RRWC holds Annual Meeting, Jim Mann recognized
Monica Mann accepts a certificate honoring Jim Mann’s work with the River Raisin Watershed Council from Harry Sheehan, chair of the executive committee, at the River Raisin Watershed Council Annual Delegate Meeting on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, in Tecumseh. Photo courtesy of Sybil Kolon.
by Sara Swanson
The River Raisin Watershed Council (RRWC) held their Annual Delegate Meeting on Tuesday, October 28, at County National Bank in Tecumseh. Freedom, Sharon, Bridgewater, and Manchester townships, as well as the City of Manchester, are all municipal members of the council. Manchester-area resident Jim Mann was honored posthumously for his work with the council and the River Raisin.
The RRWC is a nonprofit with a full-time executive director, one full-time outreach/ stewardship staff, and two part-time administrative and communications staff. Their mission is to inspire behaviors that promote stewardship, improve water quality, and encourage public participation to protect, preserve, and enhance the River Raisin Watershed.
The watershed itself is 1,072 square miles, nearly as big as the state of Rhode Island, and includes 63 townships, villages, and cities, each eligible to become a member of RRWC by paying dues that assess 10 cents for each resident in the portion of the municipality in the RR watershed. In recent years they’ve had 54 municipal members.
Representatives from municipalities are required to attend one general meeting per year to elect executive committee (EC) members and officers of the executive committee, and to approve the following year’s budget. The executive committee of seven is made up of representatives from each of the three biggest counties, Lenawee, Monroe, and Washtenaw, and four at-large members who are elected each year at the fall meeting. This business must be accomplished at the fall meeting, otherwise those responsibilities defer to the seven-member executive committee.
Sybil Kolon, Manchester Township resident and out-going EC secretary, explained that because this year’s meeting did not have a quorum of 50% of the members, the EC will now determine the four at-large members of the EC, as well as the officers and budget for 2026. She noted that Pat Vailliencourt, representative from the City of Manchester and a member of the nominating committee, was asked to present the committee’s recommendations, though no vote could be held. Robert Clark, City of Monroe, and Matthew Knobloch, Blissfield Township, had volunteered to serve and were recommended, as well as Phil Kittredge, Cambridge Township, and Stella Kirby, City of Petersburg, who currently serve on the EC.
John Calhoun, representative from Columbia Township and current vice-chair of RRWC, and Kolon, representative from Manchester Township and current secretary, had asked to step down after each served over 10 years on the EC. In addition, Kolon had served as secretary for six years, the maximum allowed by the by-laws. Phil Kittredge, current EC member, agreed to become secretary. There were no volunteers to serve as vice-chair. The EC will make the final determination of EC members and officers, and the 2026 budget, at their November or December monthly meeting.
During the meeting, Harry Sheehan, chair of the EC, presented a framed certificate to Jim Mann’s widow, Monica Mann. Jim Mann served on RRWC for more than 40 years both for the Village and then for Sharon Township after he moved. In 2012, when the RRWC was struggling with leadership, Mann accepted a nomination. Sheehan stated, “Jim stepped up at a very critical time in the life of this organization and he designated much of his time and energy to making the river accessible, a place where children could go and create memories of their childhood, and it gave him great joy.”
Kolon looked through her old files and found the letter he’d written introducing himself to the membership. It stated:
“I live just North of Manchester. The River Raisin runs through my property. I grew up enjoying the river. I have been involved in Manchester’s Annual Canoe and Kayak Race since the first one in May of 1967. I belong to a volunteer group who works every spring to clear trees and debris out of the river north of the Village of Manchester. Our goal is to keep the river passable so that people who are floating down the river in their kayaks have to portage as little as possible. We are careful to accomplish this without disturbing the natural beauty and the wildlife habitats along the river.
“One of my greatest enjoyments is to see the many high school kids coming down the river. They come in kayaks, canoes, and 99 cent inner tubes. I am so happy that the river can provide them with this outdoor recreation.
“I have been a member of the River Raisin Watershed Council since the early 1970s and I served as the River Raisin representative to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources ‘Area of Concern’ for six years.
“As current chairman of the Watershed Council, I will strive to work with all the municipalities along the Raisin River. I realize that downstream the problems you face are different than ours up near the headwaters. Our erosion problems are minimal. Downstream, we need more awareness of filter strips, and run-off protection. Monroe has its own problems with the Area of Concern, however, they seem to be moving along nicely.
“We need to encourage more take-off and landing points along the river. The more we can get people out to experience being on the river, the more support we can get. The river is center to our whole region. We encourage members up and down its banks to bring to our attention any problems or concerns they may have.”
Mann stepped down in 2018.
The certificate recognizes him for his lifelong commitment to the river, his over 40 years of service to the Council, and names him Champion of the River. Kolon stated that she was sorry that they didn’t recognize him sooner.
Afterward, Executive Director Sean Dennis presented information about RRWC’s newly approved strategic plan.
Learn more about RRWC at https://www.riverraisin.org/about-us.
Pat Vailliencourt (l) and Harry Sheehan (r). Photo courtesy of Lydia Lopez.
Photo courtesy of Lydia Lopez.
Sean Dennis, executive director, giving strategic plan presentation. Photo courtesy of Lydia Lopez.
Current and potentially future EC members. Back row: John Calhoun, Rob Clark, Phil Kittredge, Matt Knobloch, Dave Hoffman; front row: Stella Kirby, Harry Sheehan, Sybil Kolon, Mike Ayre. Photo courtesy of Lydia Lopez.
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