Legacy Award Nominee's - The 2nd CD will vote for TWO names
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(1.male , 1 female, or non-binary) on May 11th at the in-person event.

​Barry County Democratic Party's 2 nominees:

Female Nominee: Christina Rose Bush has been nominated by members of the Barry County Democratic Committee for the MDP Legacy Award because, as chairperson, she has shown unwavering dedication to the work of democracy and to the values of the Democratic Party. Despite enormous personal adversity, Chris has kept our small, but growing group moving ahead in purpose. As her own leadership style has developed, so has our county party. Our meetings have been honed and kept on task. When there are procedural questions, she consults with MDP to get answers, then educates our group on her findings. She rallies us to participate in community events, apply tgo sit on county committees, attend public meetings, canvass our fellow Democrats; in short – she entreaties us to make ourselves known and heard in our community, and that has resulted in more participation (actively and with donations) by new-to-us Democrats. Because of Chris, we are noticed. Because of Chris, we have drawn out more Democrats who have thought they were alone in this community. Because of her constant encouragement, we have more Democratic candidates on our ballots than memory serves. Chris is our champion!

​Male Nominee: Robert Eugene Dwyer Robert Eugene Dwyer is being posthumously nominated for the MDP Legacy Award because his work in the Democratic Party, state-wide and locally, is truly a legacy-building tome. Bob was a passionate believer in American constitutional democracy. His dedication to being an active citizen, along with that to his family, was the dominant theme in his life. Bob began his lifelong political involvement after graduation from Livonia Bentley High School in 1953. Through his involvement with the Democratic Party, he worked closely with some of Michigan's most illustrious Democratic figures of the 1950s and 1960s, including first serving as a driver for U.S. Senator Pat McNamara, working with and for Governor G. Mennen Williams, and a close and enduring friendship with former Governor and Michigan Supreme Court Justice John Swainson. During his time on the east side of the state, Bob was elected Democratic Party Chairman of Michigan's then 2nd Congressional District, served as a State Central Committee member, and in 1968 led a successful open housing referendum to desegregate housing in Plymouth. Bob served as a delegate to the 1968 Democratic Party Convention in Chicago. Bob and his wife moved to Barry County in 1985, and his involvement in rural politics was no less important.  To those local Democrats discouraged at being in such a minority locally, he always reminded them that all it takes to win an election is a one-vote margin after the recount, and in critical statewide races, every Democratic vote in a Republican County was just as precious as those coming from solid Democratic areas. Eventually assuming the chairmanship of the County party, he never waivered in stressing the importance of involvement in Party politics. He respected precinct delegates as much as he did a Party Chair at any level. Bob was, for years, a valued resource for Democrats in Barry County and is missed sorely.
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Clare County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: None given as of 05/07/2024.
Eaton County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: None given as of 05/07/2024.

Gladwin County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: 

Female Nominee: Diana Miller for the 2nd Congressional District’s 2024 Legacy Award. Diana and her husband Duane came to the party at a time of crisis. The party’s treasurer had not kept proper books and the GCPD was facing an insurmountable fine for being out of compliance. That was in 2014 and Diana took on the challenge of straightening the debacle out. With the help of Tammy Lewis they got the fines reduced to a manageable level and with her financial talents Diana got us on the road to being solvent and in good standing with the Michigan Democratic Party. Diana has been our party's treasurer for 10 years now and has done an incredible job of keeping our financial books in order. She has been a vital member by routinely working in the Party’s office, helping with parades, often carrying the party banner throughout the route with her husband Duane. She has been a member of our executive board for ten years and always attends the monthly meetings. In short the Gladwin County Democratic Party would not be where we are today without the hard work and dedication put forth by Diana Miller.

Male Nominee: Duane Miller became a member of the Gladwin County Democratic Party just six months after moving to the County following his retirement from the Methodist Church. He has now been a member in good standing for 11 years. Duane is always willing to attach himself to any worthy project that the Party undertakes. Since I have been in the party, Duane has always organized and supervised the Adopt A Highway Program for our Party’s 3 miles of M-18 between Beaverton and Gladwin. He has helped others from the party to put the finishing touch to a Habitat for Humanity home in Gladwin. He is a founding member of Gladwin County Community Builders, working tirelessly to make this project a success for the entire county. Duane has worked many shifts with his wife Diana at our office. He has proudly carried our GCDP banner in many parades in Gladwin, Beaverton and Clare. When we are looking for a learned and honest opinion on any matter Duane is someone the party can turn to at any time. Duane is being nominated for the 2nd Congressional District’s 2024 Legacy Award for his years of service and dedication to the Gladwin County Democratic Party

