Noah Johnson Daily Press Bay College Board of Trustees candidate Steven Soderman answers a question from the moderator as fellow candidate Dennis Hopkins listens in at Wednesday’s voter forum in Escanaba.

ESCANABA – The Delta County League of Women Voters (LWV), in partnership with the American Association of University Women (AAUW), held a candidate forum on Wednesday in the Escanaba City Council Chambers.

Shannon Taylor moderated the event.

The forum featured four segments, starting with the Bay College Board of Trustees.

Candidates running for the board are Dennis Hopkins, Terri Mileski and Steven Soderman.

Only Hopkins and Soderman participated in the forum, as Mileski had a scheduling conflict.

There are two seats open on the Bay College Board of Trustees.

Each candidate began with a 60-second opening statement.

Hopkins provided his background, citing his career as a Navy Captain, Chair of the Academic Services Board at the University of Michigan, and the Bark River Legion Post 438 Treasure.

“The reason why I’m running for this seat is because in the 11 years I lived here. What I see happening at Bay College in the dynamics that are going on out there are phenomenal. And so when you see a winning team with a winning process, you want to be a part of that,” Hopkins said.

Soderman also provided his background, speaking to his alumni status at Bay College and his position as CEO and Owner of VanAire in Gladstone.

“So with that, I have a lot of experience manufacturing, fiscal responsibility, and sustainability of businesses, and I hope to bring that to (the) Bay College Board. Along with that, I spent a lot of time with our company and the CTE program with ISD. It is very important to me that we can continue our education and along opportunities for kids,” Soderman said.

The candidates were asked various questions about Bay College and what plans they had in mind.

One question asked candidates why they are seeking the position.

“I do want to participate and be more active in our community. As I had mentioned in my opening statement, education is very important to me, as being a leader in the company. I also want to make sure that we have a very effective leaders in our community also and that really begins with our youth,” Soderman said.

He added that he also wants to focus on retaining the youth in the community, and the best way to do so is to promote what Bay offers.

“As I alluded to earlier, the changes that I’ve seen in the last 11 years her been so good. The campus has gone or has become, from what I see, such an inclusive and diverse campus. I mean, we have a woman of color who’s the president of this campus. The athletics programs that have been brought to the campus since I’ve lived up here have brought, again, a range of diversity within the student body that just didn’t exist before,” Hopkins said.

He pointed to Bay College President Nerita Hughes, saying her mantra is about the students.

Another question focused on the candidate’s ideas for increasing workforce training and other programs.

“We have so many opportunities here in the UP to attain, attract and retain our workforce,” Soderman said.

He added that the area needs more assistance in manufacturing and the service sector throughout the UP.

“We really need to keep the people that we got,” he added.

Hopkins agreed with Soderman, saying he would like to see more activity in building trades.

“What I would like to see particularly emphasized is to offer or encourage partnerships, particularly with the building trades,” Hopkins said.

He recognized the housing shortage, saying part of the reason is that there are not enough skilled tradespeople.

“If we could somehow expand upon that as a program for our students, particularly this area where there’s a dearth of construction capability at the housing level, I think everybody would benefit, not only the students, but the community and (the) county,” Hopkins said.

Other questions focused on improvements at the Iron Mountain campus, challenges facing higher education and more.

Following the questions, Soderman and Hopkins made a closing statement.

“Community is very important to me; educating and trying to help other people want to better themselves, providing those excellent facilities, the faculty, you know, opportunities for students, I think is just awesome. And again, the goal is, how do we get people the best education, they can at a right cost and eventually just have them, stay here, you know, help out our community, keep growing,” Soderman said.

Before closing, Hopkins recognized that he and Soderman agreed on a lot.

“The good news about Bay College is what’s being done now with the youngsters going there to not only focus on their education but to focus on their wholeness as a burgeoning adult, their physical well-being, their emotional well-being, their mental well-being. The support that they get from the staff. Particularly food pantry-wise and counseling wise and guidance wise

It’s given this college a name, and it’s made it one of the top 25 in the country. So when you’ve got an establishment in place like that now, tweaks on the edges are just going to make it even better,” Hopkins said.

The forum continued with Delta County Commissioner candidates for Districts Three and Four, Gladstone City Commission, and the seat for the 108th State Representative. Look for coverage of the three remaining forums in Friday’s edition of the Daily Press.