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SAUGATUCK, MAY 15, 2009 -- The Saugatuck-Douglas
Historical Society's top-honor Charles J. Lorenz Award of
Achievement for 2009 was presented to Chris Yoder, while the
Society's Volunteer Of The Year Awards went jointly to Judi
Vanderbeck and Mike Economos at the Society's annual awards meeting
last Wednesday. All are residents of Saugatuck. Also highlighted was
the official introduction and swearing-in of the Society's newly
elected officers and board members.
The Lorenz Award was established by the Society
in 1997 as a way to honor the memory of Charles Lorenz, who gave
generously of his time, talent, money and energy in the formation
and development of this organization. Winners are selected each year
by a special Society committee, dedicated to recognizing
distinguished leadership in fulfilling the Historical Society's
mission to "help the community understand its past and use its
history to shape its future and preserve its quality of life".
Yoder's selection cited his relentless daily
efforts in the Society's HAD (Historical Archives Digital) Lab
electronically imaging the aging paper archival copies of the
Commercial Record to preserve every page as a computer-accessible
research resource that so far extends from 1868 to 1959. Along the
way, he began taking further initiative to digitally copy "clips" of
obituaries and to record gravestones at all the local cemeteries, to
create a unique on-line library for genealogical research. His
growing body of work can be seen in the "Online Research Center"
offered on the Historical Society's web site,
www.sdhistoricalsociety.org.
Before moving to Saugatuck in 2005, Yoder worked
for the U.S. Defense Department in Germany, Saudi Arabia and various
locations within the U.S. His fondness for the Saugatuck area has
its roots in childhood trips to visit his family's cottage, and
later, summer vacations here with his family when they lived in
Battle Creek.
--- Volunteers Of The Year ---
Volunteer Of The Year Awards annually honor
outstanding service to the Society during the past year. Candidates
are nominated by standing committee chairs, with Board members
excluded from eligibility, and winners are selected by majority vote
of the Board. Presentations were made by Kathy Sturm in her last
official act as retiring Society president.
Mike Economos, a retired realtor who moved to
Saugatuck from Wheaton, IL, in 2003, has given countless hours to
planning and tending the gardens surrounding the Historical Society
Museum and guiding grounds development plans for the Society's Old
School House Discovery Center. Sturm noted that he is often seen
working alongside other members who volunteer hundreds of hours of
their time to plant, pull weeds and nurture the gardens. His
dedication to this important aspect of the Society's community
visibility also shows in his recent achievement of a Master Gardener
Certificate from the Michigan State Extension Service.
Sturm then introduced Judi Vanderbeck as one who
gives a new meaning to the phrase “jump in and help”. As one
standout example, she said, Vanderbeck volunteered to chair the 2008
Heritage Festival Home Tour after a delayed start had put this
traditional event in doubt, and guided it to unexpected success
despite torrential rains that arrived the week before the tour. A
retired principal of Schoenhals Elementary School in Tiffin, OH, she
moved to Saugatuck in 2006 from Florida. Her exuberance and
dedication, Sturm said, has helped repeatedly to raise friends,
awareness and funds for Society projects through such events as last
year's Bowl-a-Rama in support of the Old School House project.
--- Newly Elected Leadership ---
Newly elected Society leaders inducted during the
Wednesday meeting were President Harold Thieda, Treasurer Stacy
Honson, and Board Members-At-Large James Cook and Tony Vettori.
Thieda, a retired management executive of
baked-goods producer Pepperidge Farm, Inc. who joined the Society in
1999, heads the Archives Committee, oversees and participates in the
summer Saugatuck Walking Tours program, helps with Museum operation
and currently holds Board membership. Honson, a C.P.A. who operates
her own accounting practice in Saugatuck, brings not-for-profit
management experience from a number of Saugatuck-area and Grand
Rapids organizations.
Cook, a Saugatuck Township resident, is a
professional photographer and software developer, with experience as
a director and officer of national photography-related, non-profit
groups. Vettori, past-Mayor of Saugatuck and City Council member
since 2004, is a retired information technology project manager from
Abbott Labs in North Chicago, IL.
The recent election also extended the prior
one-year term of Board Member-At-Large Ken Carls, SDHS book designer
and recent Lorenz Award winner.
The Historical Society was founded in 1986 with
seventy Charter members, "to discover, procure and preserve whatever
may relate to the civil, religious, social, cultural and natural
history of Saugatuck, Douglas and surrounding area". As a
volunteer-based, not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization with membership
open to all, the Society roster now exceeds 400 individual, family
and corporate members. Activities are funded by contributions from
members, friends and grants, and from the proceeds of special
Society events. For more information about the Society and its many
volunteer opportunities, visit
www.sdhistoricalsociety.org.
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