It’s been a year since Bill Wild left his position as Mayor of the City of Westland, Michigan to become the President & CEO of MIRA and MIRF. He reflects with Bottom Line on his first year in his new position and what he is focused on heading into 2024.
MIRA’s Communications Director and Content Writer, Vanessa Denha Garmo sat down with the CEO for a candid conversation on his first year. This interview can also be heard on It’s Your Community which aired on WJR 760 AM, 96.3 FM, and 93.1 FM at www.wjr.com/wjr-weekend-experts.
So, looking back at your year as the president and CEO of MIRA and MIRF, how would you describe 2023?
First, it went by fast! Transitioning from my previous position there was a lot to learn. I was very fortunate to transition with my predecessor Ed Weglarz and ease into taking over the day-to-day operations. Ed was amazing and continues to be extremely helpful whenever I call on him. Ed did a great job of managing the association during the COVID-19 pandemic and deserves a lot of credit for for keeping our membership and staff together during the economic chaos that it created. I made a lot of changes this past year including several staff, vendor, and system changes that I felt were needed and while change is never easy, I believe that we made a lot of progress. I’m enjoying the work. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the staff and Board of Directors better and meeting the membership has been a real pleasure. I’m looking forward to another great year in 2024.
What are some of the successes that you can point to in the past year?
I think looking back at the past year, one of the things I am most proud of is our improved government relations department. We take pride in serving as the voice of independent retailers in the state capitals and that takes time and talent to deliver. Midyear I named Jerry Griffin as MIRA Vice President of Governmental Affairs. Jerry is a Lansing veteran with 20 years of experience and was able to step right in and manage the work of our lobbyists and political action committees. Jerry also works with state regulatory agencies daily on behalf of our members. He’s just really brought a lot of stability to that department.
I think we’ve also made a conscious effort to try to improve all the events that MIRA puts on to take each of them to the next level. MIRA’s communications team has applied the same principle to the several publications we produce, and I think we’ve come a long way. We jumped into the deep end on social media, and we’re pleased with how all our platforms are showing growth and our improved MIRA Insider newsletter is starting to get traction.
We also brought in veteran marketer Terry Packer to head up our marketing and business development efforts and promoted Kelli Petty to the newly created Director of Events and a Member Engagement position. Longtime MIRA employee Mary Ann Yono, the voice you hear first when you call our office, was promoted to Director of Business Relations. It’s been a very successful first year.
Speaking of the government affairs side of the business and the work Jerry Griffin is doing, what are some of the legislative issues that members should be paying attention to as we move into 2024?
In both Michigan and Ohio our members should closely watch what the states are going to do with tobacco because a lot of our retailers are heavily dependent on sales of these products. As states and local municipalities work to curb smoking, our retailers must stay abreast of changes that would affect their sales. I would also encourage our members in Michigan to keep track of what’s happening with liquor delivery, as several bills that are in the pipeline could be troublesome and we want to make sure that our members are not blindsided. Also, as we move into 2024, you’re going to see MIRA take a leadership position in tackling the decades-old bottle bill in Michigan and will continue to work with state agencies to advocate for improved discounts to our retailers on liquor and improve commissions on lottery sales.
You mentioned that you have enjoyed working with MIRA’s Board of Directors. What are some of the goals that the Board has set for 2024?
The Board has been great and under the leadership of chairman Bobby Hesano, the board is focused on making strategic investments to improve our business model, doubling down on branding the association and attracting new members.
The Board will conduct a strategic planning session in early 2024 that will focus on, among other topics, the potential of moving beyond our current membership base, which has been independent retailers in the food, beverage, and petroleum industries for years. Expanding membership to additional independent retailers in other industries could give us the ability to continue growth more sustainably with the ongoing contraction of our core industries. The Board is also committed to continuing to build out our endorsed business programs. While our government affairs and policy work remain the top reason retailers should join MIRA, the board wants members to see the value of their membership add to the profitability of their companies. We are currently working on adding more business programs to help our members improve their bottom line.
One of the things that I noticed in the way that you manage MIRA, is that you collaborate, connect, and communicate with other organizations and have joined other associations. Can you speak about that, the value of networking and meeting other members within the industry?
Other state and national associations are doing great work and we can learn from their work as they can learn from ours as well. I enjoy collaborating with other organizations on interests that we may share and have always been open to sharing best practices. We continue to build on a long relationship with NACS, the National Association of Convenience Stores, and have recently joined the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, to raise the profile of the association and build our network of business partners.
You come to the association with a unique background because you have both private and public sector backgrounds. You owned your own business; you worked in government. So, you can share different perspectives with the members from your experience. Share with us how your experience has helped in your position with MIRA.
