DOTHAN, Ala. - Last week was quite eventful for a Monroe High School graduate.
On July 14, Mike Schmitz, a 1971 alum, won the mayor's seat of Dothan, Ala., a city of about 70,000.
"It was exciting that's for sure," Schmitz said Tuesday during a telephone interview.
He won the mayor's race with 86 percent of the vote - 74 percent more than his closest opponent - though only a third of the electorate turned out, according to a report in the Dothan Eagle newspaper.
His campaign centered around consensus building, according to the Eagle.
Schmitz won't start his new job as mayor until Oct. 1.
One reason for the low vote totals could be the July timing of the election, he said. That is one of several plans he would like to pursue in his term in office.
That wasn't the only big news for the former Monroe resident.
His son, Michael, returned from a year-long mission trip working in orphanages around the world, and Schmitz opened a new Toyota store at his automobile dealership in Dothan.
"It was a good week," he said, with a laugh.
Schmitz left Monroe the year he graduated from Monroe High School and entered the military.
After several years of service, he moved to Panama City, Fla., and opened his first automobile dealership in 1986.
His current dealership sells Hyundai, Mazda and Mercedes Benz brands.
His career in Dothan with his wife Sandy is based on the values he learned as a youth and young adult in Wisconsin, Schmitz said.
"The work ethic; growing up in Monroe, your neighbors help your neighbors. They treat people right, they're honest," he said.
Though Dothan is much larger than Monroe, the people who live there, combined with the area's agriculturally-based economy and active retail sector, are similar to Monroe, Schmitz said.
"The people in Dothan are a lot like the people in Monroe," he said. "This is the same thing, just on a much larger scale."
Peanut farming, rather than cheese, is the main produce of the region. The city also has two regional hospitals.
Mike was adopted by a Monroe couple, Eddie and Maxine Schmitz, who since have died, He, like his other kin, have moved elsewhere, but he is the only one to leave Wisconsin.
However, he still finds time to get back to the area, which helps him in his other pursuits at work or in public life.
"When I go to Wisconsin and come back with cheese, I have something to bribe people with," he said, with a laugh.
On July 14, Mike Schmitz, a 1971 alum, won the mayor's seat of Dothan, Ala., a city of about 70,000.
"It was exciting that's for sure," Schmitz said Tuesday during a telephone interview.
He won the mayor's race with 86 percent of the vote - 74 percent more than his closest opponent - though only a third of the electorate turned out, according to a report in the Dothan Eagle newspaper.
His campaign centered around consensus building, according to the Eagle.
Schmitz won't start his new job as mayor until Oct. 1.
One reason for the low vote totals could be the July timing of the election, he said. That is one of several plans he would like to pursue in his term in office.
That wasn't the only big news for the former Monroe resident.
His son, Michael, returned from a year-long mission trip working in orphanages around the world, and Schmitz opened a new Toyota store at his automobile dealership in Dothan.
"It was a good week," he said, with a laugh.
Schmitz left Monroe the year he graduated from Monroe High School and entered the military.
After several years of service, he moved to Panama City, Fla., and opened his first automobile dealership in 1986.
His current dealership sells Hyundai, Mazda and Mercedes Benz brands.
His career in Dothan with his wife Sandy is based on the values he learned as a youth and young adult in Wisconsin, Schmitz said.
"The work ethic; growing up in Monroe, your neighbors help your neighbors. They treat people right, they're honest," he said.
Though Dothan is much larger than Monroe, the people who live there, combined with the area's agriculturally-based economy and active retail sector, are similar to Monroe, Schmitz said.
"The people in Dothan are a lot like the people in Monroe," he said. "This is the same thing, just on a much larger scale."
Peanut farming, rather than cheese, is the main produce of the region. The city also has two regional hospitals.
Mike was adopted by a Monroe couple, Eddie and Maxine Schmitz, who since have died, He, like his other kin, have moved elsewhere, but he is the only one to leave Wisconsin.
However, he still finds time to get back to the area, which helps him in his other pursuits at work or in public life.
"When I go to Wisconsin and come back with cheese, I have something to bribe people with," he said, with a laugh.