The Gogebic Community College Foundation is pleased to announce three new Board of Directors; John Matonich, Clay Thomason, and Daniel Jamison, IV. “We welcome John, Clay and Dan to our Foundation Board,” said Kelly Marczak, Foundation Executive Director. “Each of them will bring a unique perspective to our Board and help us in our mission as we continue to work together to support GCC and our students.”

John Matonich of Marenisco, graduated from A. D. Johnston High School in Bessemer. After graduation, he continued his education at Michigan Technological University and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Land Surveying with Honors in 1981. Matonich, a Professional Surveyor, retired from ROWE Professional Services Company, a firm specializing in consulting engineering, surveying, planning, landscape architecture, aerial photogrammetry, and land development services in the Midwest and across the country, in January of 2016 after 31 years of service.

John joined ROWE in 1981. He was named a principal in 1992, promoted to president in 1997, to Chief Executive Officer in 2001 and as Chairmen in 2006. John is licensed as a professional surveyor in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. He served as president of the National Society of Professional Surveyors, (NSPS) in 2009-2010, and currently serves as the Treasurer of the Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors. John is also a past president of the Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors (MSPS). John was voted as a Fellow Member of the NSPS, ACSM and MSPS organizations.

In 2010, John was appointed by Governor Granholm to Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission (NRC) and reappointed by Governor Snyder in 2014. He served on the NRC until his second term expired at the end of 2017 and served as the Commission’s Chair for the last three years of his second term. John is also a member of the Surveying Curriculum Advisory Committee at Michigan Technological University and has served in that same capacity at Ferris State University. He has also served as adjunct faculty to the University of Michigan – Flint Earth Sciences Department and has been a contributing writer for “Professional Surveyor” magazine as well as a contributing writer for “American Surveyor.”

John is past-chair of the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce and past chairman-elect of the former Flint Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors as well as the past president of the Davison Chamber of Commerce. He is also a former member of the Rotary Club, Optimists Club, and is past chair of the Lapeer Downtown Development Authority. John also served as a Board Member of the Lapeer Economic Development Corporation and the Genesee Shiawassee and Lapeer Hundred Club. He also served on the Board of the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan as well as a board member of the Mott College Foundation. John was also appointed as a commissioner of the Gogebic County Road Commission in January of 2017 and a commissioner of the Gogebic County Forestry and Parks Commission in 2019.

Clay Thomason, a GCC alum, was raised in Ironwood and graduated from Luther L. Wright High School. He completed a semester at Gogebic Community College before transferring to the University of Minnesota-Duluth to further his education in Business-Finance.

Thomason moved back to the area to work alongside his brother and father at Bessemer Plywood Corporation in Bessemer, MI. He currently serves as the Vice President/Owner of the corporation, where he enjoys the daily challenges of running a business and improving technology to makes everyone’s job easier.

His hobbies include skiing and snowboarding at the local ski hills and enjoying time at the lake. Thomason is excited to join the GCC Foundation Board and bring his experiences to help improve in any way that he can.

Dan Jamison resides in the Copper Country of upper Michigan. He was born in Philadelphia PA, but spent every summer up in the Keweenaw at Gratiot Lake as several generations of his mom’s family was from Calumet. After graduating from high school, he traveled the world with Ice Follies, Holiday on Ice, Disney on Ice and Ice Capades for about 12 years, after which he was active in local (Philadelphia) theater, concerts and movies.

Dan earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management from Moravian College in Bethlehem PA and his MBA from Lehigh University in PA. Upon graduation from Lehigh his current resume began. He worked for startups, large multinational technology companies and economic development organizations, which took him from Pennsylvania to New England, to California and ultimately back to Gratiot Lake. Upon returning to Gratiot Lake he purchased the house that his Grandfather built back in the 1940s. During those years Dan travelled extensively to Asia, Europe, Russia, and Finland and was involved in many emerging technologies including WIFI, touchpads and touchscreens, mobile phones, fingerprint sensors and systems and others.

Dan feels that his lifetime of pre and post college experiences help him to clearly see the great role that GCC can have in the educational evolution of students and really wants to help that mission continue to succeed as a way of paying his opportunities forward.

Dan is currently employed with Idex, a Norwegian biometric company that is putting fingerprint sensors on credit cards. His work experiences include managing IP portfolios, drafting and negotiating complex partnerships, acquisitions and SEC filings. Dan serves on the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission and the Keweenaw Trails Service, also known as the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club. He and his wife reside in Gratiot Lake.