I feel like every position that I’ve held before being the President & CEO of MIRA has helped prepare me for this position. I fall back a lot on the organizational skills and operational and promotional skills that I learned as a mayor but also those small businessman skills that I learned as a business owner. I see a lot of our members are in similar situations that I experienced in business and I’m able to relate and offer help. I was always involved with the state and national associations in the industry that my business was in so I had some comfort level with associations, and I understood the value.
Name one thing that surprised you, Bill, about the position and the association.
One thing that surprised me was the amount of time our government affairs department has spent on liquor issues, which of late, has been a Michigan-centric topic. We don’t spend nearly the same amount of time on liquor issues in other states.
How would you like to see the members more engaged with MIRA moving forward?
I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get our members to utilize all the benefits that come with their membership. There are many great benefits beyond government affairs. We offer a ton of great rebate and discount programs and many times, just by participating in one or two programs the savings would more than cover your annual membership fee. We spend a lot of time trying to educate our members on participating in these programs because a lot of the time they are leaving money on the table. Members don’t utilize our programs that save them money on health care, payroll, HR, and other backroom services as much as they should because they could remove so much of the frustration that they deal with and save them money! I also encourage our retailers to come to our events. At our events members can meet the suppliers and vendors that they depend on. Typically, a retailer may only interact with a salesperson or order taker, at our events, they can meet and build personal relationships with the real decision-makers.
Bill, you touched upon your experience as mayor and your experience in the private and public sector, but what has helped you the most in your years of experience, both the public and private sector that you have been able to bring to the role as president, CEO of an association?
Relationships for sure – the relationships that I made in both the business world and the political world have been and will continue to be an asset as we work to grow the association. MIRA is looked at as a leader in the industries of food, beverage, and petroleum in the retail sector, and has been for a long time. I’m working to make sure all the relationships that I brought to the table understand my role with MIRA, as well as the history of the association, the work we do, and the challenges we face. Relationships are crucial.
Those small business skills that I learned help me in the office as we make sure that we’re being financially sound with our dues and making smart business decisions for the association and the foundation.
Any other exciting things that members can look forward to in 2024?
February 3rd is going to be MIRA’s 106th Annual Gala. It’s a black-tie (suggested) event that’s eagerly awaited every year. It’ll be at the beautiful Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Our theme this year will be Casino Royale, and there will be dancing, lots of martinis and casino style games. We will be sending out invites to our members shortly and it will sell out fast.
MIRA members can look forward to a new fully interactive, membership-driven website that will come online in the first quarter of 2024. The new website will allow all our members to do business with MIRA 24/7. The website will allow members to manage their membership, add or delete participation in programs and see the benefits of their membership with just a few quick clicks and order more liquor books!
We’re going to continue to improve the Bottom Line magazine, but we’re also going to continue to create programs that are going to allow our members to improve their bottom line.
Also, we’re going to bring in some new events in 2024 that are going to be more membership-driven. We’re going to add a fun afternoon at a Detroit Tigers baseball and we will be doing the same thing in Ohio at a Cleveland Guardians game.
Lastly, we will be adding some new events called MIRA Regional Roadshows. This will be an after-hours event. We’re going to do the first one on March 20th in Cleveland. These events will be held in a local banquet hall or hotel, and members will be invited to attend, network, and learn more about all of MIRA’s newest or most popular programs. These will be events where members can interact with MIRA staff and learn of new ways to improve their business efficiency and profitability. These events will also serve as membership drives and non-members will be encouraged to attend and join the association.
Tell us about the Midwest Independent Retailers Foundation (MIRF) the scholarship programs and the foundation going forward.
The MIRF Foundation was created as the philanthropic arm of the association. MIRF raises money every year for our annual College Scholarship Luncheon which is held at the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) in Detroit. We award scholarships to students of MIRA members, their employees, and even their customers. It’s a way that we can give back to the membership and community and show the value of continuing education. We also use this opportunity as a way that we can promote the food, beverage, and petroleum industry to the next generation.
MIRF also raises money for another very popular event, our annual Thanksgiving High Five Turkey Drive which puts turkeys on the tables of families that need a little bit extra help at that time of the year, throughout Michigan and Ohio. It’s something that we’ve been doing for years and it’s something that we love to do.
We will be looking to expand the work of MIRF and our outreach efforts. We’re already talking about doing a food drive to maybe help stock some of our local food pantries and we’re always going to be looking to partner with other organizations that are doing philanthropic things because we believe in good partnerships that are beneficial to our mission.
What else do you want to share with the readers?
I want our members to know that we stand by our seven pillars of service; Business, Government Relations, Vendor Programs, Compliance, Networking, Community Outreach, and the MIRF Foundation, and work every day to bring value to our membership.
