ESCANABA — Tom Butch has announced his intention to retire from the Bay College Board of Trustees upon completion of his last term expiring December 31. Butch has faithfully represented the citizens of Delta County and Bay College for 50 years.

Butch was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Ray LaPorte in April 1974. He resigned in March 1979 for a short time, due to a conflict of interest because a family member was hired temporarily by the college. He was appointed in August 1979 to fill the unexpired term of Charles Follo. He was re-elected to office in 1980, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018.

Butch worked with college presidents Tony Wuehle, 1971-1985; Dwight Link, 1985-1997; Michael Allkins, 1997-2006; Laura Coleman, 2006-2023; and Nerita Hughes, 2023-present, and was instrumental in the hiring of the last four presidents.

“Mr. Butch has provided outstanding leadership, vision, and dedication towards excellence in student success. He represented Bay College on the Michigan Community College Association Board of Directors and Legislative Committee for many years, working tirelessly for equitable state appropriations funding for the college,”Bay officials stated in a press release.

His service was was commemorated in 2019 when the board of trustees re-named the college library, the Thomas L. Butch Library, in his honor.