Louis C. Verrette, a 1934 civil engineering graduate of Michigan Tech, was Chairman of the Board of Champion, Inc. of Iron Mountain, MI. After graduation, Louis worked as a Civil Engineer in the St. Louis area on highway construction projects. He returned to Iron Mountain in 1937 to accept a job with the Service and Supply Company.

Mr. Verrette entered the Army Corps of Engineers in 1941 and was stationed at the Corps Research and Development Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He returned to Iron Mountain in 1946 and purchased the Champion Gravel Company, which he developed into Champion, Inc., a major construction company, an electric supply business, and concrete supply company. He was on the Michigan Tech Board of Control from 1961 to 1965. He was a member of Michigan Tech's President's Club