Wayne became a Buyer and Senior Buyer, leaving this position to return to the production floor as a Superintendants Clerk (petroleum embargo years) and stayed there until he retired in May of 1992, with a head count reduction in force (Early Retirement).
He is the President of the 400-member Bay City GM Salaried Retirees Club and has held that position for 16 years. Waynes free hours consist of working as a pharmacy technician for a Free Clinic in Bay County, Michigan, helping people who fall through the loopholes of government funded prescription drug programs. He is also a professional clown, working with mentally and physically challenged children and with seniors in nursing homes and assisted living homes.
Darla Freeman, Regional VP, New England & Legal Liaison, began her GM career at the Milford Proving Ground, where she rotated through the Emissions and Noise & Vibration labs, then moved to Administration & Public Relations. She moved to the Engineering Staff at the Technical Center in Warren where she worked on employee communications and stockholder relations.
Darla returned to Milford to co-lead PR activities and employee communications. She transitioned to the Legal Staff and coordinated product liability discovery, then worked with attorneys on self-critical-analysis matters, breach of warranty and dealer litigation.
Darla rejoined the Communications Staff supporting GM Powertrain, assuming increased responsibilities in Manufacturing, Engineering and executive communications, managing the employee communications process and media-related news events and announcements. While at Powertrain, she rejoined the Legal Staff, assisting GMPT counsel in providing legal services for global powertrain activities. She retired from that position with 32 years of service in 2009.
Darla attended the Legal Assistant program at Oakland University, where she also received a Bachelor’s degree in General Studies & Journalism. She received a Master’s degree in Administration from Central Michigan University.
Vernon (Vern) Henderson,GMRA Regional Vice President – Great Lakes, (OH, WI, IL, IN), began his 30 year General Motors career with the Fisher Body Division in 1960. He held various positions at the Mansfield Plant before becoming Hourly Employment Supervisor. He is a Korean War Veteran of the U.S. Navy Air Force and attended school on the G.I. Bill after discharge.
Vern has been a member of the Board of Directors of Med Central Health System and Mansfield College of Nursing – St. Anthony’s Health System in Columbus, Ohio. He is now serving on the Board of Big Brothers and Sisters of America, his local church board and local historical society.
In addition, Vern served two terms as mayor of his community.
James A (Jim) Shepherd, GMRA Regional Vice President– Mountain, began his 36-year General Motors career with Cadillac Motor Car Division in 1965 at the New York Worlds Fair. After the Fair, he was transferred to Detroit to the Cadillac Parts Department. Following a tour of military duty in Vietnam, 1966-1968, Jim returned to the Cadillac Parts Department before becoming a P&A Representative in the Dallas Zone.
Jim held various sale positions in Dallas, including Parts Manager, Merchandising Manager, Business Manager and Car Distribution Manager before becoming District Sales Manager for Salt Lake City, Denver and San Francisco. In San Francisco, he was promoted to Western Merchandising Manager before being transferred to Chicago as Regional Fleet Manager for Cadillac.
With the first reorganization of GM, Jim became GM Fleet Account Mgr. for Chicago, and was later promoted to Organization Manager for Fleet Operations. With the second reorganization, he was transferred to San Francisco as Fleet Account Manager. and retired in 2001.
Victor C. (Vic) Poleni, GMRA Regional Vice President – Southwest, began his 41-year General Motors career in 1957 in the Motors Holding Division as an Accounting Clerk in General Accounting, Tax and Equity. In 1963, after receiving a B.B.A. Degree from the University of Detroit, he transferred to the Cadillac Motors Division. Over the next three decades he received promotions to Kansas City Zone – Merchandising Representative; Dallas Zone – Lubbock District Manager; Memphis Zone – St. Louis District Manager, Metro, and Midwest Region Chicago-Fleet Account Executive--Detroit Cadillac Central Office Sales, Assistant Director Fleet Administration. He was reassigned as Assistant Director Fleet-Field Operations.
In the early 1990s, GM reorganized and integrated many sections and departments into the North American Operations (NAO) and Field Account Executives were transferred to NAO. Cadillac Fleet became a three-person department and Vic became Manager – Commercial Sales and Limousine Activity until his retirement in 1998.
After retirement, NAO hired Vic as a contract employee working for the GM Auction Department where he worked for an additional two years.
