I got a chance to ask Guy Johnson, Village Board President of Shorewood, some questions. The first thing you might be wondering is, “Is Guy really his name?” It really is.

President Johnson has lived in Shorewood for 32 years, ever since 1981. He was first elected to the Shorewood Village Board back in 1998 as a Village Trustee. Before that, he served on the St. Robert Parish Council and on a committee for the Shorewood School District. He continued to serve as a Trustee until 2006 when he was elected President of the Board.  He attributed his long tenure to wanting to help Shorewood stay a great and safe place.

I asked Mr. Johnson about his duties as Village President, and he said, his main duty as President is to be in charge at meetings and make sure things happen that need to be be taken care of. Additionally, along with the six other board members, he votes on matters and laws that are brought before the board. As President, he also decides which projects and committees each member of the board will serve. He believes that his work is not very different from the Trustees, but he feels that all of the decisions that the board makes should gear towards what the citizens want and need.  He also believes trying to hold down taxes in the village while maintaining vital services such as the library, police and fire protection, street repair and garbage collection is important.

One of the important issues that the Village Board is facing right now is developing businesses and projects in the central business district.  In recent years, this has included the buildings where Colectivo, Yo Mama, and the new Walgreens are located.  President Johnson has been retired for three years now. For the last 20 years, he has also worked at UWM as the Director of the Masters of Business Administration program.

President Johnson was married to Mary Johnson at St. Robert Church over 40 years ago. He has two grown sons, David and Andy, and two granddaughters, Alexis and Addie.

He explained to me that St. Robert School plays a huge part in Shorewood, drawing in wonderful families to Shorewood who wish to  send their children to a high quality Catholic school. It also has many students involved in service projects around the community.  Last year during the 100th anniversary of St.Robert, the Village Board created a speech stating how important St.Robert  is to Shorewood.  He read the speech during one weekend to all of the Masses.

“My advice to all young people in our community is to always think and act in a way that is helpful and considerate to all people, including your friends, family, strangers, and especially those who are less fortunate than you. Do this throughout your life and you will feel good about yourself and you will be helping the Shorewood community and any other community your life will take you to in the future.”