Reflections Magazine Issue #78 - Spring 2013 | Page 20

Feature Article

By Doug Goodnough

Double Duty

Bobby Hopewell ’96 Balances Full-Time Job,
Mayor of Kalamazoo

I

f there was an award for the Busiest Person in Kalamazoo, Bobby Hopewell ’96 would
be a shoo-in for it. In fact, there are a couple
of Tigger plush animals sitting on a shelf in his
office that friends gave him because “I bounce
around” like the famous Disney animated
character, he said.
The 49-year-old Siena Heights University
graduate balances his full-time job as director
of Hospitality Services at Kalamazoo’s Borgess
Medical Center while also serving as mayor
of the southwest Michigan city with a population of approximately 75,000 people.
Two jobs. One person. How does he do it?
“It takes a lot of time and energy and attention,” Hopewell said. “You’ve got both of these
worlds that’s got (many) of the same things
going on. They’re similar, but different, and they
take a lot of time and energy. Both roles are a
labor of love.”
First, a glimpse inside his hospital “world.”
The former EMT and paramedic worked his
way up the health care ladder, working first in
an ambulance and later running ambulance operations at Gull Lake Ambulance and Life EMS.
For the past nine years he has worked at Borgess,
Kalamazoo’s main health care provider. He currently is responsible for approximately 250 staff
members and supervises 15 managers in areas
like food and nutrition, mail, switchboard and
other connective services. He recently was also
put in charge of emergency management, and
next year will transition into a new position as
of director of the new $26 million outpatient
care facility currently under construction in
Battle Creek.

20

Reflections Spring ’13

“Meetings are a huge part of what I do here,”
Hopewell said of a typical day at Borgess.
“Sometimes my day starts off with back-toback meetings.”
And every weekday at 9:20 a.m. sharp, he
conducts a safety meeting to brief hospital personnel on any potential areas for concern. Then,
he focuses on not only the job at hand, but his
sometimes overlapping duties as mayor.
“Not much is out of alignment (between
Borgess and the city of Kalamazoo),” Hopewell
said. “But there are times I have to have a voice
for the city. We distinctly stay in contact with all
of my leadership here. … I do what I have to do.
There was an understanding of that when I took
on this opportunity as mayor … that there could
be some rough times. But we’d worked through
those as they occur. We haven’t had much.”
Currently in his sixth year as mayor,
Hopewell said he treats the office like a full-time
position, even though it isn’t.
“I’m not paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this (be mayor),” Hopewell