Mike Borlee 

Mike has been at the Shell station on Main Street in Green since he was a sophomore in High School--back in 1974.  In that time he has found that the business has provided him the opportunity to move his life in different directions.  Some years ago Mike tried to make points with a customer named Suzi by giving the her impression that he was a well-seasoned downhill skier.  That deception fell apart when she invited him on a ski outing and he found himself facing the slopes with little skiing ability.  Apparently Suzi was willing to forgive him because she eventually married him. Years later yet another customer named Jim Barnett started talking to Mike about the Knights of Columbus and in time Mike made the decision to become a part of the organization.

 

In addition to membership in the Knights of Columbus, Mike is also involved in the “Thursday Breakfast Optimists,” the Wisconsin Automotive Trade Association and is a den leader for the Cub Scouts.  Since this latter activity occupies him on Monday nights, Mike has a hard time making meetings of Council 10243.  That has not stopped him from being involved in activities, and he has helped out in the booyah sales and the annual Tootsie Roll drive.  After being hounded by Fr. Al for about two years, Mike made the Second and Third Degree this past September.  The experience was impressive and he unhesitatingly recommends that First Degree men take advantage of the next opportunity to attend the exemplification.

 

A native of Bay Settlement, Mike originally had intentions of earning a degree in mechanical engineering.  He and his family were members of Holy Cross Parish and after his father’s death while Mike was still in grade school, the family moved to Green Bay.  There, Mike finished seventh and eighth grade at St. Peter & Paul, picking cherries in the summer in Door County to help make the tuition payments.  While at East High School, he pestered the owner of the station he now owns for a job.  That was in 1974.  After graduating East, Mike tried a semester at St. Norbert but found himself getting more and more involved in the business with less time for school.  He bought the business in 1979, and in 1990 tore the place down and rebuilt the station and convenience store that exists today.  As most of his responsibility now is administrative, he misses the chance to get his hands as greasy as he would like and he sometimes spends time in repair work as well.

 

As a hobby, Mike enjoys racing and has been involved in midgets and road racing.  He also deals in motor sports and a stock car series on the side.  Although many aspects of his life seem to center around the automotive industry, he and his family do enjoy getting away once in a while to the Upper Peninsula, especially in the summer.  Mike and Suzi have been married since 1983 and have two children: Jonathan (8) and Claudia (10).  Suzi works as a nurse with Prevea clinics, and both she and Mike spend the majority of their time trying to keep up with their children’s’ schedules, something Mike feels they’ll be doing “until about thirteenth grade.”

 

November 1996