2007 Governor's Service Awards

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm presented Governor's Service Awards to individuals and organizations for their exemplary volunteer service at the 2007 Governor's Service Awards event, The Miracle of Volunteering, held Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.  Photo to right:  Governor Jennifer M. Granholm presents Outstanding Mentor Award to CJ Quinney.  Also pictured are CJ's mentees and Marina Williams of the Lear Corporation, the award sponsor.

"Michigan's great volunteers help make miracles happen across the state every day," Granholm said. "Our volunteers are out there day after day, year after year, working to make Michigan a great place to live.   The Governor's Service Awards are just one way we can say thank you for their efforts." 

The Miracles, Motown legends and singing sensations, joined the Governor in honoring the delighted award winners and all of the award finalists.   They entertained the crowd with their chart-topping crowd pleasers, which include Shop Around, The Tracks of My Tears, Love Machine, and I Second That Emotion.  Also performing for the crowd of more than 2,000, were La Chispa and Company, the O'Hare School of Irish Dance, and the Winston Institute of Arts. 

"The best miracle is the miracle of giving," said Bobby Rogers, an original member of The Miracles.  "It's what makes volunteers special people.  They have opened their hearts and given of their time and talents unselfishly." 

The Governor's Service Awards were made possible only through the generous contributions of corporate sponsors.  The Platinum Sponsor is State Farm Insurance and the Gold Sponsor is the Ford Motor Company Fund.  The Premier Sponsors are:  Comcast, DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund, DTE Energy Foundation, EDS, Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, Lear Corporation, MASCO Corporation Foundation, Meijer, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  The Governor's Champions are:  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Central Michigan University, CMS Energy/ Consumers Energy, Comer Holdings, ConnectMichigan Alliance, Council of Michigan Foundations, Delta Dental, General Motors Corporation, Greektown Casino, and Pfizer.  The Governor's Heroes are: Health Alliance Plan, Hudson-Webber Foundation, Mawby Family Fund/Battle Creek Community Foundation, Pace & Partners, Inc., and UAW-GM Center for Human Resources. 

In addition, Olivet College, a private, liberal arts institution in south central Michigan, presented all five finalists for the Youth Volunteer Award of Excellence with a Community Responsibility Scholarship valued at $6,000 per year renewable for four years.  This unique scholarship program is designed to reward responsibility, community service, civic engagement, and volunteerism. 

At a private reception prior to the awards presentation, special tributes from the Governor were presented to all 41 award finalists. 

The Governor's Service Awards winners were selected from the finalists in each award category.  Friends, relatives, and colleagues submitted nearly 180 nominations to pay tribute to individuals and organizations they feel exemplify the spirit of volunteer service.  An objective peer review panel and the Michigan Community Service Commission, the organization that manages the event, board of commissioners selected the finalists and winners. 

The Governor's Service Awards are given annually to individuals, businesses, and organizations to acknowledge their commitment to solving community issues through volunteerism. Nine awards were presented in the following categories: 

The Governor George Romney Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteerism, which is the most prestigious of the Governor's Service Awards, was presented to Lenore Croudy of Flint.  The award honors an individual who has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to community involvement and volunteer service.  Lenore moved to the community in 1966 and immediately began 39 years of service as an educator and community volunteer.  Her deep community involvement stems from a determination to make life better for all and to ensure minority youth are exposed to the activities that enable them to live an engaged, active life.  Early in her career, she took her students on field trips during her free time, using her own money.  She organized block clubs and neighborhood associations, developed diversity workshops for teachers, and got involved with political campaigns for area school board candidates.  She created the Youth Leadership Institute, which teaches African-American students community leadership.  She has served on multiple boards including the Mott Community College, YWCA, Center for the Visually Impaired, Michigan Community College Association, Salvation Army, and Voluntary Action Center.  She has been involved in many more community endeavors all designed to enhance life in the Flint area. 

The Exemplary Volunteer Service Award was presented to Doug Heslip of Marquette.   This award honors an individual who strives to improve the lives of others-someone who goes the extra mile for their community.   Doug has been a sports volunteer for 15 years and has been coaching the Marquette County Youth Football League for the past six years.  His approach to coaching is more about building solid citizens than about winning games.  He believes it is his responsibility to help each young man develop into a community leader and athlete.  Each year, he helps 25 young men build their character, ethics, teamwork, integrity, and self-esteem-indeed their whole life.  Doug emphasizes citizenship, respect for others, being humble in the face of victory, and winning or losing with class and compassion.  He expects his players to display these qualities on and off the field.  Doug sets the same high standards for his assistant coaches, and the parents of Doug's players sense the higher standard and respond accordingly.  In addition to the lives of boys he coaches, he is a true community change agent.  He is impacting the whole area through his high standards of coaching.  Last year his team went undefeated in positive youth development and in the win/loss column. 

The Exemplary Community Service Program Award was presented to Tuesday Toolmen of Kalamazoo.  This award honors an organization that effectively uses volunteers to meet its mission.  Tuesday Toolmen is an energetic group of 16 dedicated volunteers who use their skills to address home safety issues and provide barrier free renovations for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities.  These RSVP volunteers do electrical, plumbing, and roofing work, replace doors and windows, and install deadbolts, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, grab bars, and wheelchair ramps.  Their skills allow many low-income seniors to remain safely in their own homes and prevent premature placement in assisted living facilities and nursing homes.  Last year these civic-minded gentlemen volunteered 1,700 hours by repairing 128 homes, making 11 barrier free modifications, and completing 10 home safety evaluations.  This model program is now being replicated in other communities.  Tuesday Toolmen have been serving their community for 11 years. 