Gratiot County Democratic Party's 2 nominees:

Female Nominee: Lisa Gregory is a retired English teacher from Breckenridge High School. She is also a proud grandmother who enjoys spending time with her two-year-old granddaughter. Lisa joined the Gratiot Democratic Party three years ago and has become indispensable as the Secretary of our group. Her skills extend far beyond the job description of a secretary. In addition to keeping accurate minutes, conducting correspondence, and maintaining permanent records, Lisa serves as our webmaster and the editor of our professional bi-monthly newsletter. (Enclosed is a copy of our March/April newsletter for the 2nd Congressional District members perusal.) Lisa is also the webmaster for our CD2 U.S. Congressional District candidate, Michael Lynch, who is also a Gratiot County Democratic Party member. Lisa Gregory is a servant leader that is deserving of recognition for her outstanding skills and service on behalf of Democrats​.

Male Nominee: Brent DeVries for the MDP Legacy Award. Brent has been an active member of the Gratiot County Democratic Party for the past four years. He ran for County Commissioner in 2022 and has been our treasurer for the past three years. Brent and his wife Stacey are the proud parents of three young children and are busy with school and extra-curricular family activities. Brent provides leadership and stability for our local party through his “out-of-the-box” thinking. He developed a long term plan that was adopted by our group which focuses on increased membership, candidate recruitment and training and establishing financial security which will allow us to keep our year round office open and thriving. He is an exceptional treasurer who is methodical when preparing financial reports, well organized, knowledgeable about accounting and developing financial policies. Brent DeVries is a servant leader that is deserving of recognition for his outstanding service on behalf of Democrats

Ionia County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: 

Female Nominee:  We are nominating Christine Strickling.  A latecomer to the Democratic Party, Chris says she had been a left-leaning independent most of her voting life.  The Trump presidency made her realize that she had to choose to work with Democrats to make change happen. In 2018 she began volunteering with the Ionia County Democratic Party and by 2021 she was Co-Chair of the party working to grow our presence in the community.
 
No Male Nominee at this time.

Isabella County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: None given as of 05/07/2024.

Kent County Democratic Party's 2 nominees:

Female Nominee:  Judy Herrick - Judy has been involved with the Kent County Democratic Party since 2017.  She was one of the original Caledonia Dems Club board members, taking charge of the social aspect.  She provided food and set up of all social events.  Judy has canvassed door to door for numerous candidates at the county level, utilizing MiniVan adeptly.  She has worked on assembling literature for the county and One Campaign. Judy is on the Membership Committee of the Kent County Democratic Party, taking charge of the social hours prior to monthly business meetings.  She regularly attends Membership Committee meetings providing critical feedback and leadership.  Judy has developed training materials for Precinct Captain training programs and Canvassing Programs.  She has been involved in Volunteer Appreciation programs and Party events.  Judy is always optimistic, encouraging, and has an unending smile.

No Male nominee at this time.

Lake County Democratic Party's 2 nominees:

No female nominee at this time.​

​Male Nominee: Roger Kent - Roger is a tireless worker for the Lake County Dem's. He is the mover behind all of our fundraiser activities. He cooks at every one of our monthly meetings and cleans up afterwards. He makes homemade cinnamon rolls before we all clean the MDOT road at his house. He puts up his camper for the Memorial Weekend Fundraiser we have every year so he can have a place for us all to cleanup, cook and place price tags on every item that is for sale. Whenever we do an event, Roger is the first to arrive and the last to leave. He is a true democrat and we wish we had 10 more like him. 

Manistee County Democratic Party's 2 nominees:

Male Nominee: Lee Trucks - has been a lifelong dedicated Democrat working diligently for social, economic, and environmental justice for the greater good of all people. Lee was the principal owner of a very successful business providing office supplies and services to local businesses and the public in Manistee. This business has prospered even in the shadows of big box office supply stores due to the focus on local personal service dedication. After his retirement, Lee has turned his passion to supporting the MCDP by volunteering as our communications Committee chairperson. Under Lee’s leadership the MCDP website (https://www.manisteecountydemocrats.us) has been recognized as one of the best in the state of Michigan. Lee has also maintained our Google Group email network that has grown to over 450 active email addresses. The MCDP Facebook page and discussion group has also grown exponentially under Lee’s attention. In his “spare time” Lee has been active providing website management and social media support for the Great Lakes Environmental Festival that is held every April during Earth Day. Lee Trucks is certainly deserving of this recognition by the Michigan Democratic Party Second Congressional District Committee.

