Lake Michigan College Mendel Center executive director and The Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan Speaker Series director Mike Nadolski will retire effective February 3. Nadolski started at the Mendel Center in October 2012 and says he was planning to stay three years. He and his team oversaw more than 400 academic, professional, and community performances and events on the Mainstage and over 2,000 events in Grand Upton Hall. Four of the five highest-grossing shows in the Mendel Center’s 31-year history were under him, being Mannheim Steamroller in 2013, The Piano Guys in 2016, Jersey Boys in 2019, and Weird Al Yankovic in 2022. Overall attendance for the Mendel Mainstage Season grew by 20% from 2012 until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Nadolski, who holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Southern Illinois University, previously held managerial positions with Whirlpool Corp. and Kohler. He has worked with businesses and organizations through his various consulting companies for over 20 years and is a long-time board member of the Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council. With his departure, LMC’s Mendel Center operations will come under the umbrella of LMC’s Visual & Performing Arts Department. George Kendall, named Associate Dean, Visual & Performing Arts, in September, and Scott Burgess, hired in October to be LMC’s Mendel Center Operations Manager, will replace Nadolski.
