MEDA's 50th Anniversary Celebration and Goodwill Fundraiser
1960 - Celebrating 50 Years - 2010
The Michigan Economic Developers Association was established in 1960 by a group of 15 men. Fifty years later, MEDA is booming, with record-high membership and highly-rated educational conferences throughout each year.
The celebration would not be complete without an understanding and appreciation for MEDA's past. Below is a brief history of the association and some interesting facts.
Participate in Goodwill Fundraiser
The MEDA staff and Board of Directors have developed many exciting plans to commemorate our 50th Anniversary, including a year-long fundraiser to Michigan's Goodwills. Two dollars from every MEDA program registration will go to Goodwill. We chose Goodwill because of their commitment to improving society. They have constantly given back to the community through their services and programs. See their website www.goodwill.org for many examples. Below are a few additional ways that you can support this cause.
>>Make a Personal or Organizational Donation
100% of any personal or organizational donation that you make will go directly to Michigan's Goodwills. You can make donations on conference registration forms. You can also email your wish to pledge to cjorae@medaweb.org and then pay using a check, Visa or MasterCard.
>>Purchase 50th Anniversary Memorabilia
MEDA has made several high-quality items with the 50th Anniversary logo available for purchase. All proceeds will go to Goodwill. Click Here to buy!
>>MEDA Seeking In-Kind Donations for Silent Auction
We are holding a silent auction at our Annual Meeting in which all proceeds go to benefit our year-long fundraiser for Goodwill. These items could be golf passes, hotel packages, spa packages, dinner gift certificates, etc. This is a great opportunity to showcase businesses in your community! Contact cjorae@medaweb.org if you have items to donate.
Help MEDA Build its History
As part of our 50th Anniversary Celebration Annual Meeting, we would like to invite past MEDA Presidents to our Annual Meeting Banquet. We are also going to create a historical publication as part of the onsite brochure for the Annual Meeting in which we could like to add commentary from the different decades that MEDA has been active.
>>Help Us Locate Past Founders and Presidents
After much research, we are still unsure of the whereabouts of the following individuals: Daniel Andrew, William Berrington, James Dane, Thomas Diak, William Farrell, James Hudinak, Michael Michels, Robert Nicholson, Gerald Smith, Richard Surbrook, Greg Woodbury
If you know any of these former leaders of MEDA, please send us their information so that we can show them appreciation for their part in our Association during our 50th Anniversary Celebration.
>>Submit Pictures
Please send your memories and pictures, etc., to MEDA. You can email them to cjorae@medaweb.org. If you do not have the capability of scanning and emailing pictures, you can mail them to MEDA at P.O. Box 15096, Lansing, MI 48901-5096 and we can mail them back to you.
History of the Organization
MEDA was established in 1960 by a group of 15 men, who joined together on May 25th, 1960, at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing in order to have a; "discussion of the merits of having an independent organization of men who devote the majority of their time to industrial development." The meeting, "concluded with the agreement that an informal organization was advisable for the present."
The Origin of MEDA (as written in the 1989-1990 Annual Report)
"MIDA's roots can be traced to an Industrial Development Advisory Committee to the Michigan Department of Economic Development, a small agency which later became a component of the Commerce Department. This committee included industrial agents employed by five railroads, four public utilities and three communities. The Michigan State Chamber was starting and also wanted an advisory committee made up of the same individuals.
Motivation for a separate association in 1960 was a desire for independence from both government control and chamber influence. Since then, the pendulum has swung back and forth like the clapper of the Liberty Bell, with some resounding pronouncements and a few cracked notes.
Chairman of the advisory committee was Horace Brewer, MIDA's founder, an Industrial Agent working for Consumers Power Company. His colleagues had mentioned the need for an informal professional association. He found an opportunity to discuss it with his boss while returning in the company limousine from a plant dedication. The Vice President offered enthusiastic support for the idea and suggested that Brewer invite the developers to a company camp at Tippy Dam for an organizational meeting. This is the origin of the apocryphal story that MIDA was conceived in the back seat of a limousine and born at Tippy Dam."
