There’s a new leader in the Chairman’s role at one of the premier organization’s for the small business community of Michigan and for those who have been around Southwest Michigan for a while he’s a familiar name and face.
Russ Knopp has taken the reins as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Small Business Association of Michigan in Lansing, where he will hold court over one of the top small business advocate teams in the state for the next year.
For those who remember Russ from his days in Southwest Michigan as an executive with Michigan Gas Utilities, his new leadership role likely comes with no surprise. He was one of the most vocal and effective members of the inaugural class of the Lake Michigan College Community Leadership Academy first held in 1990. He even earned the nickname “King Russ,” for his leadership acumen from colleagues enrolled in that class with him.
Russ later went into the business education consultancy business with his wife Leslie before they became franchise holders in the Comfort Keepers home health care business in Traverse City a number of years ago.
This week Knopp was elected as the new Chair of SBAM after he had served a year as 1st Vice-Chair.
He’s not the first with ties to our region to land that role, either, as David Rhoa, the CEO of Lake Michigan Mailers in Kalamazoo served as the Chair at SBAM from June of 2012 to June of 2013, and served that board for more than seven years. Rhoa is originally from St. Joseph where his parents, Robert & Karen Rhoa, co-founded Lake Michigan Mailers.
Both Knopp and Rhoa are strong advocates for the Michigan small business community, frequently traveling on their own dime and their own time to meet with federal and state lawmakers to accomplish the goals of the small business community in search of regulatory relief.
In the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com, fellow Traverse City business owner Bonnie Alfonso of Alfie Logo Gear for Work & Play of Northwest Michigan shows outgoing Chair Kathie Fuce-Hobohm and SBAM President & CEO Rob Fowler looking on as Russ addresses the association meeting this week after his elevation to the Chairman’s role. Alfonso, by the way, is a powerhouse in her own right, having earned SBAM’s Advocate of the Year honors.
Knopp is originally from Toledo, Ohio where he studied marketing at the University of Toledo before making his way to Michigan for his role with MGU. Congratulations, King Russ on your new position at SBAM.
