With her husband, Ed, Bobbie Collins founded the Leelanau Conservancy in 1988. "I've been coming to Leelanau County since 1937, first as a summer kid at my grandparent's cottage on Little Glen Lake, then moved to Leland permanently in 1979," says Bobbie. "As teenagers, my two brothers and I pledged that we'd live here one day-and now we all do!”

In 1980, the Collins bought and renovated the Riverside Inn in Leland and owned it until 1988. Bobbie has served as Treasurer, President, and Chairman. She has also served on the Leelanau Memorial Health Center Board for 9 years; and is currently a corporate member of the Munson Healthcare Board. She is also a past board member of Traverse City Arts Council and Traverse Community Foundation. She names her passions in life as, "other than family and friends – singing, travel, anything to do with boats on water, books, photography, art, architecture and design, meeting new people, fly-fishing, Civil War history, researching my family history and "giving back" to Leelanau County for all that it has given me."

Read Deb Wyatt Fellows of Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine column about Ed and Bobbie Collins [387 KB Adobe PDF]