Kughn Elected AAA Michigan Chairman
24 March 1998
Kughn Elected AAA Michigan ChairmanDEARBORN, Mich., March 24 -- Southeast Michigan business leader Richard P. Kughn, a AAA Michigan board member since 1987, was elected to a one-year term as chairman of the 1.7-million-member organization at the annual meeting of its board of directors today in Grand Rapids. Kughn is chairman and president of Kughn Enterprises, an entity founded in 1979 to manage his business and philanthropic interests. Kughn retired as vice chairman of the Taubman Co., where he dedicated 30 years of his career to shopping center development. Kughn also is chairman emeritus of Chesterfield's Lionel L.L.C, the nation's largest manufacturer of electric toy trains; principal owner of The Whitney Restaurant Corp. of Detroit, and chairman, CEO and treasurer of Longbow Productions in Studio City, Calif. He is a board member of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and chairman of Metropolitan Realty Corp. He also is on the boards of the Detroit Renaissance Foundation and the Edison Institute for the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. He was named 1995 Executive of the Year by the Detroit Executives Association. Elected vice-chairman is Amy S. McCombs, president and general manager of KRON-TV in San Francisco, Calif., and a director of AAA Michigan since 1987. She is president and chief executive officer of Chronicle Broadcasting. She is past president and general manager of WDIV-TV in Detroit. At the annual membership meeting, which also took place today, four directors were re-elected to three-year terms on the board. They are: * Charles E. Allen of Detroit, chairman, president and CEO of Graimark Realty Advisors, Graicap and New South Africa Pizza Co. Graimark is a real estate development, investment and asset management company based in Detroit. Graicap is a full-service investment banking firm. New South Africa Pizza Co. holds the Domino's Pizza master franchise for South Africa. Allen serves as vice chairman of the American Automobile Association and has been a member of the AAA Michigan board since 1987 and was chairman in 1992-93. * Thomas A. Duke of Charlevoix, who has served on the AAA Michigan board since 1975 and was chairman in 1984-85. He is a third-generation builder- developer and is past president of the Builders Association of Metropolitan Detroit. He is past chairman of Metropolitan National Bank of Farmington and of the First State Bank of Charlevoix. He also is a past director of Manufacturers Bank and Trust of Florida. Duke also served five years on the Farmington Township Board of Trustees. * William R. James, of Bloomfield Hills, who is immediate past chairman of AAA Michigan. He has been a AAA Michigan board member since 1985. He is managing partner of James Communications Partners, which operates cable television systems in 10 states. He is a former executive vice president of Capital Cities/ABC and president of its cable television division. At Capital Cities, he was president and general manager of WJR radio in Detroit and president and publisher of The Oakland Press. * Hans Schuler of Marshall, who has been a member of the AAA Michigan board since 1978 and was chairman in 1989-90. He is chairman and president of Schuler's, which operates restaurants in western Michigan. He became chairman of that business in 1982. He serves on the board of the Michigan Historical Center Foundation, the Marshall Economic Development Advisory Council, the Kellogg Foundation's Underground Railroad Committee and Junior Achievement. He is a current member of the Detroit Presidents Organization and the Futures 2020 Task Force for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. SOURCE AAA Michigan