Founding Members
Horace Brewer, Robert Byers, James Coates, Robert Gage, Jack Kavanaugh, William McClelland, George Moffett, Robert Nicholson, John O'Neill, Gustav Peterson, Gerald Smith, Clifford Webb, Don Weeks, Carl Wilkins and Wilbur Young.
Previous Names
Michigan Professional Industrial Development Association (MPIDA)
Michigan Industrial Developers Association (MIDA)
Past Presidents
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2009 - Perrin Emanuel 2007 - Ray DeWinkle 2005 - Barry Visel 2004 - Jeff Ratcliffe 2003 - Maureen Krauss 2002 - Steve Jonas 2001 - Susan Lackey 2000 - Roger Royer 1999 - William Cotton 1998 - Kenneth Kolasa 1997 - Kenneth Kolasa 1996 - Mary Grace Wilbert Barnes 1995 - Debra Davino Patzer 1994 - Debra Davino Patzer 1993 - Gregory Woodbury 1992 - Patricia Crawford-Lucas 1991 - Patricia Crawford-Lucas 1990 - Timothy Schroeder 1989 - Donald Schurr 1988 - Jeffrey Kaczmarek 1987 - Robert Sieghart 1986 - Charlie Johnson 1985 - James Hundiak |
1983 - Matthew Piernick 1981 - Charles A. Schrenk 1980 - Clifford A. Kleier 1979 - Richard R. Surbrook 1978 - Anthony Jarrett 1977 - James R. Dane 1976 - Basil P. Inkpen 1975 - William B. Berrington 1974 - Robert M. Stevens 1973 - Wilber M. Young 1972 - Ray G. Steeb 1971 - Michael Michels 1970 - William McClelland 1969 - Thomas L. Diak 1968 - Daniel R. Andrew 1967 - William Cronenwett 1966 - John P. Kavanaugh 1965 - Gus Peterson 1964 - Robert L. Gage 1963 - George Moffett 1962 - William Farrell 1961 - John F. O’Neill 1960 - Horace Brewer |
Interesting Bits
For the first meeting of the association, the group was referred to as the "Professional Industrial Development Men."
Click here for the minutes of the first meeting (from May 25, 1960).
Click here for the minutes of the second meeting (July 26, 1960).
Click here for the minutes to the third meeting (November 16, 1960).
Click here for the first Membership Directory from 1973-1974.
Click here for the Original Membership Requirements and Letter.
Click here for the first By-Laws.
Click here for a news article from 1960 on Industrial Piracy.
Click here for a letter on Legislation for Industrial Development.
Click here for the meeting minutes of the addition of Associate Membership.
Click here for an "Economic Echoes" news article from 1961.
Click here for a 1961 news article titled "Industry Aid Holds Perils."
Click here for the early financing of MEDA.
Click here for an article from 1962 entitled: "State Economic Picture Weighed."
Click here for MEDA's role in early legislation.
Click here for an article titled "Municipal Borrowing for Industrial Development."
Click here for the Legislative Committee report on Economic Growth from 1962.
Click here for the First Draft of Industrial Development Revenue Bonds from 1963.
Click here for 1963 Proposal for Sales Tax Refund.
Click here for the 1963 Governor's Tax Reform Program.
Click here for a September 1964 announcement - State Approved $60,000 for Advertising.
Click here for November 1964 MEDA (MPIDA) Minutes Changing Membership Requirements.
Click here for August 1966 minutes with a tough stance on attendance at meetings.
Click here for changes in communication over the years - August 1966.
Click here for a 1967 Invitation to the World Trade Program.
Click here for the 1967 Governors Tax Revenue and Reform.
Click here for the First MIDA-Sponsored Legislation in 1987.
Six of MEDA's first sixteen Presidents were railroad industrial agents. According to the 1989 - 1990 Annual Report, "The term "industrial agent" was a railroad job title and became the civil service designation for a professional in the field. Railroads were among the first industrial developers in America, employing special agents to sell industrial and commercial sites along their routes. The land had been granted to the rail companies as a development incentive to construct the system."
The first Membership Directory was printed in 1973. In order to print the directory, each member had to order 33 copies at a price of $30. Today the Membership Directory is available online (updated each time a member is added) and a printed copy is mailed to each member once a year.