The chamber is excited to announce that Senator Tonya Schuitmaker will be presenting at their 2015 Annual Kick-Off Luncheon. On Friday, February 20th, the Chamber will kick-off the new year with special guest of honor Senator Tanya Schuitmaker. The event will be held in the Grand Hall of the Wayland Fine Arts Center.
Raised on a family farm in Antwerp Township, Senator Schuitmaker has been a lifelong resident of southwest Michigan. She is married to Steve and together they are raising their two children, Jordan and Savina. Senator Schuitmaker graduated from Mattawan Consolidated High School. She holds a B.A. in business from Michigan State University and Tonya earned her Juris Doctor and graduated cum laude from the Detroit College of Law. After completing her law degree, Tonya became an attorney and partner of the law firm of Schuitmaker, Cooper and Schuitmaker. Tonya started practicing law in 1993 where she concentrated in family, estate, business and municipal law. She was admitted to the State Bar of Illinois (1996), Florida (1994), Michigan (1993), and the American Bar Association (1993). From 1997 to 1998 Tonya was president of the Van Buren County Bar Association. She is also a member of the Representative Assembly of the Michigan Bar. Currently, the senator serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, vice chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, vice chair of Senate Health Policy Committee, and as vice chair on the Senate Appropriations subcommittees on Capital Outlay, Community Colleges and Judiciary. Tonya also serves as a member on the vital Senate Appropriations Committee. The annual event gathers members of the Chamber of Commerce together to celebrate the beginning of the new year while listening to an engaging presentation over a delicious luncheon. The event is generously sponsored by United Bank in Wayland.