By Katrenia Busch
Mr. Girard is the co-owner of Girard Investments, a property investment company he and his wife Molly have operated full-time after his retirement from Do-All in 2020. In addition, Chris serves as 6th Ward Bay City Commissioner elected in November of 2019 and current Commission President.
He has lived in the Great Lakes Bay Region for the majority of his adult life. A Bay City native who attended Bay City Central High to later obtain a B.S. in psychology from Alma College.
Mr. Girard is the 2006 recipient of the Leadership Bay County Alumni Community Service Award and received the Ruby award in 2009 for achievements in his field while under the age of 40. In 2011, he received the Award for excellence from the Michigan rehabilitation council for his work in the field.
Mr. Girard is a community advocate and demonstrates proactive involvement by serving on several local non-profit boards Including, Board Chair for The Bay County Growth Alliance, Board member for Hidden Harvest, Bay Future Board member, and President Nominee for The Bay City Noon Rotary Club.
When Mr. Girard and his wife aren’t actively serving the community, he enjoys running, golf, driving his 71’ Mustang Convertible, and daily workouts at the YMCA. His wife and he have fostered over 47 children in their home over a 15-year time frame. His wife and he have 4 children and 7 grandchildren.
Some of his current goals and aspirations include making our community a better place to live, work, and play for future generations to come. He adds, “I hope that through giving of my time and leadership it will help shape decisions that will help benefit all citizens in our community.”
When it comes to balancing work with personal life he enjoys having his own business saying, ‘I have greater flexibility with my time so I can spread out work with play. I spend time focusing on myself going to the gym daily and many days playing with my grandchildren. I feel if you don’t take care of your own needs to keep you charged your work will not be as effective as it can be.”
Having fostered so many children over the years, offering many children the home environment with the stability they needed, Mr. Girard adds that “It was a very rewarding but challenging experience fostering children over the years. Many kids in the foster care system have been through some horrific life experiences and to be a parent to a child that has gone through trauma can be a challenge. My wife and I decided that we wanted to make a difference in the lives of children that need love and support rather than having our own biological children.”
One thing that people may not readily know about Mr. Girard is that he attended Michigan State University pursuing a degree in Medical Technology while considering going on to medical school to become a pediatrician.
A defining moment in his life that guided him on his path was when he decided to take a role with Do-All, Inc., which is an organization that supports independence for individuals with a disability, which he adds truly impacted his life path. Mr. Girard states, “I’m truly proud of all the lives I was able to impact through the work accomplished with the Do-All team.”
Treating others, the way you would want to be treated is an important way to understand the perceptions of those around you, a favorite quote of his is, “Do unto others as you wish to be done unto yourself.”
Mr. Girard admits that throughout the course of his life, many have served as role models and provided aspirations, but his parents and grandparents were the most influential as he states, “They showed me the importance of giving back to the community and having the work ethic to make sure that you get the job done.”
When asked about his experience receiving the Ruby award in 2009, he adds that “It was truly humbling to be honored by the community for doing what you love.”
The most rewarding part of his role as commissioner has been the ability to help people navigate city services and help set plans for our community to flourish in the future.
His advice for other who may desire to become more involved in the community is, “Just do it!!!” and adds, “It can be as simple as going around your neighborhood and picking up trash one day a week. The more people who “Give a Damn” about their community the greater the collective impact.”
He currently serves as a board member for Hidden Harvest and enjoys the fact that they keep good food out of landfills and provide it to people who need it, he also serves as the Board Chair for The Bay County Growth Alliance which is a nonprofit that provides investment dollars to help create jobs and economic impact for our community. He is also set to become the incoming president for the Bay City Noon Rotary Club which makes a local and international impact throughout our world and has dedicated members who strive for service above self.
His advice for someone who may seek an elected position within the government is to, “Find out what you want to do and why it is important and talk to people who currently serve in an elected position, so you actually know what the requirements of the role are. Many people run for office and don’t know exactly what the role really requires of them.”
His favorite authors and books include Bay City Logbook by Jeremy Kilar. Saying, “If you love local history, it’s a great book to read.”
Being a native to Bay City he adds what he feels is special and unique about our city, “I love that we have a rich community history, and we have a great opportunity for our future being right on a waterway if we continue to focus on making our community a great place to work, live, and play.”
