Industrial leader speaks of love of Cadillac, baseball

Rick Charmoli | Cadillac News Dan Minor addresses students at Cadillac High School during the Reverse Job Shadowing event Wednesday. During his speech, the president and chief executive officer of three entities, including Cadillac Casting, Inc., talked about his love of Cadillac and the opportunities that are available.

CADILLAC — Spring Training for the Detroit Tigers may have just begun but Dan Minor is already preparing for a long run into October for the “Boys of Summer.”

The reason Minor is so sure the Tigers will be able to repeat the 2007 season with a fall classic appearance is because of the character of the team and its coach. That kind of character was just one thing the owner of CMI-Equipment and Engineering, Inc. in AuGres, Cadillac Casting, Inc., and 3Point Machine, Inc. in Southfield spoke to Cadillac High School students about.

“The guy at the helm is Jim Leyland. He is always looking at fundamentals. He is a great leader and is never critical of his people,” Minor said of the Tigers’ skipper. “He’s tough as nails but he inspires his team to be the best it can be.”

Although he had aspirations to be part of the Tigers growing up, Minor found his future would be in foundry work. During his speech he shared his love of baseball and Cadillac.

Although Minor is not a native of Cadillac, he considers it home and believes there is no reason why the students who filled the Cadillac High School Auditorium couldn’t call Cadillac or other locations in northern Michigan home after graduation and/or college.

In fact, he said he would not be surprised if future CEOs were sitting in the audience.

That message was what Minor and 40 professionals from the Cadillac area tried to convey during the first Reverse Job Shadowing event in the district. It also tried to show students the relevance of what they are learning.

“I think it makes sense to try to come back home. They leave here, get married and get caught up in a busy lifestyle. Most of the people I know would love to come here,” he said.

As for the future, Minor knows two things. First, he plans on staying in Cadillac and second, he knows it will take a lot of work to continue to be successful. He also said he hoped that the students learned one thing from his speech Wednesday.

“Be the best person and employee you can be and good things will follow,” he said.

The job shadowing event was sponsored by Junior Achievement, Cadillac Area Manufacturers Association, Cadillac Area Public Schools and Cadillac Area Chamber of Commerce.

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