Tricia Opper

Tricia Leigh Opper was born in Anchorage Alaska, while her father was proudly serving our country in the United States Air Force. Maybe that’s why likes the Michigan snow.

Tricia was born in 1973 when gas was 40 cents, and average new house cost $32,000.

After nine months, her family returned to their home town of Fowlerville, Michigan to raise and continue their family. Her mom made most of her clothes, they grew most of their food, and they walked the “proverbial ” mile to school. Growing up on that dirt road; in a small farm house, she and her siblings learned to appreciate the simple things in life and the value of a dollar.

Sadly; her parents divorced, and later spent time between Fowlerville and her dad’s home near Williamston, Michigan.

She graduated from Fowlerville High School. Upon graduation; Hardee, her employer, appreciated and recognized her hard work so much that they gave her a scholarship to attended Lansing Community College in her hopes of becoming an accountant.

At five months pregnant, her water broke and she spent over one month lying in a hospital bed hoping her child would mature enough to survive. Her daughter suffered from apnea bradycardia, her heart stopped numerous times, and she required constant care. She has never forgotten the help she received from the hospital, the staff and the March of Dimes.

She made the conscious decision to table further education in order to give birth and care for her newborn child.

During this traumatic time she was still able to work for Metropolitan Title in Howell, Michigan. The owner worked with her; giving her a loan on purchasing one of the companies’ used car, flexible working hours, and the ability to bring her infant to work. He taught her compassion, and showed her how people with the means could help those in need.

Who says good things can’t happen in “interesting” places. While living with a friend of her family, Tricia met and fell in love with her husband Aaron in Hell, Michigan.

Later that summer they started their joint adventure and bought their first house in Stockbridge, Michigan; the Wilde family farmhouse. Later, moving to Dexter, Michigan, a summer in Chelsea, Michigan, and then near where she had spent time as an adolescent; to Alaiedon Township, Okemos, Michigan where they currently reside.

Along the way Tricia spent many hours helping her husband remodel or rehabilitate most of their homes.

While living in Stockbridge, Tricia started working as a product specialist; originally for Ford/Lincoln/Mercury, and then as an independent direct marketing and research consultant and exhibit manager for Chevrolet. Since that time she has traveled the United States to most of its’ major cities, speaking to thousands …maybe millions of people. As a spokes person for a worldwide corporation she has had the opportunity to listen to, educate, and interact with consumers on such topics as horsepower, hydrogen fuels cells, ethanol, and the electric car.

She’s met many celebrities over the course of performing this job and been featured on many television shows.

Because most of her work was during the fall and winter months, Tricia also found herself partnering with her husband on a couple of their small businesses. She has been involved with day to day operations of their small businesses and understands what it takes to make a business successful.

She and her husband had a bright and busy future. Their daughter a summa cum-laude and then….

The recession hit Michigan. In the last three years she has watched as her families plan has unraveled. The decline in property values, foreclosures, and loss of work opportunities, all have hit close to home. She has seen some of her friends have to move away, some lose their homes because of the economy, and her own businesses shrink. Even the once great General Motors was crumbling around her.

She had enough. She watched the federal government pass a health care bill that she felt the people should have voted on, not a select few. The bill threatened her very child’s attempt to someday make a living. So much so; that if her daughter followed her passion, it might force her to leave not only the state of Michigan, but possibly the United States.

She wants to give every American a voice, even those unborn generations.

She wants to give Michigan a fighting chance.

She understands that Michigan needs jobs NOW, Michigan needs government sacrifices like its people have endured, Michigan needs a superior education system, and….

Michigan needs to be looking forward to better opportunities for Michiganders.