Female Nominee: Judy Cunningham - is a retired educator and accountant who has steadfastly and expertly maintained the financial records of the MCDP for the past 15 years. She has provided the leadership we needed to move from snail-mail cash and checks to the use of credit cards and Act-Blue technology that has enabled the MCDP to raise over $27,000 in 2022! Judy has also stepped up to add her passionate leadership to the MCDP Candidate Support Committee where she has successfully recruited down ballot candidates to run against incumbents in all Manistee County races this year! Judy is always working to support Democrat issues. She writes many letters to the editor and is actively engaged as a member of the Great Lakes Environmental Festival planning committee for this successful exhibit of the efforts of many organizations to help mitigate the impact of climate change. As chair of the MCDP I cannot think of a more engaged, dedicated, and passionate member of our county organization. Judy Cunningham is highly deserving of this recognition by the Michigan Democratic Party Second Congressional District Committee.

Mason County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: None given as of 05/07/2024.

Mecosta County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: 

Male Nominee: Jeff Ostahowski: Jeff Ostahowski has Democra'c party principles right down to his bones, being a life-long Democrat. Jeff has had many experiences in his life, and has done some amazing things in roles including a Public Relations man for General Motors, and aide for Congressman Dale Kildee in Washington D.C., written many policies and laws that are now in the books, an inventor who has many environmentally safe patents, and I could keep on going. Jeff has been an invaluable member of the MCDP over the past 10 years. Jeff first got involved with MCDP when we discovered an injection well near Barryton where is mother lived. He dove into research injection wells and oil/gas business in Michigan's DEQ (which has been under Republican control for way too long). He spearheaded many complaints with the E.P.A. for public hearings about injection well sites all over the state of Michigan, including fracking wells. A group of us from the MCDP created the Mecosta County Water Protection group, and went on to become board members of the Michigan Citizens of Water Conservation (MCWC). MCWC for years were fighting Nestle's taking of water from our aquifers, but moved on to other areas of water protection. We revived this group, and went on to fight for another well that Nestle wanted to over-tap - and actually won the case with Osceola Township. Jeff was a spokesperson for MCWC and did amazing presentations at the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Center and was written up in many international journals. Jeff has a rich history with Dale Kildee both at the Michigan State Capitol and when Dale went on to Washington D.C. Ask him sometime about how many policies he has written. He worked closely setting up manufacturing sites around Michigan and has a wealth of knowledge. He has also had some personally sad stories as he lived in Midland for many years. His home caught on fire, and had so many chemicals that were in his yard, that health problems ensured. He has always been a strong advocate for the environment. He spends his spare time fishing and has authored many novels (which are full of political intrigue). Currently Jeff is the Chair of the Resolution Commitee. So far he has written a Resolution to Support the Gotion EV Battery Plant, Resolution to Oppose the Potash Plant in Osceola County, a Leader of Support to Shawn Fein of UAW, to Gretchen Whitmer for her leadership, and to Jocelyn Benson for taking her staff to Selma, Alabama to the Pettus Bridge. Jeff is such an asset to our MCDP, by quietly getting things done. Hats off to Jeff!

Female Nominee: Sally Gerber:  The old saying, "behind every successful man is a woman" most certainly applies to Sally. Sally married into a successful family from Reed City, and went on to become a beacon in her own right. She spent years working for Amway in Grand Rapids and learned skills that helped her climb up the ladder. She joined our party ager retiring and moving to Mecosta County. She started a Progressive Women's Club at Canadian Lakes, in Morton Township because she yearned to hang out with "like-minded" people with a political flair. She created many events with the Progressive Women, and then became very interested in the petition for signatures for Reproductive Rights which was on the ballot in 2022. She went on to help organize the "Spring into Summer" event that honored the Old Settlers that lived in her township. Sally stepped up to the plate by being a "deep listener" and listened enough to understand political strategy and how we could pull people together to get engaged. She worked together with our Goals Commitee and closely examined our Values. She brought the team together to find a way to make our MCDP look at issues that were important to all of us. She researched information on how to bring people together who shared values and how to expand the base of the Democratic Party in Mecosta County. She was someone who always approached a problem with a pleasant attitude. She was well liked by everybody, and had patience in working with many types of personalities. She accomplished an exercise at a meeting that asked all to write down the issues that were important to them. This exceeded anything that had been done previously and truly sparked a fire with many local issues. Her consistency with working on issues and values brought together a Strategy Platform that is one of the best ones the MCDP has ever had. I attribute all of this to Sally's hard work and vision, and her ability to work with people. Sally just recently co-chaired our Woodbridge Ferris Gala, and picked up many detailed pieces and brought it together to be one of the most successful we have had. She is a force to be reckoned with - and she loves to have fun.


