CASSOPOLIS — Enigmatic Chuck Clarke, Benzie County’s first administrator and Cass County’s interim administrator since last March, grew up in Kalamazoo, where his father, a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, reported for the Gazette.

The Western Michigan University graduate entered the Marine Corps for more than 20 years, becoming an officer.

Assignments took him to Vietnam, looking for downed pilots in Hanoi, and Desert Storm.
His family owned property in northern Michigan, so he and his wife, Donna, moved there and Chuck managed a campground after retiring from military service.

Clarke became Benzie County’s first administrator.

“I had a lot of successes, changed a lot of things and created enemies doing that,” he said. “I had a lot of support, then that support evaporated as things changed, and I got terminated. But I still had a hunger for that kind of job. I really enjoyed it.”

He was interviewed for the interim position by phone from Florida while on vacation.

“Who am I and what kind of person am I” Clarke asked. “I’m kind of an enigma. I am aggressive, I can be personable, I consider myself very dynamic. I don’t think you’re going to find someone who’s more dynamic. I like to look ahead and to have a comfortable atmosphere that allows people to banter back and forth and make true relationships. I’m authoritative a little bit. I direct people, but I also listen. You’ve got to give people an opportunity to speak because there’s no monopoly on good ideas. I am probably the calmest person. Nothing bothers me, maybe because of that history in the Marine Corps. I stay unruffled, unflappable, but I can also be very determined. I don’t have a poker face. Calmness is probably my strongest characteristic. But I can also be reserved. I have a commanding presence, but I can also sit in the back. I’m all business. I’m not going to shoot the breeze about football or golf at work.”

Clark is president of a Corvette club.

“I enjoy it, but I’m all business there, too. I’m good at this kind of work and you’ve got a lot of balls in the air. My strengths are English, which I graduated in, and I enjoy writing. My strengths are also in finance, which is kind of a dichotomy. I also have strengths in organizing people and I’m very focused on goals. That’s a good fit for a job like this, where you work for multiple elected people and balance that. I gravitate to those challenges. There’s still a fire inside to accomplish that next goal. There are still hills to climb. I can better county government, better the community and help you do your jobs better. You have several hurdles to climb, but you’re more stable” than his previous position.

“We have new challenges, new issues to accomplish” than those Proctor confronted in the ’90s and ’00s, Clarke said.

“Regionalization has a lot of benefits, like what the road commission’s done. I can see other things, like economic development. Partnering with townships is important, too, and get some common ground so the whole community can move forward instead of being fragmented and you’re all on the same page. That’s a tough nut to crack, but you’ve got to try. A frustration with this job is you’ve got substantive things you want to accomplish, but you’ve also got fires to put out. You’ve got to have realistic timelines and delegate. You, as a board, need to set goals. I see my role as helping you define those goals.”