Mitchell L. Irwin
Class Year: 2002
County: Chippewa
Title: Former Michigan State Senator Businessman, The Irwin Group, Ltd.
Bio:We learned a lot about simple, but important things like responsibility and respect for others and some very valuable lessons like leadership, citizenship and obligation to others. If every kid could be a member of 4-H we would have a much stronger society.
Mitch Irwin, president of The Irwin Group, Ltd., a business development, investment and consulting firm, served in the Michigan Senate for 12 years. He was Democratic floor leader in 1996 and chaired the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Appropriations. As a state senator, Irwin wrote several public acts, including the Community Convention and Tourism Marketing Act, the Older Michiganian Act, the Medicare Supplemental Insurance Reform Act and the Great Lakes Conservation Act. He also cosponsored the Michigan Education Trust and founded the Senior Intern Program. Before being elected state senator, he worked as an associate planner for the Eastern Upper Peninsula Regional Planning and Development Commission and as administrative assistant to the Economic Development Corporation. Irwin has been a strong youth advocate, serving as a teacher and coach at St. Marys Parochial School and as a juvenile counselor. He is currently a board member and benefactor of the Michigan 4-H Foundation and an active advocate for Native American issues.