The Innovative Mentoring Program Award was presented to the Winning Futures - Mentoring Solutions of Warren.  This award recognizes a mentoring program that has found a unique and effective approach to mentoring children.  Winning Futures inspires and prepares young people to succeed.  Winning Futures serves students in Highland Park, Oak Park, Warren, and Pontiac and is dedicated to empowering youth to take control of their lives and overcome their obstacles. The program is customized for 3^rd through 12^th graders so all activities are age appropriate.  Students, along with their mentors, participate in structured sessions during the school day or after school.  Each week, a topic from the workbook such as leadership, work values, or career assessment is presented to the mentors and mentees.  Then each mentoring team has group discussions, written exercises, self-assessments, or hand-on projects facilitated by their mentors.  The mentors work with a group of three students throughout the school year and mentoring relationships typically last one to five years.  Student scholarships are also a key component of the program and scholarships totaling $1.4 million have been presented to students since the program's inception. 

The Outstanding Corporate Citizenship Award was presented to Comcast of Southfield.  This award honors businesses that demonstrate excellent corporate citizenship by giving back to their community through corporate volunteer programs, monetary contributions, in-kind gifts, and employee-driven volunteer service.  Comcast is committed to leveraging their advanced technology and resources to making a difference in the communities they serve.  In 2006, Michigan Comcast employees rendered more than 27,000 volunteer hours in support of organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit, United Way Community Services, City Year, and many more.  Last year, Comcast's Michigan Region provided approximately $10 million in in-kind promotional support for local nonprofit organizations.  Additionally, they currently invest up to $4 million annually by offering services that support schools and life long learning via free cable and high speed Internet to 2,300 schools K-12 and libraries.  Their creative involvement has also led to the development of a homework hotline, a weekly call-in program to help Detroit students with math problems.  Comcast has awarded more than $7.5 million in college aid to more than 7,500 high school students through their Leaders and Achievers program, which began in 2001.  The Comcast Foundation, established in 1999, has donated more than $30 million nationwide since its inception, including $325,000 to Michigan nonprofits in 2006 alone. 

The Outstanding Mentor Award was presented to Carlas Quinney, Jr. of Lansing (pictured above).  This award honors an individual who has made a significant difference in a child's life through mentoring.  CJ is a senior at Michigan State University and has been mentoring since he was in 9^th grade at Sexton High School.  He began in the PALS program where he helped other students with classes, homework, and social issues.  CJ has also been a Big Brother to a young man from Lansing for six years.  He has helped Marton grow from an eight-year-old with mediocre academic performance into a well-mannered eighth grader with a 3.5 GPA.  Marton was recently awarded a Hope Scholarship, which will help support his post-secondary education.  When not working on their studies, the two can be found at the movies, Sexton and MSU football games, and going out to dinner.  Mostly, though, they just hang out as friends doing everyday things.  In addition to being a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region, CJ recognizes the great need for male mentors and is committed to raising awareness and recruiting men to fill this void.  He is involved with Break the Cycle, a national organization that works with at-risk youth to help them break the cycle of poverty, gang involvement, drug addiction, hopelessness, and despair.  Upon his graduation from MSU, CJ plans to continue his work with BTC to bring the program to more states and schools throughout the U.S. 

The Senior Volunteer Award of Excellence was presented to Margaret Yake of Lexington.  This award honors a senior citizen who has taken action to make her or his community a better place to live.  Peg began taking children into her home in the 1940's, and thus began a long career of helping others.  The first four children were from the Children's Aid Society, and within a year she took in four more children.  During her life, she has opened her home to twenty-six foster children.  Her house was also a home for her four grandchildren, two of whom she and her husband adopted.  Peg's home has been a second home to countless teens over the years who felt they were safe and loved there.  Peg was a Girl Scout leader for many years and knows that she could still "set up camp" if needed, and laughs at the thought of doing so now at age 90.  Peg helped start Project Blessing, which collects food and clothing for those in need, and has been a school crossing guard for many years. 

The Youth Volunteer Award of Excellence was presented to Bridget Gaitor of Taylor.  This award honors a young person who has taken action to make his or her community a better place to live.  Bridget is a senior at Harry S. Truman High School.  She began volunteering in the 8^th grade through school-sponsored service activities.  She has spent countless hours volunteering at the Oakwood Heritage Hospital where her service touches young and old alike, including her classmates and peers.  She has volunteered with the Penrickton Center for blind children, served as a Teens Against Tobacco Use facilitator, and been involved with Natural Helpers facilitating peer counseling.  Bridget is president of the African American Teen Leadership Council, junior volunteer staff at the Boys and Girls Club, a member of the Taylor Youth Council, and the driving force behind the Prom Pledge campaign to promote safe and healthy prom experiences.  She is a member of the Taylor Substance Abuse Task Force and has helped plan the Drug-Free Taylor Day and Turn Off the Violence projects. 

This award inspires and rewards partnerships between colleges or universities and community groups that work together in exceptional ways to improve people's lives while helping students learn the value of service.  The Carter Partnership Award was presented to Madonna University and All Saints Neighborhood Center - Neighborhood Center, Inc. - Partnership for Community Cohesion.  Hugo E. Braun, Jr. received the Russell G. Mawby Award for Philanthropy for his outstanding service in Saginaw County and Molly Dobson of Ann Arbor won the Community Foundation Award for Philanthropy. Three other special awards were also presented. 

.Click here to view the press release announcing all of the finalists  

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Background 

The Michigan Community Service Commission builds a culture of service by providing vision and resources to strengthen communities through volunteerism.  In 2007, it granted more than $6.2 million in federal funds to local communities for volunteer programs and activities.  The MCSC's signature programs are AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve, Mentor Michigan, and the Governor's Service Awards.  It is a part of the Michigan Department of Human Services, which assists children, families, and vulnerable adults to be safe, stable, and self-supporting.