rouse is owner of Bridge Street Baby, a newborn to 24-month clothing, gifts, accessories and decor store, located in Rockford. Rouse grew up in the retail world; her parents both owned retail stores in Rockford. Her mother owned JT Stitchery, a yarn shop next door to Bridge Street Baby. Her father owned two tool and die companies in downtown Rockford. Rouse opened Bridge Street Baby in 2017.

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Jean Sarasin
Chair
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Jean Sarasin

Chair

Jean Sarasin is retired executive vice president and chief operating officer of Michigan Retailers Association and Retailers Insurance. She was first elected to the Retailers Insurance board in 1997.

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D. Larry Sherman
Board Member Emeritus
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D. Larry Sherman

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.
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Peter R. Sobelton
Treasurer, Michigan Retailers Association Board of Directors | Director, Retailers Insurance Company Board of Directors
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Peter R. Sobelton

Treasurer, Michigan Retailers Association Board of Directors | Director, Retailers Insurance Company Board of Directors
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 board chair of MRA and Retailers Insurance and past president of the Tobacconists Association of America. He holds an MBA in finance and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Wayne State University. He previously served on the board of the downtown Birmingham Principal Shopping District. He was first elected to the MRA board in 1998 and has served on the workers’ comp program boards since 1984.
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Thomas Ungrodt
Director
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Thomas Ungrodt

Director
Thomas Ungrodt is president of TDU Consulting, LLC. A graduate of Northern Michigan University, he serves on the board of the Northern Michigan University Foundation. He also is a former chair of both the MRA and Retailers Insurance boards. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2007.
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Joe Swanson
Director
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Joe Swanson

Director
Joe Swanson is a consultant with Big Springs Enterprises in Naubinway, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He is a retired District Team Leader for Target Corp. Over the years, he played leadership roles for Target stores in the Indianapolis region, Southwest Ontario, Canada and Southeast Michigan. A graduate of Michigan State University, he was a member of the Target team for more than 25 years. He is a past chair of the MRA board and was first elected to the MRA board in 2001.