Reappointment to Metroparks Board makes history

(Yes, that is John Hertel, with his new natural look)

Gov. Rick Snyder has reappointed John Hertel of Lenox Township, to serve on the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Board of Commissioners as one of two gubernatorial appointees for a 4-year term expiring May 2, 2017.

A Lenox Township resident, this is Hertel’s sixth appointment to the Metroparks Board for a total of 24 years of service. He is one of three commissioners in the history of the Metroparks to be appointed to the Board by three different governors, and the only commissioner to have represented two different counties. 

In 1983, Hertel was appointed to represent Wayne County for a 6-year term ending in 1989.  In 1995, Gov. John Engler appointed him to a 4-year term as a gubernatorial appointee representing the district-at-large.

And in 1999 he was appointed to a six-year term representing Macomb County. Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed him to serve 4-year terms as a gubernatorial appointee in 2005 and 2009.

Hertel has served as secretary, treasurer, vice chairman and chairman of the HCMA Board.

Along the way he has served as state senator, state Agriculture Department director, State Fairgrounds general manager,Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, or SMART, general manager. 
But Hertel also holds the distinction of being the only Michigan official ever to serve as chair of two different county boards of commissioners -- Wayne and Macomb.

The seven-member Metroparks Board of Commissioners consists of five commissioners, one each to represent the counties of Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, Livingston and Washtenaw for six-year terms; and two commissioners who serve as representatives-at-large, appointed by the Governor of Michigan for a term of four years

Located along the Huron and Clinton rivers, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks provide a regional park system consisting of 13 parks covering 25,000 acres that collectively feature 10 public golf courses, two marinas on Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, nature trails, beaches, concerts and winter sports.