Our Team

Check out the bio's of these 9 great folks below who all share a passion for everything Silver Lake!

CURTIS BROWER
President

     Curt is the 2021 President of the Silver Lake Recreation Association (SLRA). Curt is a founding member as well as former Vice President of this organization. He is directly responsible for the framework and non-profit status of the SLRA.
     Curt is a second-generation Silver Lake enthusiast that first found the dunes in the late 1960’s with his family as a small child. Curt fell in love with all the things the area has to offer then and now. He is married to his wife Tracy, that he met at Silver Lake in the early 1990’s and has 3 grown children and one grandson that all love Silver Lake and come up frequently to spend time with family during the summer months.  

MICHAEL COOK JR.
Vice President

     Michael (Mike) is the Vice President of the Silver Lake Recreation Association (SLRA), and has been on the board of SLRA since September 2015. Mike was born and raised in the Silver Lake area, graduating from Shelby High School and has been an avid “duner” his entire life.
     Mike and his wife (Sarah – Graduate of Hart High School) were married on Silver Lake, not far from where they now live. Mike and his wife have 1 child (Levi – age 6), who is a first grader at Spitler Elementary in Hart. Mike and Sarah are active in the Hart PTO. The family enjoys riding the dunes on a very regular basis and traveling throughout the U.S.

BILL CHAPIN
Treasurer

     Bill is a retired Builder/Recreational Organization Director and Mechanic. He has been working with land managers and legislators to create positive recreational off- road motorized riding opportunities since the mid 1970's. (You do the math!) 
     He says that he has garnered as much enjoyment creating these opportunities and events, as he has gotten from riding the great trails and dunes Michigan has to offer.
Keeping it all available and safe for future generations is his goal.

CRISTINE ORTWINE
Secretary

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     Cristine is the current Secretary of the Silver Lake Recreation Association, (SLRA) where she has been involved with the organization from the start. Cristine's involvement started with a joint effort between herself and Dave Martel, where together, they organized the parking lot volunteers in an effort to fit more vehicles into the existing ORV lot. Her duties included recruiting, training and scheduling volunteers to assist parking vehicles.  
     Cristine is a resident of the area who is dedicated to making Silver Lake a better place.  She first started visiting the area fifteen years ago, falling in love with the dunes and the surrounding lake waters. 

DOUG ALLEN
Board Member / Dune Groomer

     Doug was involved with "SLORA" before it evolved into the SLRA. He became a board member in 2017 and started the grooming of the "test and tune" area on the dune flats.
He has been coming to Silver Lake for 44 years and has owned property since 1983. Silver Lake has been he and his wife's primary residence.
     Doug is a hard-core dirt biker who fell in love with the dunes and never looked back. His passion has made him want to help others see the area in the same light that he does and make their experience safe and fun.

DAVE MARTEL
Board Member / Small Business Owner

     Dave is a current board member for the Silver Lake Recreation Association, a founding member and the original Secretary for the SLRA. He has been very active in pushing for the dune community to have a voice to be represented on issues and improvements to the Silver Lake area. Dave also helped develop and guide the volunteer program for parking vehicles requiring vouchers at the state park.
     David is married to his lovely wife Tori and they have 4 children. His family spends almost every weekend at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes and they enjoy being a part of the dune community.

CHARLIE SMITH
Board Member / Small Business Owner

     Charlie joined the Silver Lake Recreation Association board in 2019 and has been coming to the area for 25 years. He is married to his wife Gale and they have one child, Scott Carlson. Charlie is ‘retired’ from a family business in Crystal Lake, Illinois and is the owner/operator of Duneland Off Road Center.
     Charlie was sold on Silver Lake from the very first visit. After Scott moved to Silver Lake in 2012 and their grandson Gavin was born, the frequency of the trips picked up and in 2016 they realized their dream of moving to Silver Lake.
     Charlie and Gale have many extended family members in the area and are year-round residents. They have been active in SLRA Dunes Cleanup, a friend to the M-DNR and take an active interest in the areas future planning by trying to do their part to help the community at large. He is also a familiar face at the Golden Township meetings.
     Charlie’s goal is to help improve the Silver Lake Recreational Area experience, as he really loves to see people with a smile, enjoying their passion.

PHIL "PJ" RICKARD
Board Member & Website/Analytics

    Originally a Buckeye transplant from Ohio - Phil joined the SLRA in 2019 and has been coming to the Silver Lake Sand Dune area with family and friends since the middle 70's, beginning as a small boy. As a second-generation "Duner", nearly every Summer was spent playing in the sandbox riding/driving motorcycles, ATV's, Jeeps, trucks or anything else that burned gas for power! The golden sand and surrounding lakes were not just a vacation destination.....it was LIFE!
     "PJ" - as friends call him, is active in the SLSD community where he/his family volunteer when-ever or where-ever they are needed, he's a driver for Mac Woods Dune Rides (a childhood dream come true) and a member of a local Church.
     He's married to his beautiful bride Jenny, where they have two wonderful daughters - Hanna and Chloe. Soon, the family will be calling Silver Lake home permanently!
     He and his family feel they are truly blessed to be a part of such a wonderful community of folks and are excited to be a member of the SLRA to help continue making the area a safe, fun and memorable place for generations to come!

ANDREW GEURINK
Board Member / Small Business Owner

    Andrew also joined the SLRA board in 2019. He has been a fan of all things loud, fast and dune related since his family started going when he was a child. He has been married to his wife, Evie, for 5 years and has 2 children - Mason and Logan. Mason loves playing on the beach and the thrill of test hill, where he actually wanted to name his little brother “Dune”!
     Andrew considers the Silver Lake Recreational Area his home away from home and enjoys blasting his turbo “Grocery Getter” Tahoe across the flats and making memories with his family. He has been active and vocal in streamlining the process of getting into the dunes and making it an easy and enjoyable experience for everyone.