Current Board Members Bios and Terms

John Surinak grew up in New Berlin, Wisconsin graduating from Waukesha High School.  He attended Milton College and received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management with an Economics minor from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  After graduation, he served in the United States Army.  Upon his return, he did post graduate course work in marketing, finance and real estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The start of his career was in management at Jamesway Manufacturing in Fort Atkinson.  He then went into production management with Peter Albrecht Corporation in Milwaukee.  In 1972, John became Vice President of Maass Manufacturing in New Berlin.  By 1980, he was President and expanded to larger facilities in Muskego, Wisconsin becoming owner and CEO in 1986.  In 1990, John acquired Midwest Dicken Manufacturing in Huntley, Illinois with foundry operations in Arcadia, Ohio.  By merging, he thereby, quadrupled the size of Maass Midwest Manufacturing, a water well and sewage accessory corporation with international distribution.  Further expansion of the corporation was the acquisition of Pacific Hydro Products of Grass Valley, California in 1998.  The corporation continues to expand through multiple joint ventures.  John is the holder and inventor of four patents on water well and sewage related products.

Volunteer service to the water industry is a big part of who John is.  He has served as Director of the Manufacturer's Board of the National Groundwater Association, Director of the Water Systems Council Board, Director and Executive Secretary for Wisconsin Pump and Well Suppliers Association, member of the Wisconsin DNR Advisory Board for Water Well Code Review, member of Policy and Code of Regulations Committee of the National Groundwater Association, and member of the Milwaukee Water Council.  John served as a member of the National Ground Water Association water and sewage projects mission to the Soviet Union in 1987.

Community civic service is equally as important to John.  He has been a Director of the Waukesha Training Center for the developmentally disabled, skiing guide to the blind as a member of the Lions Club, Cub and Boy Scout leader, and Deacon and Elder of Vernon Presbyterian Church.

John and his wife, Donna, formerly owned Aquamatic Piers in Milwaukee.  John served as President from 1989 to 1991.  John has been a licensed Wisconsin real estate broker from 1987 to 2010.

The Surinaks acquired property in Delavan in 1999 and have been full time residents since building their home here in 2002.  They have three married children and five grandchildren who enjoy visiting them for family gatherings here at their home in Delavan.  John enjoys outdoor activities, especially, riding his Harley.

John was elected as your commissioner in 2011.  He looks forward to serving you over the next six years.

Information provided by John Surinak
Phone: (262) 903-6225
email: jsurinak@hotmail.com

Ed Brien was born in Morton Grove, Illinois. He spent his early childhood in Fennville, Michigan, and later moved to Chicago where he attended grade school and high school. After high school, Ed joined the Air Force where he served until his discharge after VJ day. He then married the beautiful Betty Lou Vistine.

After his discharge from the Air Force, Ed attended Aeronautical University at Midway Airport outside Chicago. He worked for various companies until starting his career with the Trucking Division of Burlington Northern Railroad where he spent the next 35 years driving and taking on organizational responsibilities through his involvement with the company's Credit Union.

In 1975, Ed and his wife Betty bought a summer home in the Highlands Subdivision on Delavan Lake, and 10 years later moved here to live year round. With Ed's outgoing personality and leadership skills, it was not long before he became involved with the Highlands Homeowners Association, which had a membership of around 250. After 5 years of membership Ed's skill in leadership and organizational management were recognized and he was elected as President of the Association. He served in this capacity for 20 years.

Over the years, Ed has been involved in most of the large lake projects. During the lake drawdown, he was closely involved with the Highland Channel dredging project as well as the overall Delavan Lake Rehabilitation Project. He worked closely with the Town and soon he was appointed to the Town Board to fill a vacancy. He was also appointed to the Town's Public Works Committee and continues to provide valuable service on its committee, to this day.

Ed was appointed to the Delavan Lake Sanitary District in 1992 and has been reelected twice. During this time, he has worked tirelessly for the protection of DLSD and Delavan Lake.

Information provided by Ed Brien
Phone: 262-728-6750

John Pelletier was born in Boston Massachusetts in 1949. The second son of a career U.S.Coast Guard officer, John's family moved frequently and John resided on the East, West and Gulf coasts as a child. His father retired in Massachusetts, and John graduated from Wayland High School in 1966. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1970 with a BA degree in Economics and Mathematics. After a brief tour in the Army as a reservist trained to be a truck driver, John moved to Chicago to attend graduate school. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1973 with an MBA degree specializing in Industrial Relations and Finance.

John's work career began in consulting. Working for McKinsey and Company, he counseled companies and institutions in the United States and Western Europe on matters of organization, strategy, and efficiency. He left consulting in 1981 to join Chicago based MidCon Corp,an interstate producer, transporter, and marketer of energy products including natural gas, as director of administration. From 1981 until 1998, John held a variety of positions with MidCon and its subsidiaries including Vice President of Human Resources and Senior Vice President of Administration. His broad executive experience included responsibility for hundreds of employees and direction of the company's human resource, procurement, aviation, communication, computer, and facility management activities. In 1998 the business was sold and relocated to Denver. John joined a family environmental consulting business founded by his wife, and worked as head of administration there until his retirement in 2004.

John and his family have owned property in Walworth County since 1989, and have lived full time in Delavan since 1999. In 1999, John became involved with the Town of Delavan as a member of the Administrative Committee. He served on that committee until 2004, leading Town labor negotiations with the Police and Public Works unions. His involvement with Town government steadily expanded as he served on various committees including Lake, Finance, Police, and Fire and Rescue. He was twice appointed to the Town Board to fill vacancies, most recently in 2004.

In 2005 John was elected Chairman of the DelavanTown Board. As Town Chairman, John lead or participated in a number of important changes for the Town. He is most proud of the rezoning of all the lakefront properties to prevent more dense development of our lakefront. His financial conservatism produced balanced budgets without debt additions while increasing the road budget and purchasing new plow trucks, a backhoe, and a chipper. A town-wide reassessment in 2006 was completed without litigation. The new Police facility was completed on time and on budget. John ran for reelection unopposed in 2007. Although reelected, for personal reasons John chose not to serve a second term.

Continuing to pursue his interest in Delavan Lake, John began attending Delavan Lake Sanitary District meetings in 2007. He was appointed by the Delavan Town Board to fill an open position as a District commissioner in September of 2008. As a Commissioner, John represents DLSD on the Town's Lake Committee.

John resides at 3268 South Shore Drive. He and his former wife share parenting responsibilities for sons Louie and Frank. These teenagers attend school in East Troy, and spend about half their time in Delavan.

Information provided by John Pelletier
Phone: 262-215-7619
email: johnpelletier@charter.net