The Lutheran Luncheon Club of Metro Detroit is pleased to present Mr. Doug Tietz as the 2025 Lutheran Layman of the Year.
Born in 1980 in Hastings, Nebraska, and baptized at Zion Lutheran Church. His parents, Dean and Debbie, and his brother Dan were active church community members.
Doug’s parents remain his role models throughout his life. His mother, a Lutheran school teacher, also served as an organist, choir director, and handbells director. His father was deeply involved in church life as a choir member, Elder, President of the congregation, and various committees—so much so that “Dad has a church meeting tonight” or “Mom is playing for a wedding” became a familiar refrain of Doug’s childhood.
Doug attended Zion Lutheran School in Kearney, Nebraska, before moving with his family to St. Joseph, Michigan, midway through high school. He graduated from the University of Michigan and started his career managing statewide political campaigns across the United States. During one of these campaigns, he met his wife, Amy.
Amy, the daughter of loving Lutheran parents David and Patricia Hofmeister of St. John Lutheran Rochester, and Doug were married in 2007. Together, they cherish God’s gifts of their two children, Edward (11) and Katie (8), whose curiosity, wit, and joy enrich their lives daily.
After leaving electoral politics, Doug worked in the United States Congress and the Michigan legislature. Today, Doug owns Great Dane Marketing & Communications, which serves organizations and governmental clients.
Doug served many years as a Troy City Councilman and later as an Oakland County Commissioner. He founded the Troy Community Foundation, which operates Troy Family Daze, the city’s largest festival with more than 24,000 attendees annually. He also founded the Council for Economic Growth. This organization brings business leaders together to hear from national, state, and regional political leaders in defense of free enterprise system.
In 2019, the Michigan Jaycees named Doug “Michiganian of the Year,” and he was honored as one of L. Brooks Patterson’s 40 Under 40 in 2018. Doug serves on the Corewell Hospital Advisory Board.
At Our Shepherd Lutheran Church and School, Doug serves as Vice Chairman, sits on the Board of Elders, serves as a family elder, and coordinates Gardeners for Christ, a group dedicated to maintaining the church and school grounds.
A banquet to honor Doug will be held at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church on Sunday, May 4th. To register for the banquet or to get more information, please contact Marty Moro at morom3@yahoo.com.