Board of Directors
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Jean Sarasin
Chair
Jean Sarasin is retired executive vice president and chief operating officer of Michigan Retailers Association and Retailers Insurance. She was first elected to the Retailers Insurance board in 1997.
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William J. Hallan
President and Chief Executive Officer
William J. Hallan has served as MRA and RIC president, chief executive officer since August 2019. The Michigan Society of Association Executives named him a “Rising Leader” among state associations. He joined Michigan Retailers in August 2011 as vice president and general counsel. He expanded his responsibilities to include oversight of the Association’s legislative advocacy program in February 2012 and overall operations in September 2013. He was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder to serve on the Organized Retail Crime Board in 2013 and re-appointed in 2017. Prior to joining Michigan Retailers, he was a litigator in the Dykema Gossett law firm’s Bloomfield Hills office. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Toledo School of Law and a graduate of Denison University. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2014 and to the Retailers Insurance board in 2017.
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Jeff Joyce
Past Chair
Jeff Joyce is vice president and co-owner of Mieras Family Shoes, Grand Rapids. The fourth-generation, family owned company founded in 1922 has three stores, four mobile sales vans and a sales unit inside a major manufacturer. A Western Michigan University business graduate, he has spent more than 30 years working in the family business. He was first elected to the Retailers Insurance board in 2010.
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David Ford
Director
David Ford has been with the Ford Insurance Agency since 1985, first joining the company as a licensed insurance agent. In 2001, he took over as the Agency’s president, and has served in that capacity ever since. Ford takes pride in the industry and has been very involved in various industry organizations, such as the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA). He’s received multiple awards from MAIA over the years, including the 2016 Agent of the Year award. He also previously served on the Agent’s Advisory Council for Fremont Insurance Company. Ford was first elected to the Retailers Insurance Company board in 2022.
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Andrew Gemmen
Director
Andrew Gemmen is president and co-owner of Gemmen’s Home and Hardware in Hudsonville. The business was founded by his grandfather, Al Gemmen, in 1955 and is part of Ace Hardware Corp., the world’s largest hardware retail cooperative, based in Oak Brook, Ill. He officially joined the family business in 2000 after gaining experience outside retail hardware by working in concrete construction and for Art Van Furniture and Target Corporation. He holds a business degree from Central Michigan University. He was elected to the RIC board in 2016.
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James P. Hallan
Director
Jim Hallan retired as president and CEO of Michigan Retailers Association in 2019. He became CEO in 2008 after serving as president and chief operating officer since 1989. He also serves as president and CEO of Retailers Insurance Company. He joined Michigan Retailers as general counsel in 1985. He is a past chair of the board of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana and current chair of the Delta Dental Foundation. He is also past chair of the national Council of State Retail Associations and is a former member of the board of Fremont Insurance Company. A former assistant county prosecutor, he is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Detroit College of Law.
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Dan Marshall
Director
Dan Marshall is president of Marshall Music Company, one of the largest full-line music retailers in the country. The Lansing-based, family owned company was established in 1948 and operates stores in Lansing, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Troy, West Bloomfield, Allen Park and Traverse City. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he is a former board member of the National Association of Music Merchants. He is immediate past chair of the MRA board and a past chair of the Retailers Insurance board. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2008 and to the Retailers Insurance board in 1998.
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Rod Phillips
Director
Rod Phillips is owner of Country Casuals, Petoskey, a small chain of year-round and seasonal ladies’ apparel stores located throughout northwest Michigan. He attended Michigan State University and worked as a commercial pilot before starting the retail business with his wife, Judy, in 1974. Mr. Phillips was first elected to the Retailers Insurance board in 1999.
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Peter R. Sobelton
Director
Peter Sobelton is owner-partner in several retail property companies and the former owner of two retail businesses, Sundries Plus and Churchill’s Ltd. tobacco and gift stores in Birmingham. He is a past board chair of MRA and Retailers Insurance and past president of the Tobacconists Association of America. He holds an MBA in finance and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Wayne State University. He currently serves on the board of the downtown Birmingham Principal Shopping District. He was first elected to the MRA board in 1998 and has served on the workers’ comp program boards since 1984.
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Thomas Ungrodt
Director
Thomas Ungrodt is president of TDU Consulting, LLC. A graduate of Northern Michigan University, he serves on the board of the Northern Michigan University Foundation. He also is a former chair of both the MRA and Retailers Insurance boards. He was first elected to the MRA board in 2007 and to the Retailers Insurance board in 1992.