1997 Alumni Award Recipient, John Grettenberger

John Grettenberger, a native of Okemos, graduated from Okemos High School in 1955. He went on to distinguished careers in the military and auto industry. John was an officer in the Navy from 1959 until 1962, then began his career at General Motors in 1963. He moved through the ranks in a variety of sales and management positions in the United States, Japan and Germany. John was named General Motors Vice President and served as General Manager of Cadillac Motor Car Division until his retirement in 1997. During his tenure at Cadillac, President Bush presented him and Cadillac with the prestigious Malcom Baldrige National Quality award.

John currently has two, soon-to-be three, grandchildren in the Okemos school system. Grettenberger points to one thing that has not changed, in his view, "The attitude of Okemos faculty and administrators has not dramatically changed since my day. I owe a lot to a counselor named Thelma Lamb who encouraged me and helped me secure a scholarship to the University of Michigan. The attitude at Okemos provided a tremendous foundation for her to help me fulfill my potential. Okemos is blessed with a dedicated group of people who are not 'all words,' but who also take action."