It’s been a very busy year atop several key Traverse City organizations, with departures, new leaders arriving – and more soon to be announced. Here’s the latest:

Circuit Court Judge
WHO LEFT
Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge Philip Rodgers Jr. retired in October after nearly 26 years on the bench. Since his departure, Judge Tom Power has been pulling double duty as the sole judge for the court serving Antrim, Grand Traverse and Leelanau Counties.
WHO’S COMING
TBD soon. Ultimately Gov. Rick Snyder will appoint Rodgers’s successor. The process began when several applied for the position. Those names were checked by the Governor’s legal team and sent to the state bar association, which then returns the names to the governor’s office marked “qualified” or “not qualified.” The governor’s legal team then determines the best candidate from those remaining, at which point Governor Snyder makes the appointment.
Press secretary Anna Heaton says that process is now about halfway complete, and that the hope is to have a new judge in place by the end of the year. That person will serve through 2017 with a special election to fill the remainder of the term in 2018, followed by an election for a full term in 2020.

Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director
WHO LEFT
Laura Oblinger left May 31 to pursue personal goals and focus on her family. Doug Luciani, CEO at TraverseCONNECT, the chamber’s parent organization, says he was disappointed to learn of Oblinger’s decision, but understood and supported it.
WHO’S COMING
TBD soon. Luciani says the field has been narrowed to three candidates, all from the ten-county northwest Michigan region. “We’re very excited,” says Luciani. “They’re all very good, and have a mixed set of experience.” He praises the board and staff for their work during the interim. Luciani will make the final determination in consultation with the chamber’s executive committee; expect a final announcement in mid-December.

Traverse City Tourism President/CEO
WHO LEFT
Brad Van Dommelen left in March to join the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.
WHO CAME
Trevor Tkach took over, leaving a similar post at the National Cherry Festival. “I wasn’t looking. I was very happy at the Cherry Festival,” says Tkach. But the lure of a higher-profile position where he could positively impact his hometown even more was too much to pass up. “I didn’t have to move away to move up.” After being selected for the position in July, Tkach gave the National Cherry Festival 60 days notice, officially taking over in September. He credits his time at the Festival with preparing him for his new role.

National Cherry Festival Executive Director
WHO LEFT
Trevor Tkach left to head Traverse City Tourism.
WHO CAME
Kat Paye took over the top spot after a number of years in several positions at the Festival, most recently as Operations and Volunteer Manager. “I’ve served in pretty much every role. I started at eight as a junior ambassador,” she says. She also served on the Board of Governors and as a volunteer for 21 years before her five-year stint as operations director. “I knew I wanted to work for the Cherry Festival,” says Paye. “Most people don’t get to say they have their dream job. It’s a little surreal.”

Interlochen Center for the Arts President
WHO’S LEAVING
Jeffrey Kimpton, the seventh president of Interlochen Center for the Arts, is retiring at the conclusion of the current school year.
WHO’S COMING
Trey Devey, the president of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was announced as Kimpton’s successor in October. He will remain with the Cincinnati Symphony through mid-April and formally take the reins at Interlochen June 12. He sees his role as helping Interlochen “dream bigger.”
He says Interlochen is one of the very few posts that interested him. His daughters attended Interlochen’s Summer Arts Camp the past two years, and he knows the region well, as he’s been coming to the area since he was two weeks old and honeymooned in the Long Lake cottage his grandfather built. “I see the arts world changing, bringing multi-disciplinary art all together,” he says.