Name
Tim Godfrey
Age
37
Company/Organization
Lake Michigan College
What Does Your Company/Organization Do?
At LMC, We Connect You to Your Future. I do that as Program Director of our Wine & Viticulture Technology Program, helping build the future of Michigan wine right here in Berrien County.
Education
B.S. Cell & Molecular Biology – Grand Valley State University Winemaking Certificate – UC Davis
Accomplishments
I’m humbled to have had some great professional accomplishments throughout my career in the beverage and higher education industries, but the accomplishment I value most is my 11-year marriage to my wife, Caitlin.
What else do you hope to accomplish by the age of 40?
I recently enrolled in a master’s program focused on Sustainable & Resilient Food Systems. I’m interested in the intersection of nutrition, agriculture, and sustainability as it relates to life in Berrien County, and I hope this work helps me better serve our community.
Current City
St. Joseph, MI
Place You Were Born
Petoskey, MI
What was your first job?
Fudge Maker at Murdick’s Fudge in Petoskey, MI.
What’s the best advice you ever got?
A winemaking mentor once taught me that making great wine is often less about what you add and more about knowing when to step back and let it develop. I’ve found that lesson applies to a lot more than wine.
Who inspires you most?
My Dad.
That one thing about you we’d be most surprised to learn.
My second job ever was as a paid musician as part of the Petoskey Steel Drum Band.
What do you love to do in your downtime?
I’m not great at downtime, so I usually keep busy with the heirloom apple orchard my family and I have planted here in St. Joseph.
What book are you reading now?
I’m a big sci-fi and fantasy fan, and I’m currently reading The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey.
Volunteer activity you love the most.
I recently joined the Berrien County Conservation District as an Associate Director, and I’m very excited about that work.
What motivates you to give back to your community?
I love Southwest Michigan and want to see our community succeed and prosper. There is an incredible legacy here, and I hope to help our community continue to evolve and make the most of the opportunities ahead.
What Superpower would you most love to have?
Something like the ability to pause time, just to be able to take in all of the great moments in life for longer.
What would you like to leave behind as your legacy once you are gone?
I hope people remember me as someone who cared about his people, helped others succeed, and left his community a little stronger than he found it. I don’t think legacy has to mean having your name attached to something. If students have careers they’re proud of, organizations are stronger because people chose to work together, and my family knows they always came before the résumé, that would be a legacy I’d be very proud of.
What does the honor of being named to the 40 Under 40 most mean to you?
It’s incredibly meaningful because it comes from the community where my wife and I have chosen to build our life. Very little of what I’ve accomplished has been individual, and I’m grateful for the colleagues, students, partners, friends, and family who have made the work possible. I see this recognition as encouragement to keep contributing and building what comes next.
