Mark Smith
I am married to Jaye Piersante
Smith, 43 years this July. I have
two sons, Joshua and Jason. Both
sons are married; Josh to Erin and
Jason to Stephanie. I have two
grandchildren from Josh and Erin,
and three grandchildren from Jason
and Stephanie. Jaye and I have
been CCR members since 1982. I
grew up in Southern Michigan
(Dearborn and Southfield) and graduated from Central
Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science Degree
in Secondary Education in 1978. While at CMU, I
participated in the United States Army Reserve Officer
Training Corps (ROTC) program and was commissioned
as a Second Lieutenant after graduation. I enjoyed a 23
year active duty military career as a Military Police Officer
with a functional area of Plans, Operations, and Training.
I achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and retired in
2000. My military career included both command and
staff officer positions. During my time in the military, I
completed the requirements for a Master of Science Degree
from CMU in General Administration. Following my
retirement from the military I went to work as a
Department of Defense (DoD) contractor and spent the
next 17 years working at the United States Transportation
Command in the command’s Antiterrorism, Force
Protection, Critical Infrastructure Protection Program.
For my last 12 years as a DoD contractor I was a Project
Manager. I managed a contract support team of 16
personnel and was responsible for the execution of a multimillion
dollar budget. I started coming to Canada Creek
Ranch as a guest in the early 70’s in my high school years
with my best friend whose family were members. My
Ranch activities have centered on hunting (primarily deer
and partridge), fishing the stream and lakes, and camping.
I store a travel trailer in the storage area. My two main
hobbies are hunting and fishing and I have enjoyed these
two activities in many states that we have lived in over
the years (Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Hawaii,
Massachusetts, Kansas, North Carolina, and Illinois). In
addition to my work experience, I have also been involved
in leadership positions in several private, not for profit
clubs. I have held positions as President, Vice President,
Secretary, and Director. One of the clubs was a
Sportsmen’s Club where I served on the Board of Directors
for over 15 years. In this role I gained experience in
crafting, revising, and enforcing the club bylaws, I served
as the project lead for the construction of an Archery Range
facility, and I was an active participant in many
fundraising events implemented to assist in meeting club
expenses. I have served on the CCR Board of Directors
since January, 2018. I held the position of Board Secretary
for a year, co-authored the CCR Strategic Plan, and I
currently serve as the lead director overseeing the
implementation of the strategic goals within the plan.
Sincerely, Mark Smith
Board of Directors Candidates
Dave Weber
I would like to thank the nominating
committee for giving me the
opportunity to run for a position on
the CCR Board of Directors.
My wife Sherry and I are from
Ithaca, Michigan and are relatively
new to Canada Creek Ranch as we
became members in August 2014.
We have no family history at CCR,
but was introduced to the Ranch during the 2013 elk hunt
as a guest of a hunter. We came back for a visit and
purchased a cabin the next summer. From the first visit
on, the Ranch and the people here seemed to have
something we wanted to be a part of. A club of members
that had a desire to be outdoors, enjoy the outdoors and
take care of the outdoors for future generations.
Our family includes 4 adult children: Matt, Kristi,
Mallory (and Jon) and Trevor (and Maddy) and 5
grandchildren: Kloee, Ryan, Leland, Marik and Aili. I
grew up going to Houghton Lake every weekend to my
folks’ cottage April though November and sometimes
during the winter. I swore I didn’t want to have to go to
the same place every weekend when I grew up. Well,
that was the way we were until coming to CCR and now
I want to go almost no where else. We are year-round
visitors after spending 25 years of camping and visiting
other destinations for vacations.
I joined the CCR Conservation Committee as soon as we
became members and have learned to appreciate the
incredible job our great volunteers do at the Ranch along
with paid staff. I’ve been on the Nominating Committee
and have been able to have input on other committees as
well as picking up rocks and counting deer and elk in the
summer. I believe my experience as a business owner for
36 years with multiple employees, a member of the Ithaca
Fire Department for over 20 years with 10 years as an
officer, 15 years as a flight instructor (PPC), 15 years on
Ithaca Downtown Development Association, a member
of the Ithaca Rotary Club and local Chamber of Commerce
volunteer committee, would be a great asset to prepare
me to be a Board Member at CCR so that I can do my
part to keep CCR on the great path that current and
previous members have put it on for our kids, grandkids
and beyond.
REMINDER
The Canada Creek News
deadline for submitted
articles is the
first of the month.
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