Zimmerman to Join MSJC Board of Trustees in December

News release from Mt. San Jacinto College:

Menifee resident Bill Zimmerman will join the Mt. San Jacinto College District Board of Trustees in December 2014 to represent Trustee Area 3, a seat currently held by longtime trustee Gwendolyn Schlange.

Schlange announced this year that she would not seek re-election after holding the seat for more than two decades. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters office announced that Trustee Area 3 will not be on the November 2014 ballot as Zimmerman faced no challengers for the seat.

Zimmerman praised Schlange for her leadership style and for her passion for MSJC and her commitment to the students.

"It will be an honor to serve with this outstanding organization," Zimmerman said. “I look forward to serving and making a difference."

Zimmerman, 51, moved to Menifee in 1989 and served as chairman on the city’s inaugural Planning Commission. He has been serving on the MSJC Foundation Board since 2012. He will step down from the Foundation board to take on his new role serving Area 3, which stretches from east Hemet to Menifee and the northern edge of the French Valley.

The college district covers 1,700 square miles in Riverside County and reaches from the San Gorgonio Pass in the north to the San Jacinto Valley, Lake Elsinore, Perris, Idyllwild, and reaches into Temecula, Murrieta in the south.

Zimmerman is married and has a daughter who is starting classes at MSJC. He began his career in Media Services and Land Planning in 1984 and currently provides consulting and design services to land planners, surveyors and civil engineering companies. He currently serves as the District V Trails Committee Representative for Riverside County Parks District, and is a Parks and Recreation Commissioner for the city of Menifee.

Zimmerman also serves as President of Arts Council Menifee and serves on the Board of Directors for the Menifee Valley Historical Association and the Boys & Girls Club of Menifee Valley. He volunteers for the Menifee Union School Distric,t serving on the LCAP Committee and the Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee.

In 2014, Zimmerman received the "Service above Self" award from the Menifee/Sun City Rotary Club, and was honored with a "Power to the People" award by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bill to the Mt. San Jacinto College Board later this year," said Dr. Roger Schultz, MSJC Superintendent/President. "Bill has a long history of dedication to his community and to Mt. San Jacinto College through his service on the Foundation Board. His expe"”

Schlange said she recently met Zimmerman and his wife and was pleased that their daughter is attending MSJC. She said she was impressed with his positive, can-do spirit and work on the MSJC Foundation board.

"I am very pleased Mr. Zimmerman will continue to serve," Schlange said. "I have every confidence in his leadership to continue the excellence of Mt. San Jacinto College in serving all of our students."

Schlange received a standing ovation during the 2014 graduation ceremonies after Schultz thanked her for her 20-plus years of service on the MSJC Board of Trustees. She is well known in the area for her years on the board and for her 45-year career as a teacher.