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The Officers of SMARTERDr. Don Smith, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University, is the chairperson of the board of directors of SMARTER. He is a leading traffic-safety expert, having authored or co-authored numerous publications as well as having consulted on or directed numerous traffic-safety research projects. Don is the grandfather (some might say the godfather) of Michigan’s rider education program. He was selected by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to conduct Michigan's first motorcycle instructor training in 1973 and was a consultant to the Foundation in the development of the first Beginning Rider Course and the initial Motorcycle Rider Skill Test. Don served as the motorcycle safety program coordinator at Michigan State University for many years. He, along with Tom Hampton, built Michigan’s rider training programs. Dan Petterson, Ed.D., is SMARTER's chief executive officer. Dan is one of four individuals in Michigan currently certified to train instructors for Michigan’s Motorcycle Safety Program. He has been actively involved in rider education since 1984. He earned his Chief Instructor/Coach Trainer certification in 1990 and was selected by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation as the outstanding Coach Trainer of the Year for 2003. Dan currently serves as a curriculum-development consultant with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. He owns several motorcycles and rides street, off-road, and track. Dan is a graduate of the Penguin Motorcycle Road Racing novice and advanced schools, Freddie Spencer's High Performance Riding School, and three of four levels of the California Superbike School. Tom Hampton served as SMARTER's inaugural vice chairperson. If Dr. Smith is the grandfather of Michigan’s rider-education program, Tom is certainly the father. He led Michigan’s rider education program as the first Educational Consultant for Rider Education with the Michigan Department of Education and served from May 1979 through his retirement in May 1997. Tom is the architect of Michigan's Rider Education Program. Jorge Cerame, current vice chairperson of SMARTER, having replaced Tom Hampton upon his resignation, has been involved in motorcycle-safety instruction for over ten years. He has been an instructor and RiderCoach in schools in both California and Michigan. Jorge is an engineer who works for Dow Chemical Company's Environmental, Health and Safety Department. Kim Cloud is the board secretary of SMARTER. Kim is an active RiderCoach with both the publicly funded program sponsored by Ferris State University and the Riders Edge program sponsored by Hot Rod Harley-Davidson of Muskegon. Kim retired from his elementary school teaching position in 2006 and is now enjoying more time in his garage. He rides both street and off-road bikes. Linda Thompson is the treasurer of SMARTER. Linda is a dynamic RiderCoach known for her outstanding positive support for struggling new riders. As a RiderCoach, she works for several northern Michigan public sponsors and is actively involved in Harley-Davidson's Riders Edge program. Linda currently serves the Riders Edge community as both a RiderCoach and a Quality Improvement Specialist. She is an elementary school teacher who holds a master's degree specializing in teaching children to read. Board member Rich Henrion is a Detroit-area native who has lived most of his adult life in "da UP." Rich holds double master's degrees in education, is a Master Mechanic, a Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCoach (since 1980), RiderCoach Trainer (since 1985), MSF Chief Instructor award winner, long-time Iron Butt member, and multi-time guest author for the BMW owners association magazine. He is also the best person to ride long distance with, as he never gets lost (GPS expert) and has the skill and carries the tools to fix any possible breakdown. Board member Steve Lick is the former director of the Professional Development and Training Institute for Ferris State University and has served as the administrator of their Motorcycle Safety Program. He has also served as founder and coordinator of the Allegan County Intermediate School Motorcycle Safety Program and the Grand Rapids Community College Motorcycle Safety Programs. Steve has been a RiderCoach/Instructor since 1998, and became Riders Edge certified in 2006. Among the RiderCoaches who have worked for Steve, he has a reputation as the boss from heaven. Steve expects and demands excellence, but is the kind of person who knows that you get what you model and support. He is a RiderCoach who can demonstrate what he expects. When it comes to RiderCourse curriculum-aligned creative tools, Steve is a leader. Board member Mark Plant was raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where he learned off-road riding, starting out with a Honda 70 trails bike. He has been a certified MSF RiderCoach since 1990 and currently works for the Ferris State University and Grand Rapids Community College Motorcycle Safety Programs. Additionally, since 1999, Mark has been a Sidecar/Trike instructor, certified by the Evergreen Safety Council. He has also coached for the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, of which he is a life member. Mark currently rides a touring bike. After many years of doing building maintenance repairs, he now inspects and repairs bleachers in school gymnasiums. Board member Diane Tammens has off-road, track-day, and street- riding experience. Diane recently retired from a career as a teacher and public school administrator. She has been a certified MSF RiderCoach since 2000 and is a RiderCoach who thoughtfully and with rigor applies her deep knowledge of how people learn to her facilitation of rider training courses. Her first bike was a SRX 250 Yamaha (you know the little red-and-white sport bike with the red seat), and she longs to have it back again. Former board member Jon Twork's entire professional career was in the motorcycle industry, first with Suzuki and then Yamaha. Now a dedicated RV'er, Jon resigned from the board when his term expired. Jon was formerly a rider training instructor/coach and a long-time coordinator of rider education in northwest Michigan. He began his involvement in rider training with the formal start of Michigan's statewide program in 1984, led the Central Michigan University rider-education program when it was recognized as an Outstanding Regional Program in 1988, and continued his active involvement in rider education until his retirement in 2000. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation recognized Jon's career-long contributions to rider safety by awarding him a special Outstanding Motorcycle Safety Promotion award.
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