Edward (Bud) McDonald, GMRA Regional V.P.- West Began his 33 year General Motors career with Pontiac Motor Car Division, after graduation with a B.S. degree from University of California, Sacramento. He started as a service and parts representative in the San Francisco Zone. Over the next 30 years he held various positions with Pontiac, including District Sales Manager in the Denver Zone, Metro District Sales Manager ,San Francisco Zone, Zone Fleet Manager, San Francisco, Regional Fleet Manager, Northwest, Regional Fleet Manager, Los Angeles-Denver, and National Account Manager – West.
In 1992, General Motors started their re-organization, Bud was promoted to Regional Fleet Manager-West, for the Corporation. Bud retired in 1996 and since then has worked as a contract employee for the General Motors Auction Department and currently does contract work for GMAC on a part time basis as vacation relief person. Bud continues his sailing on the ocean as he did when he was in the Navy.
Ralph J. Montileone, Regional Vice President – Southeast, began his 40+ year career in 1968 at the St. Louis Chevrolet Corvette Assembly Plant as an hourly quality inspector. A few years later he transferred to a salary position serving as a production / quality supervisor. In 1979 as GM closed the St. Louis plant, he transferred to Bowling Green, Kentucky to start construction of the Corvette Assembly plant. While in Kentucky he attended Western Kentucky University working on a computer science degree. After serving as a production supervisor, he was asked to move to Michigan in 1985 to assist with the Detroit Hamtramck start up and later, the start up of the Lansing Reatta Craft Center where he held roles from production to tooling engineering.
In 1989 he transferred to Saturn Corporation working at the 12 mile Engineering Center as a manufacturing engineer, later transferring to Spring Hill, Tennessee. In 1994 he was promoted to Advanced Engineering Technical Support. He then supported the re-tooling of the Wilmington Delaware Assembly plant and became a member of the Saturn L Series Launch Team. Ralph was then promoted to Operations Superintendent in Chassis / Final Process. In 2007, Ralph was assigned to the Chevrolet Traverse Launch Team to re-tool and prepare the Spring Hill Assembly site to build the new Chevrolet Traverse. In 2008 after re-tooling was complete and the Traverse launched, he decided retirement was now in the picture.
Rick Knoth, GMRA Regional Vice President – Michigan, began his 37+ year General Motors career in 1971 at the Norwood Assembly Plant as a GMI Co-op student. After graduation in 1976 he transferred to Cadillac Motor Division at Clark St. Manufacturing.
Rick transferred in 1981 to the General Motors Assembly Division (GMAD) Vehicle Assembly Group – responsible for electrical process equipment. In 1984 he was promoted to Engineering Group Manager (EGM) of the CPC electrical process equipment group. In 1988, he was transferred to EGM - GM300 responsible for the assembly and process equipment at the Willow Run and Arlington Assembly plants
In 1996 Rick became the program manager for the Chevrolet S-10 Electric truck with the GM Advance Technology Vehicle Group in Troy Mi. After the 2001 GM reorganization he became the Manufacturing Systems Engineer for GM hybrid vehicles. He worked the development of all GM hybrid vehicles and retired from the Volt development team in November of 2008. Rick holds a BS in Industrial Engineering (1976) GMI and an MBA (1981) from University of Detroit.
Sushil Birla, GMRA Regional Vice President - Mid Atlantic, began his 32-year GM career in January 1976 at the GM Manufacturing Development, GM Technical Center in Warren, MI as a Senior Project Engineer specialized in the development of manufacturing automation. He rose on the professional/technical ladder to the level of a GM Technical Fellow by the end of the 1980s. By that time, he had become a specialist in programmable electronic controls.
Near the end of the 1990s, Sushil transferred his software-intensive systems engineering knowledge to R&D on in-vehicle electronics at the GM R&D Electrical Controls Integration Lab. Retiring from GM in May 2008, Sushil is applying his knowledge in public service, as a Senior Technical Advisor at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Rockville, MD. Sushil holds a PHD in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Angele Shaw, Communications Director, began her GM career in Human Resources at the GM Tech Center in Warren. Following a transitional career move to Advanced Manufacturing, she joined GMs Public Affairs in 1996 where she worked on GM Tech Center events, employee communications and media-related news events.
In a career opportunity move, Angele joined GMs Portfolio Development in Warren as Communications Manager in 1997. In this role, she was responsible for new employee orientations, supported executives with speeches and presentations and managed the employee communication process.
As part of a restructuring in 2001, she was reassigned as Internal Communications Manager for GM Research and Development to manage employee and executive communications, and also worked on media-related news events and announcements.
She accepted an opportunity to manage media programs, events and news announcements related to advanced and emerging technologies in 2002 and retired from that position in November 2008. Angele holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Northwood University.
