01/05/2023

MAC Executive Committee – Working for YOU and YOUR Patients

During Vote at Today’s MAC Board Meeting, Dr. Steven Simmons and Dr. M. Douglas Lynes Joined Dr. Markle, Dr. Murkowski, and Dr. Olszewski on MAC Executive Committee

As per MAC By-Laws, at the first meeting of the year of the Board of Directors, after the newly elected District Representatives assume their offices, the Board is charged with electing one of their members to the position of Director of Financial Affairs and one of their members to the position of Director of Internal Affairs. At today’s January Board meeting, Dr. Steven Simmons of Midland was elected to serve as Director of Internal Affairs, and Dr. M. Douglas Lynes of Portage was elected to serve as Director of Financial Affairs. Dr. Simmons and Dr. Lynes join MAC President, Dr. Robert Markle of Bay City, Vice President/Director of External Affairs, Dr. Kenneth Murkowski, II, of Clarkston, and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Lisa Olszewski of Chelsea on the Executive Committee.

About the MAC Executive Committee

Dr. Robert Markle, President

Dr. Robert Markle was elected last year to serve as the MAC’s ninth President. As President, Dr. Markle serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the MAC and is responsible for the general and active management of the business of the organization. He is also charged with ensuring that all orders and resolutions of the MAC Board of Directors are put into effect. The President also presides over Executive Committee and general membership meetings. During the past two years, Dr. Markle served as Vice President/Director of External Affairs. Executive Committee terms began January 1^st and run through December 31, 2024.

Dr. Markle served on the MAC Board of Directors representing District 5 since the inception of the MAC in 2007 until his election to Vice President/Director of External Affairs in 2021. In 2015, he re-joined the Executive Committee after a nearly 10-year absence, serving as Director of Financial Affairs. During the MAC’s first two years (2007-2008), Dr. Markle served on the Executive Committee as Director of Internal Affairs.

In 2020, Dr. Markle was named the MAC’s Chiropractor of the Year “in appreciation for valuable leadership, service, and dedication above and beyond the call of duty to the chiropractic profession.” The award was given primarily for his heroic efforts as a first responder who worked tirelessly when the Midland community faced massive flooding at the end of May 2020. In 2013, Dr. Markle was the recipient of the MAC Community Champion Award, given yearly “in recognition and appreciation of their unselfish commitment to serving others and their community.” Dr. Markle has also been awarded the MAC Dedicated Service Award as a member of the Sergeant-at-Arms Subcommittee. Dr. Markle has served his state association in many ways over the years, including as President of MAC District 5.

Dr. Kenneth Murkowski, II, Vice President of External Affairs

As Vice President/Director of External Affairs, Dr. Murkowski acts as the liaison between the Executive Committee and the Government Affairs and Legal Affairs committees. He is directly responsible for coordinating staff and consultants to carry out these important committees’ functions. During the past two years, Dr. Murkowski served as Chair of the MAC Insurance Relations Committee. He previously served on the Executive Committee as Director of Internal Affairs (2019-2020), overseeing the Ethics/Peer Review, Insurance, and Education/Programs Committees, and as a member of the MAC Board of Directors representing District 7

Dr. Murkowski has also served as District 7 President and Vice President of District 4. Each year, the MAC presents its Rising Star award “in appreciation of members who are stepping above and beyond for the chiropractic profession by taking on leadership roles.” The MAC named Dr. Murkowski our “Rising Star” for 2016. A second-generation chiropractor and one of three practicing chiropractors in his family, he is a graduate of Palmer.

Dr. Steven Simmons, Director of Internal Affairs

Dr. Steven Simmons returns to the Executive Committee for the second time as Director of Internal Affairs. In this position, Dr. Simmons acts as the liaison between the Executive Committee and the Ethics, Professional Conduct & Peer Review Committee, as well as the Insurance Relations and Education & Programs committees. He is directly responsible to coordinate such staff and consultants as required to carry out these committees’ functions. Dr. Simmons continues to serve on the MAC Board of Directors representing District 5. He has also served as Vice Chair of the Ethics and Professional Conduct Peer Review Committee and as a member of the Legal Affairs Committee. In 2020, he and his wife, Vanessa, received the MAC’s “Community Champion Award” “in recognition and appreciation of their unselfish commitment to serving others and their community” for his efforts during the “500-year flood event” in Midland.

A 1999 graduate of Palmer, Dr. Simmons was voted by his Palmer classmates “Most Likely to Build a Shrine to B.J. Palmer.” He has fulfilled that title. His collection includes more than four sets of the original green books, several original portable adjusting tables, and an original knee chest table from the 1900s. He currently also serves as the Michigan State Representative for Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Alumni Association. He has been a Palmer College of Chiropractic Presidents Club member since March 2003.

