Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination’s 40th birthday will be celebrated June 9th at the Pere Marquette District Library, Clare, Michigan, during the annual General Membership meeting. This event is open to the public and will not only include the business meeting, but also address issues involving CACC and many other organizations active in the Great Lakes watershed. It offers members the opportunity to steer the course of the group by offering resolutions from the floor, electing members of the Board of Directors, and express their opinions.
The 2018 GMM will feature David Dempsey as the keynoter. Dave has a long career in Michigan environmental policy and nonprofit organizations, starting in 1982. His policy work includes Michigan’s first Great Lakes water diversion ban, toxic cleanup, promotion of recycling programs, groundwater protection, sand dune conservation, and protection of Michigan’s Natural Resources Trust Fund. He has served as environmental advisor to the Blanchard administration, executive director of the Michigan Environmental Council, Presidential appointee to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Communications Director for Conservation Minnesota, policy director for the International Joint Commission, and been active in numerous other environmental and conservation organizations in the region.
Dave is also a published author including Ruin and Recovery: Michigan’s Rise as a Conservation Leader; On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century; William G Milliken: Michigan’s Passionate Moderate; Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps; Last Summer on Lake Huron; The Waters of Michigan, co-authored with David Lubbers; Ink Trails: Michigan’s Famous and Forgotten Authors, and Ink Trails II, co-authored with Jack Dempsey; and The Great Lake Sturgeon, co-edited with Nancy Auer. In 2009, the Michigan Center for the Book, the Michigan Library Association, and Sleeping Bear Press gave Dave the Michigan Author Award.
Dave is currently a senior advisor to FLOW (For Love of Water), a Traverse City-based water law and policy center dedicated to upholding the public’s rights to use and benefit from the Great Lakes.