Note From Debbie

May 22, 2025

A longtime and well-respected member of MLA came up to me at Advocacy Day while I was grabbing a cup of coffee.  While I don’t remember her exact words, the sentiment went something like this…”You have done great things for MLA, and while we will miss you, I want you to know that you have set this organization up for success. You have instituted a succession plan for leadership that will guide us well into the future.  I’ve been around a long time, and I don’t recall anyone doing this for MLA in the past. You have shown your professionalism and how much you care, from the start of your tenure to the very last day.” 

Thank you, Julie Farkas, for your kind words and for validating the work that goes into the forward momentum of MLA. It is always good to hear that our members truly support and know the hard work to solidify the decisions we make.

I promised the MLA board that I wouldn’t leave anything left to chance and would work on behalf of this organization until the last minute of the last day. The most important discussion we had was to develop a succession plan where we thought through every detail, were flexible enough to make tweaks as we went, and we had a plan we were comfortable implementing. I am proud to say that not only did we implement a well-thought-out plan, but this past Monday, the onboarding of our new Interim Executive Director commenced. 

On the surface, Dillon already has a firm grasp on what MLA needs to succeed…and has immediately jumped into taking the reins on an important intellectual freedom challenge that is brewing; sharing his strong and solid opinion on MLA’s new strategic direction; instituting a motion and E-Vote of the board; attending a full meeting on the Mellon grant; making a presentation to a group in Grosse Ile about the IMLS and what that might mean to them; adding his thoughts on the workgroup selections; and this week, he attends his first MLA event – Think Space – as an MLA staff member. And we are only at day 2!

I think the part that I may be enjoying a little bit more than the “big stuff”…is sharing some of the internal work – the “behind the scenes” work, sharing hundreds of “random thoughts,” and of course, a few of the “things I didn’t get to.” I have already learned that he has no problem going from 0 to 75 miles per hour in a matter of seconds, knows how to take the curves – switching back and forth between the wealth of responsibilities quickly and effortlessly, and…he is awake and ready to work long before I even get my computer turned on.

I know you will want to be in contact with Dillon. His new email is [email protected] or by phone/text at (517) 881-1266. If you need to reach me for the next month or so, I can still be reached at [email protected], but I will be working off my personal cell (517) 404-3533.  Please feel free to call or text even after I depart.

A huge shoutout to Sharon Crotser, Director of the St. Ignace Public Library, for allowing Dillon and I to spend a full day at her library (a true middle ground) as we share the MLA bank of knowledge. 

I hope you know it too, but I am 100% certain, we are in good hands! 

Deborah E. Mikula
MLA Executive Director