Many would argue that Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame president Gene Young should have been honored with the Hall’s Distinguished Service Award long before 2018. After all, he joined the board of directors a mere five months after the Hall was formed in November 1985, then stepped in as president following the death of his predecessor, Dick Hedges, in early 1994. But in his eyes, the board was always a team effort, and there were many other individuals in the area who were far more deserving of recognition for their years of distinguished service to sports in the West Michigan area.

Young spent countless hours working with the directors to make things happen, and it was work he loved. Under his direction, the Hall thrived. Young teamed with Muskegon Chronicle editor and publisher, the late Gary Ostrom, to lay the groundwork for the annual scholar-athlete awards, recognizing male and female high school seniors from around the area, and in 1996, the presentation of the award was added to Hall’s annual induction ceremony. When the hall needed a new home, Young and his board guided it to the newly renovated L.C. Walker Arena in 1997. Under his guidance, in 2002, the Hall began sponsoring an annual Christmas basketball tournament with the goal of giving the proceeds back to the participating schools as a new form of fundraising for cash-strapped sports programs. His push to go beyond the four major sports of football, baseball, basketball, and hockey was embraced by the board. Today, the MASHF honors male and female athletes from over 20 sports categories.

Besides the hall, Young was a longtime school administrator at Fruitport, a booster of the Muskegon area on several different boards, and an area sports radio broadcaster for football and basketball for nearly 40 years. Back in the day, Young was a star basketball player at Muskegon Heights who went on to play at Central Michigan and Weber State before returning to the area as a teacher and coach, first at Reeths-Puffer, and later at Fruitport.

Because of his impact on the hall and the sports community, the hall’s annual service award will now be known as the Gene Young Distinguished Service Award in his honor.