Bryan and Erica Newland grew up in Bay Mills, Michigan. They started dating before they could legally drive, graduated from Brimley High School and then from Michigan State University. They married in 2004, and spent the next decade working and playing (mostly working) in our state and nation’s capital cities. Longing for more snow, flannel and pasties, Bryan and Erica left the conveniences of city life and moved back home in 2015 to Bay Mills were they live with their two children, Graydon and Meredith.

Bryan presently serves as the Tribal Chairman for the Bay Mills Indian Community, and Erica works at Lake Superior State University in the Sponsored Programs Office. When they are not in the office, chauffeuring kids to sporting events or in the dance studio, you will find them on the lake or in the woods. Between the two of them, they possess four left feet and no natural rhythm, but they recognize the impact Hospice care provides to families and appreciates any opportunity to embarrass their teenage kids by dancing on stage. Bryan and Erica are dancing in this year’s event in honor of their grandfathers, the dedicated Hospice nurses, and to help ensure that our local families have the peace, love, and comfort they need at the end of their lives.