West Point Alumni Mike Urette ’61 has been named board chair of the The John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors.
He will assume the role of chair at the board’s next meeting in October.Urette is the founder and chief executive of Great American Corporation in Tampa. The 32-year-old family-administered organization is a diversified real estate construction, development, and management company.
Urette has been active in the Tampa community for more than 30 years. He has held a variety of civic positions focused on the arts and support for the military.
As Chairman of the Building Committee at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, he was responsible for over-seeing the construction of the Patel Conservatory. Urette received the 2010 Impact Award from Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts. Urette and his wife, Karen, are also donors to the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, the Tampa Bay History Center and the Tampa Theatre.
He served as president of the local Military Affairs Committee, the West Point Society and Leadership Tampa Alumni. Urette is currently an active member of the American Committee on Foreign Relations, the Society of International Business Fellows, and the Tampa Yacht and Country Club.
He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and he holds Master Degrees in Operations Research and Economics from Indiana University. Urette has served on the Board at The Ringling since 2009 as a Chair of the Development Committee and the Budget, Finance and Investment Committee.