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Grosse Pointe Rotarian Gary Marowske, chair of Michigan Waterways Commission, was the guest speaker at the club's Nov. 17 luncheon meeting. Marowske, owner of Flame Furnace, recently returned to Rotary after having been very active in the 1990s. Photo by John Minnis

 

Grosse Pointe Rotarian Gary Marowske, chair of Michigan Waterways Commission, was the guest speaker at the club's Nov. 17 luncheon meeting. Marowske, owner of Flame Furnace, recently returned to Rotary after having been very active in the 1990sMarowske, an active boater, was appointed to the commission by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Though not a Democrat, Marowske was appointed by Granholm after the Marowske family hosted the governor's family onboard one summer day at Mackinac Island. When asked what she could do for him, Marowske says he told her, "Appoint me to the Michigan Waterways Commission." To which she responded, "What does it do?" (The governor has 100s of commissions to fill.) "So there I was," Marowske told fellow Rotarians, "a Republican appointed by a Democrat." When Republican Rick Snyder become governor, his administration assumed Marowske was a Democrat. But when Marowske's friends assured the Snyder administration that the only mistake Marowske did was "not throw her off the boat," Marowske was reappointed to the commission and made chairman. The Michigan Waterways Commission was formed in 1947. It is in charge of Michigan's 83 public harbors and some 250 public launch sites. Photo by John Minnis