by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
For 45 years, kids’ smiles were Earl O’Brien’s only reward for the endless hours he spent coaching, refereeing and organizing youth sports leagues. For O’Brien, that was always more than enough. “I didn’t do the things I’ve done my whole life for an...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Jack Crowell fell in love with boxing while watching Pete Petroskey work Kenny Lane’s corner during a 1963 title fight on a hot August afternoon in Saginaw. In a dozen or so fights over the next decade, Crowell proved he could punch and developed “a decent left...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Mark Jastrzembski has given more than 20 years of his time to many area groups, particularly the West Michigan Speedskating club and the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex. Fitting the job description of the Distinguished Service Award to a ‘T’, Jastrzembski...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
For almost 40 years, Jerry Porter was “Mr. Bowling” in Muskegon County. Elected to the Greater Muskegon Bowling Association board of directors in 1969, Porter worked his way up to GMBA president in 1979. In 1982, he became the organization’s...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Most Little League baseball fields in the older parts of towns do not look as beautifully manicured as Sheldon Park in East Muskegon. Of course, most fields do not have an individual like Ralph Burr to work on like a second front lawn. Burr has often single-handedly...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Times were when doctors with black bags full of stethoscopes, band aids and ointments, stalked the sidelines at high school football games. Times were when they volunteered their services to help out the young athletes in their communities. They performed team...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Times were when doctors with black bags full of stethoscopes, band-aids and ointments, stalked the sidelines at high school football games. Times were when they volunteered their services to help out the young athletes in their communities. They performed team...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Scholar Athlete
Times were when doctors with black bags full of stethoscopes, band aids and ointments, stalked the sidelines at high school football games. Times were when they volunteered their services to help out the young athletes in their communities. They performed team...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Times were when doctors with black bags full of stethoscopes, band aids and ointments, stalked the sidelines at high school football games. Times were when they volunteered their services to help out the young athletes in their communities. They performed team...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Times were when doctors with black bags full of stethoscopes, band aids and ointments, stalked the sidelines at high school football games. Times were when they volunteered their services to help out the young athletes in their communities. They performed team...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Times were when doctors with black bags full of stethoscopes, band aids and ointments, stalked the sidelines at high school football games. Times were when they volunteered their services to help out the young athletes in their communities. They performed team...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Times were when doctors with black bags full of stethoscopes, band aids and ointments, stalked the sidelines at high school football games. Times were when they volunteered their services to help out the young athletes in their communities. They performed team...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Uncategorized
Times were when doctors with black bags full of stethoscopes, band-aids and ointments, stalked the sidelines at high school football games. Times were when they volunteered their services to help out the young athletes in their communities. They performed team...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Leo Campbell, who taught physical education in Muskegon Public Schools for 44 years, helped thousands of kids learn the rules and the value of sports long before they reached high school. Campbell never married. Instead, he devoted his energy and free time to his...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Bill Tilton moved to the Muskegon area from Terra Haute in 1964. An avid golfer, he won 38 golf tournaments during his days in Muskegon, but he is best remembered for his work within the sport. A retired engineer, Tilton spent much of his adult life passing golf...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Michael Knight was not a native of Muskegon. But few have championed her causes as Knight has. He fell in love with the area shortly after moving here in the 1970s and immediately got involved with many civic projects on a volunteer basis. He is credited with...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Muskegon area sports teams and individual athletes enjoyed the benefits of one of the city’s most generous boosters in beverage distributor Smitty Vanderplow during the mid-twentieth century. Smitty, himself a football and basketball star at Muskegon High...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Jim Dodson’s technical job description at Muskegon Heights High School was equipment manager – counting jerseys, taking care of the balls and washing towels. But his real work went far beyond that. Dodson made the Muskegon Heights Tigers look good on the...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
An ice skating instructor at outdoor rinks and at the L.C. Walker Arena since the 1950’s, Lowe embodies the spirit of what the Distinguished Service Award is all about. While she received a nominal fee for her time of teaching figure skating, she consistently...
by michelle | Feb 16, 2024 | Gene Young Service Award
Jake Outwin was Muskegon’s “Grand Old Man” of baseball at the time of his death in 1954. His contributions, especially in later life, in giving local fans entertaining and quality baseball at Marsh Field for many seasons cannot be overlooked. Numerous legendary...
