BENTON TOWNSHIP — Lake Michigan College welcomed a new member to its Board of Trustees, and said farewell to another during its Aug. 30 board meeting.

Jeff Curry was officially sworn in for a three-year term replacing Stephen Small, who joined the board in 2013 and resigned earlier this month.

Curry brings an extensive background in business, education and non-profit leadership to LMC’s seven-member board. He is the past president of the Lake Michigan College Foundation and past president and current treasurer of the Niles Community School District Board of Education. He is a member of the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation and is on the founding committee for the Buchanan Promise scholarship.

He has served on the Kinexus board and is a former board member and campaign chair for the United Way of Southwest Michigan. He is also past president of the Niles-Buchanan YMCA, the Buchanan Lions Club, Toastmasters International and the Fun Financial Literacy Institute.

In 2015 he was named Michigan Credit Union Foundation’s Community Volunteer of the Year.

Professionally, he has held top positions at several area financial institutions, and for more than a decade oversaw Express-1 as its chief operating officer and president.

He currently leads sales strategy and business development for Stay Metrics. Curry holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kalamazoo College.

“The development of our local human resources is so important to our businesses,” Curry said. “Not only deciding to be in this community, but beating their competition because they have the best trained employees possible. I learned that first hand when I was at Express-1 and we needed somebody to bridge the gap between becoming small and then large. That gap was training and we received it through Lake Michigan College. It’s human resources that win the day around here and LMC develops those resources.”

A native of St. Joseph, Michigan, Curry resides in Niles with his wife, Diane, who is principal and special education director for Niles Community Schools’ Southside School. She is a Lake Michigan College alumna and received LMC’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2012. The couple has volunteered together chairing LMC Winner’s Circle fundraiser.

“I feel like I’ve been involved in the college for a long, long time,” Jeff said. “It’s our college and it’s our community’s college.”

“Jeff is an exceptional addition who will help usher LMC into its next chapter,” said LMC Board Chair Mary Jo Tomasini. “He possesses a unique understanding of LMC’s interconnectedness with business, K-12 education and workforce development. His insight will help LMC continue to innovate, explore new opportunities and add value to the communities we serve. We are very fortunate to have someone with his experience and dedication on the board.”

Curry replaces Stephen Small, of South Haven, who recently submitted his resignation in order to teach at the college.

LMC’s conflict of interest policy requires a one-year wait after serving as a board member before becoming employed.

Small is an ordained minister and retired lawyer who served as LMC’s general counsel and labor negotiator. He also taught business law at LMC before becoming a trustee and hopes to teach again at the South Haven campus in fall of 2017.

“I became a trustee to encourage LMC folks to focus attention a bit more on our South Haven campus,” Small said. “I hope that has happened and will continue. I know the community north of Berrien County is highly supportive of the college’s efforts throughout the district. It has been a friendship-creating experience, and a positive one, for me.”

His father, Robert Small, was on LMC’s original board of trustees and chaired the board for several years. Small’s family created a scholarship fund in his name, which still operates today. Stephen Small and his wife, Karen, have three daughters.