Noah Johnson Daily Press Bay College Board of Trustees candidate Steven Soderman answers a question from the moderator as fellow candidate Dennis Hopkins listens at Wednesday’s voter forum in Escanaba.

ESCANABA – The Delta County League of Women Voters (LWV), in collaboration with the American Association of University Women (AAUW), hosted a candidate forum in the Escanaba City Council meeting room on Wednesday.

Shannon Taylor hosted the event.

The forum included four segments, starting with the Bay College Board of Trustees.

Candidates for the board include Dennis Hopkins, Terri Mileski and Steven Soderman.

Only Hopkins and Soderman attended the forum because Mileski had a scheduling conflict.

There are two seats remaining on the Bay College Board of Trustees.

Each candidate began with a 60-second opening statement.

Hopkins explained his background, citing his career as a Navy captain, chairman of the Academic Services Board at the University of Michigan and the Bark River Legion Post 438 Treasure.

“The reason I’m running for this seat is because I’ve lived here for the 11 years I’ve lived here. What I see in the dynamic there at Bay College is phenomenal. So when you see a successful team with a successful process, you want to be a part of it.” Hopkins said.

Soderman also explained his background, discussing his alumni status at Bay College and his position as CEO and owner of VanAire in Gladstone.

“I have a wealth of experience in manufacturing, fiscal responsibility and corporate sustainability that I hope to bring to the Bay College Board of Directors. I also spent a lot of time with our company and the CTE program at ISD. It is very important to me that we can continue our education and offer the children opportunities,” Soderman said.

Candidates were asked various questions about Bay College and their plans.

One question asked candidates why they were looking for the position.

“I want to participate and be more active in our community. As I mentioned in my opening speech, education is very important to me as a manager in the company. I also want to make sure that we have very effective leaders in our community as well, and that really starts with our youth.” Soderman said.

He added that he also wants to focus on retaining youth in the community and the best way to do that is by promoting what Bay has to offer.

“As I have already indicated, the changes I have seen over the last 11 years have been so good. As far as I know, the campus is or has become such an inclusive and diverse campus. I mean, we have a woman of color who is the president of this campus. “The athletics programs that have been brought to campus since I have lived here have, in turn, created diversity within the student body that simply did not exist before.” Hopkins said.

He pointed to Bay College President Nerita Hughes and said her mantra is about the students.

Another question focused on the candidate’s ideas for improving staff training and other programs.

“We have so many opportunities here in UP to attract, attract and retain our workforce.” Soderman said.

He added that the region needs more support in the manufacturing and services sectors across UP.

“We really need to keep the people we have.” he added.

Hopkins agreed with Soderman and said he would like to see more activity in construction.

“What I would particularly like to emphasize is the offer or promotion of partnerships, especially with the construction industry.” Hopkins said.

He recognized the housing shortage and said one reason for this was that there were not enough qualified tradesmen.

“If we could somehow expand this as a program for our students, particularly in this area where there is a lack of construction capacity at the housing level, I think everyone would benefit, not just the students, but the community and (the) county.” ” Hopkins said.

Additional questions focused on improvements to the Iron Mountain campus, challenges facing higher education and more.

Following questions, Soderman and Hopkins made a closing statement.

“Community is very important to me; I think it’s just great to teach and try to help other people get better. Providing these outstanding facilities, faculty and opportunities for students is, in my opinion, simply amazing. And again, the goal is to give people the best possible education at a reasonable cost and ultimately just have them stay here, help our community and continue to grow.” Soderman said.

Before concluding, Hopkins noted that he and Soderman agreed on much.

“The good news at Bay College is that the youth there focus not only on their education, but also on their wholeness as an emerging adult, their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. The support they receive from employees. Especially in terms of the pantry and the advice and guidance

It gave this college a name and made it one of the 25 best in the country. So now if you have a facility like this, little tweaks around the edges will make it even better,” Hopkins said.

The forum continued with candidates for Delta County Commissioner for Districts Three and Four, the Gladstone City Commission and the 108th State Representative seat. For coverage of the three remaining forums, see Friday’s edition of the Daily Press.