"The Ramblings of the Mad Hatter" 

My name is Rose Angela Gronda and I joined the Trenton Rotary Club in 2004 with Lynn Nolan as my sponsor.  Before I joined Rotary, I used to work with Lynn at both Charter Bank and Monroe Bank & Trust and she invited me to help at the Roar on the River.  Of course, I was invited to join soon after and one of my first duties as a Rotarian was to co-chair the Friday Night Party. You know we don’t start small!  I served as President in the “healthy” year of Rotary in 2014/2015 after Ronnie’s “sweet” year of Rotary in 2013/2014.

I grew up in and attended school in Wyandotte, graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1985.  I went on to the University of Michigan-Dearborn (Go Blue!) and earned my bachelor’s degree in Accounting in 1989.  In the meantime, I married my first husband, David Lowrey, in 1989 and we had our first daughter, Sarah, in March of 1990.    We had our second daughter, Laura, in May of 1992. Sarah and Laura also attended school in Wyandotte and were both ranked 4th in their graduating classes!

I began my career at National Bank of Detroit as an Accounting Specialist in 1990 and moved on to Charter Bank in 1992 as Accounting Officer.  Charter Bank was bought out by Charter One in 2002 so I moved on to Monroe Bank & Trust in 2003. I moved over to the lending side and I’ve been a commercial lender since 2004.  Monroe Bank & Trust has recently merged with First Merchants Bank headquartered in Indiana. Look for the First Merchants signs coming soon!

In 2010, I married Scott Gronda and moved to Grosse Ile where I helped him raise his sons, Jordan and Dylan, both graduates of Grosse Ile High School.  

My new favorite pastime is spending time with my 7-month old granddaughter, Mabel.  As they say, if I’d known grandchildren were so much fun, I would have had them first!

Along with being a part of Rotary, I’m a board member of the Downriver Family YMCA and the Wyandotte Public Schools Scholarship Foundation.  I attend St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, which is part of the St. Vincent Pallotti Parish in Wyandotte, and serve as a Eucharistic Minister.

Being a part of Rotary has added much to my life.  I appreciate the friendships I’ve made and the community service I’ve been a part of over the last 15 years.  Thanks!