LANSING, Mich., Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michigan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors elected new officers to its Executive Committee at a meeting held this week at the MSU Kellogg Center in East Lansing. The Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Michigan Chamber set policy and establish priorities for the statewide business organization on key economic issues that affect job creation and business growth in Michigan.

Rodney M. Lockwood, Chairman & CEO, The Lockwood Companies, Bingham Farms, will serve as Chair of the Michigan Chamber's Board of Directors for 2012. He replaces Jeffrey S. Ammon, attorney, Miller Johnson, Grand Rapids, who will become the Immediate Past Chair. David G. Sowerby, CFA, Vice President, Loomis, Sayles & Company, LP, Bloomfield Hills, was re-elected Treasurer.  

At the end of 2011, Daniel F. Ponder, CEO, Franco Public Relations Group, Detroit, will complete his term as Immediate Past Chair and become a member of the Chamber's Senior Advisory Committee and PAC Board of Directors.

In addition to a Chair, Immediate Past Chair and Treasurer, the Michigan Chamber's Executive Committee includes seven vice chairs, each representing a different geographic region.

Six vice chairs were re-elected to serve in 2012. They are: Jim MacInnes, President & General Manager, Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville (District I – Upper Peninsula and Northern Lower Michigan); Dennis Eidson, President & CEO, Spartan Stores, Inc., Grand Rapids (District II - West Central); William A. Parlberg, President & COO, Zehnder's of Frankenmuth, Frankenmuth (District III – East Central); John M. Schreuder, Chairman & CEO, First National Bank of Michigan, Kalamazoo (District IV – Southwestern); Toni Talbot, Owner, Human Resource Management Services, Williamston (District V – South Central); and Juliette Okotie-Eboh, PhD, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, MGM Grand Detroit, Detroit (District VII – Lower Southeastern).

Denice M. LeVasseur, President, LeVasseur & LeVasseur, P.C., Southfield, was elected as a new vice chair for District VI (Southeastern).

"The Michigan Chamber is member-driven and policy-focused," said Michigan Chamber President & CEO Rich Studley. "Historically, the Michigan Chamber has been blessed with outstanding volunteer leaders, and that tradition continues in 2012."

"The Chamber's entire staff looks forward to working with new and returning members of the Executive Committee as we continue leading businesses and moving Michigan forward," Studley added.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce is a statewide business organization representing approximately 6,800 employers, trade associations and local chambers of commerce. The Michigan Chamber represents businesses of every size and type in all 83 counties of the state. The Chamber was established in 1959 to be an advocate for Michigan's job providers in the legislative, political and legal process. It is one of only four state chambers of commerce in the nation accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

SOURCE Michigan Chamber of Commerce