Joel Gougeon (born January 13, 1943) was a Republican member of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

from 1993-2002 representing the 34th district (then Ogemaw, Arenac,

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

, Tuscola, and

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

counties). He previously served as a member of the Bay County Board of Commissioners. Gougeon received a mechanical engineering degree in 1966 from what was then the

General Motors Institute Kettering University is a private university in Flint, Michigan. It offers Bachelor of Science, bachelor of science and master's degree, master’s degrees in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM (science, technology, engineeri ...

by co-oping at the Saginaw Malleable Iron Foundry. After five years in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

, Gougeon and his brothers formed Gougeon Brothers, Inc., which manufactured sailboats, epoxy adhesives, and wind energy blades. The methods first developed by the Gougeon brothers using West System epoxy have become the standard techniques taught in colleges the world over for building boats using epoxy. He was also a member of a number of civic organizations, including as a past president of the Bay City Lions Club and as a founder of the Bay County Crime Stoppers. First elected in a special election in 1993 to succeed

Jim Barcia James Allan Barcia (born February 25, 1952) is an American Democratic politician from Michigan. He has served successively in the Michigan House of Representatives, the Michigan Senate, the United States House of Representatives and then again th ...

after he was elected to the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

, Gougeon later won two full terms in the

. He served on the appropriations committee. After his retirement from the Legislature, Gougeon served as a lobbyist for Saginaw Valley State University. Gougeon is also a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

, the Elks, and the

Vietnam Veterans of America Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. (VVA) is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that is committed to serving the needs of all veterans. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government. VVA is th ...

.Senate Resolution 307 (2002): A resolution of tribute to the Honorable Joel Gougeon
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References

1943 births Living people Politicians from Bay City, Michigan Kettering University alumni Businesspeople from Michigan County commissioners in Michigan Republican Party Michigan state senators 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians {{Michigan-politician-stub