The East Grand Rapids Schools Foundation will hold its 15th Awards Dinner at Watermark Country Club on Wednesday, October 7. This year’s program focuses on three issues that are vital to our community and our world: local journalism, mental health, and environmental protection.
Tickets are available now on the EGR Schools Foundation's website.
Susan Lovell will be honored with the Community Service Award. Lovell co-founded the Cadence, a much-missed weekly East Grand Rapids newspaper.
Nii Addy '96 will be honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Addy is a neuroscientist at the Yale School of Medicine and host of the Addy Hour podcast.
Albert John Koerts “A.J.” Birkbeck '78 will be honored, posthumously, with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Birkbeck was an environmental attorney who was instrumental in exposing the most severe case of PFAS contamination in Michigan.
The 2025 and 2026 recipients of the EGRSF Excellence in Teaching and James and Georgia Nicholas Endowed Award for a Teacher of Math, Science, or Technology will also be honored at the dinner. Heather Carlson, Kailey Faris, and Andrea Dudley received the awards in 2025. This year's honorees are Kristen Borak, Adam Horos, and Corey Kapolka.
