MICHIGAN UNITED CONSERVATION CLUBS HIRES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Prominent, veteran government affairs specialist Dennis Muchmore will helm state’s largest conservation organization.

LANSING, MI — The Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Michigan’s oldest and largest conservation organization – and the largest grassroots conservation organization in the United States – today announced that it has hired Dennis Muchmore as its new Executive Director.

An avid sportsman with a love for fly fishing, as well as pheasant hunting, Muchmore has long been an advocate for Michigan’s great outdoors, serving as a lobbyist on behalf of the MUCC on many important conservation issues over the years, including Michigan’s seminal bottle deposit bill.

“The Michigan United Conservation Clubs has worked for seventy years to protect Michigan’s important natural resources and great outdoors,” said Muchmore. “It has led the conservation movement in Michigan, and is considered one of the great statewide conservation organizations in the country. I want to ensure that we carry that leadership forward. The need for a strong voice for Michigan’s outdoors has never been greater.”

Muchmore was selected following a search that began in February and was conducted by a committee comprised of members of the MUCC board of directors and executive committee, as well as members of the public at large.

As Director, Muchmore will manage the organization, direct media relations, spearhead fundraising and promote the MUCC’s core conservation mission.

Muchmore was a founding partner of Muchmore, Harrington, Smalley & Associates, a leading Michigan public affairs firm, and currently is “Of Counsel” to MHSA. Most recently he has served as an Executive Vice President of DHR International, the nation’s fifth largest executive recruiting firm. Along with serving on several corporate and educational boards, Muchmore is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Michigan State University Public Policy Program. He has served as Vice President of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and consultant to the Michigan Senate Select Committee on Municipal Finance.

Bob Garner, past MUCC treasurer, life member, and former producer and host of their flagship television show, Michigan Out-of-Doors, gave Muchmore and the MUCC Search Committee a ringing endorsement.

“Dennis is absolutely the best person they could have chosen out of a field of great candidates. It shows me that the committee knew their mission, understood what kind of leadership we needed for the organization, and selected exactly the right person at the right time. Dennis will be great, not only for the MUCC, but for all those who care about Michigan.”

Newly re-elected board president, Don Meixner, also a member of the search committee, concurred. “Dennis has terrific insights, ideas, and a great vision for the future of the MUCC. He brings a fresh energy that will help us embark in new directions as Michigan’s first voice for conservation.”

Muchmore and the MUCC received high praise at the national level as well. Fred Myers, Vice President of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, one of the most prominent outdoor sporting and conservation coalitions in the country said, “Theodore Roosevelt, America’s greatest conservation president declared, ‘There can be no issue greater than that of conservation.’ Without a doubt no outdoor organization in America has worked harder or done more to advance T.R.’s conservation legacy than MUCC. Their choice of veteran lobbyist and conservationist Dennis Muchmore once again signifies MUCC’s commitment to give Michigan hunters and anglers a determined voice for their policymaking interest in Lansing.”

Muchmore replaces Sam Washington, who stepped down last spring. Prior to Muchmore’s selection, MUCC Policy Director Donna Stine served as Interim Director.

Celebrating 70 years as the First Voice for Michigan’s Great Out-of-Doors, Michigan United Conservation Clubs is the nation's largest and one of the oldest state conservation organization. Since its inception in 1937, MUCC has been the first voice for Michigan's great out-of-doors. It speaks for over 50,000 members and 500 affiliate clubs.