Bill Matt

Lansing City Council — Third Ward

Biography

Personal:

William “Bill” Matt was born in 1968 in Bay City, Michigan to Margaret and Francis Matt.  The youngest of 5 children, Bill and his family moved to Gordon Avenue in Lansing in 1971 when Bill was 3 years old.  He also lived on Hodge Avenue, Marion Avenue and Mildred Street.  When Bill was ten years old, his mom was re-married to Bill Beachnau, bringing his sibling clan to a total of 9 kids!  Bill’s immediate family consists of Thomas and Sandy Matt, Jim and Amy Matt, Karen and Richard Brois, George and Yolanda Matt, Dana and Carmen Beachnau, Renee and Bobby Sessions, Rochelle Beachnau, and Gordy and Lori Beachnau.  He has 17 nieces and nephews.

Bill attended Lansing Public Schools, starting with “Little” Everett elementary school, now the South Precinct for Lansing Police.  From there Bill attended Elmhurst elementary, Dwight Rich Junior High School, and J.W. Sexton High School where he graduated in 1986.

Bill and his wife Michelle met in 1989 while working at Meijer.  They were married in 1993, and bought their first house together on Lowcroft Street.  Their first son Nicholas was born in April, 1998.  In 2000 The Matt family moved into their current home on Boston Blvd. in the Colonial Village neighborhood.  Their second son Avery was born in April of 2001, and their youngest son Owen was born in April of 2005.  Nicholas and Avery attend Our Savior Lutheran School in South Lansing.  The Matt family also has a very loud and very fast beagle named Racer.

Professional:

Bill is currently the Director for the Great Lakes Folk Festival, produced by the Michigan State University Museum.  Hired in 2001 to transition the event from the traveling National Folk Festival, the Museum hired Bill away from his previous position as Operations Manager at the Lansing Center.  In 2002 Bill enrolled at Michigan State University in the Broad Business College.  His major is General Business Administration Pre Law, and he carries a 3.80 GPA.  He has completed approximately 80 credits and is in the Junior Class.  Bill typically takes 4 to 5 classes per year trying to balance his school, work, and family life.

Bill also worked in several retail positions, including Loss Prevention for Meijer, Operations Manager for the South Lansing Kmart store, and Store Manager for the Cavanaugh/Pennsylvania Quality Dairy store.

Prior to being appointed to the Lansing City Council, Bill was appointed in 2003 to the Ingham County Parks Commission.  There he served as the Chair of the Budget and Personnel Committee, and helped transition through several major trail extensions, the community built playground, and Splash Pad at Hawk Island Park.  Bill was also appointed to the Potter Park Zoo task Force to help transition the operations from Lansing to Ingham County.

On May 7 after two rounds of interviews, the Lansing City Council voted unanimously to appoint Bill to the 3rd Ward City Council position vacated by Randy Williams.  Bill immediately went to work on the Lansing City budget hearings where he contributed to the proceedings by asking tough questions, and representing the needed voice of South West Lansing.

As a virtual life long resident of Lansing, Bill enjoys the neighborhood and especially Parks.  Bill encourages open, transparent and representative government and would appreciate hearing from you!  Bill is your representative for the city, and serves at your pleasure.

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Original Content Copyright © 2007 by William Matt