About Mike

Biography and Experiences

• Born and raised on a farm in Southeast Missouri. My dad and grandpa cleared the land, which was swampland, of cypress trees and stumps.

• Graduated from Malden High School.

• Undergraduate degree from Southeast Mo. State University.

• Served in the U.S. Army from 1971 – 1973. Assigned to Camp Stanley, South Korea, just below the DMZ. Served as battalion clerk.

• After honorable military discharge, completed M.S.E graduate degree from Central Missouri State University with emphasis in printing management.

• Completed my graduate program and moved to St. Louis in 1975. Married in April 1975 and started working as a production manager for Typographic Sales, Inc., a national textbook typesetter headquartered in St. Louis.

• We moved to Countrylane Woods, then part of unincorporated St. Louis County, in 1976. Still live in the same home today!

• My wife and I started our family with a son, in 1981, and and then a daughter in 1982. Our kids attended Carman Trails Elementary, Parkway South Middle School and South High School. Both graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

 

• Served several, multi-year tours on the Countrylane Woods, Gascony Plats, Board of Trustees for their homeowners’ association.

• In 1998 and 1999, I volunteered and worked for the successful annexation effort that brought large new areas of homes and businesses into Manchester. (Most of Ward 2 was part of that annexation.)

• I was first elected to Manchester’s Board of Alderman in April 2001 representing the new, Ward 2 families. I was reelected for a ninth term in April, 2017.

 

 

Since being elected to Manchester’s Board of Alderman, I am, or have been:

An easily-accessible contact for residents I represent; quick to respond to their questions or calls for support. I meet with homeowners and businesses regularly.

A strong supporter and advocate for the Manchester Highlands, which continues to deliver strong revenues for city services.

Well aware that active and varied parks programs attract families, singles, and seniors to Manchester. I’ve been a backer of the city parks programming and its recent expansion into an enlarged parks building.

A regular voice reminding our City’s Code Enforcement Department that the upkeep and maintenance of city homes and properties is a primary driver of increased property values.

An Alderman that realizes that our city must live “within its means”. For a city, that means living within a balanced budget and having sizable reserves available for inevitable economic downturns.

An ex-officio member of the Planning & Zoning Commission; serving as the Board of Aldermen’s Liaison to that Commission.

A member of the Manchester Homecoming Committee, serving on that volunteer group from 2003 through 2016.

A founding director of Manchester Arts, a local, grass-roots arts council of several hundred volunteers that organized and brought arts experiences to the city. I was the first Chairperson of the Manchester Arts Board of Directors.

    

A current volunteer at Lafayette Industries, working with their employees offering enriching arts experiences on a regular basis.

An active Board of Alderman member working as part of the city team that drafted and passed the new tree ordinance, approved in 2017.

An active Board representative appointed to work with city staff and outside expertise, to identify, compare and recommend salary changes for city employees. The study resulted in a three-year plan approved by the Board of Aldermen in 2017.

An active Board member that works with city representatives and the Missouri Department of Conservation on deer management issues. (2016 to present)

 

 

Other Areas of Community Leadership and Service:

Member of Manchester United Methodist Church since 1978.

• Past Chairperson of the Administrative Board

• Past Chairperson of Church Council

• Past Chairperson of the Vision Council

• Current member of the Leadership Board

More photos of Mike...ever contributing, always ready to lend a hand to reach out and help his community of Manchester...in Mike's own words:

"Service is a fundamental value of mine. I am an Army veteran, serving in 1972-73 at an American military camp just below the DMZ in South Korea. Today, I actively serve as a member of my faith community and have a history of volunteering with Homecoming, Manchester Arts, and Lafayette Industries."

(Photo credit: Doug Whitaker)

(click to enlarge)