Dr. M. Douglas Lynes, Director of Financial Affairs

Dr. M. Douglas Lynes returns to the Executive Committee for the second time as Director of Financial Affairs. In this important post, Dr. Lynes serves as liaison between the Executive Committee and the Audit & Budget and Membership Recruitment & Benefits committees. He is directly responsible to coordinate all staff and consultants whose chief purpose involves the financial affairs of the organization. Dr. Lynes has served as a member of the MAC Board of Directors representing District 6 since 2014. He also serves on the MAC Public Relations Committee and the Government Relations Committee. In 2017, the MAC Leadership Committee presented the organization’s “Rising Star Award” to Dr. Lynes “in appreciation of members who are stepping above and beyond for the chiropractic profession by taking on leadership roles.”

In December 2022, Dr. Lynes was appointed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to serve on the Michigan Board of Chiropractors. For more information on this appointment, click here.

Dr. Lynes holds a bachelor’s degree in organic chemistry from Southwestern Michigan College and earned his doctorate from Palmer in 1996. He served as an Associate Clinical Instructor for Activator Methods from 2015-2018.

Dr. Lisa Olszewski, Chairwoman of the Board

As Chairwoman of the Board, Dr. Olszewski presides over MAC Board of Directors meetings and acts as the liaison between the Executive Committee and the Public Relations Committee. Dr. Olszewski served the past two years as MAC President. Her tenure was highlighted by her leadership through the second and third years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the passage into law of two critically important pieces of legislation – Public Acts 31 and 32 of 2022. These bipartisan, patient-friendly bills (overwhelmingly passed by the Michigan Senate and House by 36-0 and 99-4 votes, respectively) allow chiropractors and like-minded MDs/DOs to form a professional corporation or professional limited liability company together. She becomes the organization’s first woman to serve as Chair of the Board

In 2013, in an historic vote of the MAC Board of Directors, Dr. Olszewski became the first woman to serve on the MAC Executive Committee with her election to the position of Director of Financial Affairs. The winner of the 2012 MAC Rising Star Award, she was the first student from Palmer ever elected as National Chairperson of the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA). She was an active leader within numerous clubs, classes, and organizations, and has received various awards demonstrating her commitment to excellence, including 2002 “Member of the Year” (SACA), the John Connolly Memorial Award (Outstanding Graduate – Palmer), and the 2002-2003 Member of the Year (Palmer Student ACA). Until her election as Vice President, she continuously represented District 4 on the Board of Directors since 2010. She has also served in numerous leadership positions within District 4, including President from 2012-2018.

Board of Directors / District Officers

District 1

Board of Directors:

• Susan Blaskay of Livonia
• Barry Hobbs of Livonia

District Leadership:

• President: Dr. Susan Blaskay
• Vice President: Dr. Barry Hobbs

District 2

Board of Directors:

• Eric DiMartino of Chesterfield Township
• Nick Hartop of Chesterfield Township

District Leadership:

• President: Elra Morgan of Marine City
• Treasurer: Mackenzie Goss of Sterling Heights
• Secretary: Jack Goss of Sterling Heights

District 3

Board of Directors:

• Robert Levine of Farmington Hills
• Sara Whedon of Rochester

District Leadership:

• President: Rick Levine of Farmington Hills
• Vice President: Adam Rodnick of Commerce Township

District 4

Board of Directors:

• Dan Painter of Hillsdale
• John Smarch of Jackson

District Leadership:

• President: Dr. John Smarch
• Vice President: Dr. Dan Painter

District 5

Board of Directors:

• Michael Dense of South Haven
• Steven Simmons of Midland

District Leadership:

• President: Corey Rodnick of Midland
• Vice President: Paul Rodnick of Saginaw
• Treasurer: Dan Greene of Prescott
• Secretary: Khaled El-Ganainy of Burton

District 6

Board of Directors:

• M. Douglas Lynes of Portage
• Jeromy Myers of Battle Creek

District Leadership:

• President: Dr. Jeromy Myers
• Vice President: Tiffany Newcastle of Kalamazoo

District 7

Board of Directors:

• Eric Hartman of Jenison
• Ron Wilcox, Jr., of Comstock Park

District Leadership:

• President: Nicole Tilton of Middleville
• Vice President: David Ireland of Grand Haven
• Treasurer: Kelli Wilcox-DeGraaf of Comstock Park

District 8

Board of Directors:

• E. Allen Klumpp of Marquette
• Lewis G. Squires of Scottville

District Leadership:

• President: Brandon Turino of Marquette