Longtime Leelanau Township treasurer Denise Dunn attended her last regular township meeting on Nov.12, wrapping up her 28 year-long tenure in the position to retire.
A number of township staff and members of the public took a moment during the meeting to thank Dunn for her time in office, something she said she was not expecting, but took her pleasantly by surprise.
“I had no idea (it was going to happen), but it was awesome,” Dunn said after the meeting. “The zoning administrator, before he left yesterday, he came up to me in my office and said ‘I put a box of Kleenex in front of where you sit because you’re going to cry tonight,’ and I said ‘I’m not going to cry’... Rick Cross was the first one to speak, and dang, there goes the tears.” Former Leelanau Township Supervisor Rick Cross attended Dunn’s last meeting to thank her for her service. Cross, who previously served as Northport Public School’s superintendent, recalled how helpful Dunn was at the township as the district experienced financial diffi culties in 2001 when they were in-formula and essentially broke. He also talked about his time working with her when he was on the township board and the impact she’s had in the community.
