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Kirk A. Profit (born September 12, 1952) is a practicing special interest attorney, former member of the Michigan House of Representatives, and a former lobbyist and president of the Governmental Consultant Services Inc. lobbying firm in Lansing, Michigan.
Kirk Profit | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Michigan House of Representatives | |
| In office January 1, 1989 – December 31, 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Gary Owen |
| Succeeded by | Ruth Ann Jamnick |
| Constituency | 22nd district (1989–1992) 54th district (1993–1998) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 12, 1952 Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Residence | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Alma mater | University of Detroit School of Law (J.D.) Eastern Michigan University (B.S.) |
During his five terms in the Michigan House, Profit chaired several committees including the Tax Policy Committee and served as vice chair for the Committee on Elections and the Committee on Commerce. He is also a former legal adviser and Undersheriff for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department. Profit has also previously taught undergraduate law courses as an adjunct professor at Eastern Michigan University.[1][2]
Kirk A. Profit was born September 12th, 1952 to Lewis and Maxine (née Merritt) Profit in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Profit's parents both attended the Central Michigan Normal School (now Central Michigan University) where they met in 1947 and were married while still students in 1948. After graduation Lewis and Maxine remained in Mt. Pleasant where Lewis administered CMU's student center and Maxine commuted to Flint where she taught third grade. Profit has an older brother Gary and two younger siblings Ricky and Jill.
In 1954, Lewis Profit was offered a position at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) to administer its McKenny Student Union in Ypsilanti, Michigan. After approval by Michigan's State Board of Education, the Profits moved to Ypsilanti. Lewis Profit went on to serve as a longtime administrator at EMU, first as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and later as Vice President for Business and Finance.
Kirk Profit was enrolled in kindergarten at Eastern Michigan University's Roosevelt School in 1957. Roosevelt served as Eastern Michigan's "laboratory K-12 school" until 1969. Profit attended Roosevelt until sixth grade when he transferred to Ypsilanti Public Schools in 1964. Profit graduated as a member of the National Honor Society from Ypsilanti High School in 1970, where he lettered in football, wrestling, and tennis.
Following his graduation from Ypsilanti High School, Profit enrolled at his hometown's Eastern Michigan University, initially focused on mathematics. He later found himself more passionate about history, philosophy, and political science. Profit graduated from EMU in 1975 having double majored in philosophy and political science.
Following his time at EMU, Profit enrolled at the University of Detroit School of Law located on Jefferson Avenue in Downtown Detroit, where he was awarded his Juris Doctor degree in 1979. Shortly thereafter he was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in July of 1979.
While in law school, Profit worked as a deputy sheriff for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department. Immediately following law school in Detroit and his admission to the Michigan State Bar, Profit began legal work for the Stripp, Roberts & Manchester, PC. law firm in Ypsilanti. In 1980, he became the legal advisor for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, providing legal counsel for the Sheriff's Office and serving as the chief liaison to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office. In 1981, Profit was promoted to serve as Undersheriff for Washtenaw County, where he served as the key administrator for the Sheriff's Department's deputies and employees, the administration of the Department's budget, the operations of the County's corrections, as well as providing legal counsel.
In 1984, Profit started his political career working for then Democratic Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives Gary Owen, who served the 22nd Michigan House district for Ypsilanti. Starting off as a research analyst, Profit would later serve as Interim Majority Executive Director and then Majority Assistant Executive Director for the Speaker's Office.
In 1987, Gary Owens announced his retirement from the Michigan House and that he would not seek another term for the 22nd Michigan House seat. Kirk Profit announced that he would seek the Democratic Party nomination for the seat and went on to win both the Democratic Party primary in 1988 and the general election that same year. Serving from 1989 to 1998, Profit represented Eastern Washtenaw County from 1989 to 1992 in the 22nd district and from 1993 to 1998 in the redistricted 54th district.
During his tenure in the Michigan House of Representatives, Profit served as the chair of the House Committee on Tax Policy, the Subcommittee to Explore the Environmental Sensitivity of the Michigan Tax Code, and the Subcommittee to Explore Tax Implications of Utility Deregulation in Michigan. Throughout his almost ten years serving Eastern Washtenaw County in the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Profit served on the Judiciary, Health Policy, Insurance, Commerce, Public Utilities, House Oversight, Regulatory Affairs, and Liquor Control Committees.
Among the list of legislative initiatives Profit sponsored in the Michigan House, he has stated that some of his most important include, "... the Weapon Free School Package Act 320 in 1993 and later Act 158 of 1994; the Child Protection Safeguards for Children at School Act 59 in 1997; and the High School Proficiency Test Act 25 in 1997." In total, Profit sponsored over 77 new pieces of legislation signed by both Democratic Governor Jim Blanchard and Republican Governor John Engler.
In 1998, Profit joined the Governmental Consultant Services Inc. (GCSI) lobbying firm in Lansing. GCSI is a state and local government lobbying firm that represents local municipalities, higher education institutions, healthcare organizations, businesses, and other groups. Clients of GCSI have included the University of Michigan, Wayne County Community College District, AT&T, Consumers Energy, Masco, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Zoo, Grand Rapids Public Museum, as well as cities and townships like Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Pittsfield Township, Scio Township, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Dearborn, and counties like Washtenaw and Macomb.
After serving as a lobbyist and the president of Governmental Consultant Services for 25 years, Profit retired from the position in 2023. In January of 2024, Profit opened Profit Legal Services, PLLC. where he works as a special interest attorney for specific clients that align with his social, political, and legal interests in his community.
Profit has remained active in many organizations in Michigan and the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area. Several of these include the Michigan Bar Association, Michigan Future Board of Directors, IQM Research Institute Board of Directors, Eastern Michigan University Alumni Association, the Eastern Michigan University Foundation, the Washtenaw Community College Foundation, the Ypsilanti Historical Society, Ypsilanti History Center, and the Eastern Michigan University Oral History Center.
Profit was raised Presbyterian in the First Presbyterian Church of Ypsilanti, a mainline Protestant Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation, where he previously served as a deacon. Kirk remains in the PC(USA) as a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor.
Kirk is married to Sharon Grace (née Langen) Profit. The couple were married in 1974. Together with his wife Sharon, Profit has three children, Jennifer, Kristie, and Kirk Brian, as well as six grandchildren Connor, Logan, Grace, Reese, Caleb, and Palmer.
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