Midland County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: None given as of 05/07/2024.
Montcalm County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: None given as of 05/07/2024.
Muskegon County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: None given as of 05/07/2024.

Newaygo County Democratic Party's 2 nominees:

Female Nominee: Michele Ross is a driving force behind our county party.  She has taken on many jobs and done them all with out standing results for many years.  Such as:
 
1. She chairs the finance committee and with many other members puts on four Texas Hold'Em events each year.
 
2. She and her committee have put on annual dinners with outstand results both in funds raised and many people involve. Even during Covid she put on an outdoor event that was well attended and again made thousands of dollars
 
3. During covid she used her zoon account to allow the County Party to meet monthly.
 
4. Even after covid she has allowed us to use her zoom account to allow members and guest to attend our meeting when they were not able to attend in person.
 
5. Each election for several elections she has taken the time to locate a office for our party in Fremont, Michigan and arranged the lease.
 
6. Michele is a member of the Second District Committee and several months ago she was elected to the State Central Committee went a district member resigned.
 
 Male Nominee: Stan Opal is the person to call on when you need something done.
 
1.  Uses his truck to pull our float in many parades.
 
2. Need signs of all size and wires or steel post taken out and installed CALL STAN.
 
3.  As a retire operating engineer and Veteran Stan applied for a Governors appoint and now is a member of the Michigan Board of Professional Engineers.
 
4. Stan is a member of the District Committee and has attended many State Conventions.
 
5. It was noted that at the August 2022 convention that while others attended the convention Everyone met Stan Opal.

Oceana County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: 

Female Nominee: Janet Schultz – A retired school-teacher, Janet was inspired to put her ideals into action during the Obama campaign.  She then became active with the Oceana County Democratic Party (OCDP) after attending the Women's March in DC in 2017, assuming the vice-chair position and becoming OCDP chair from 2019 to 2022.  Janet worked tirelessly in support of the Rob Davidson and Poppy Hernandez campaigns in 2018. She coordinated precinct delegate efforts for the 2020 presidential election. She is active Michigan’s 2nd CD and Rural Caucus. Janet was a campaign worker for early voting in February 2024. Currently, she coordinates the OCDP efforts for the Contest Every Race initiative that supports rural democratic election engagement.  In the 2024 election cycle, Janet is co-chair of the OCDP elections committee and oversees volunteer engagement. In addition to her efforts with the OCDP, Janet supports local food pantries and does mending for a local medical care facility. The Oceana County Dems are proud to nominate Janet Schultz for the Michigan Democratic Party Legacy Award.

Male Nominee: Jim Cunningham – Jim is a much beloved retired Hart High School history and government teacher. His legacy incudes holding the position of Chair of the Oceana County Democratic Party (OCDP) from 2005 to 2019. Jim really ramped up his activism during the 2008 Obama campaign, when the campaign rented a storefront in downtown Hart and staffed it with a full-time employee. In addition, Jim was an election volunteer worker from 1997 to 2020, alongside his late wife, Alice. Jim has been a precinct delegate for the City of Hart since 2006 and remains active with the party today. He also serves as a representative assembly delegate for the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and is beginning a term on the MEA PAC. Jim is the Local PAC Chair for Oceana, Mason & Manistee counties. His long list of community involvement includes being the Vice-chair of the City of Hart Planning Committee. The Oceana County Dems are proud to nominate Jim Cunningham for the Michigan Democratic Party Legacy Award.

Osceola County Democratic Party's 2 nominees:

Male Nominee: Harvey Miller - After choosing Jack Kennedy as his first ever choice in a presidential election, Harvey Miller became an active participant in the democratic process. As an educator, he always believed in a strong union system and held many leadership positions in the Michigan Education Association. He continues to be an active voice for the good of education as a dedicated member of MEA-Retired. In this role, he thrilled many children around the state with his reading and storytelling skills to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Suess and encourage a love of reading.  Harvey still feels strongly that unions are a vital part of our society. His concern for the greater good led to the Democratic Party. He officially joined the party many years after that first election and held many positions to represent Osceola County. He has been the County Chair, Fourth Congressional District Treasurer, and Precinct Delegate which is a role he continues in. Harvey says the best thing about being a Democrat is their overall concern for the working people of our country and the welfare of others all over the world. The Osceola County Democrats are pleased to nominate Harvey for the Legacy Award.

Female Nominee: Jodi Gabert - Jodi Gabert's activism began in college when, as a member of the swim team, noted that the men’s athletic teams were treated better than the women’s teams. Jodi pushed for equal treatment under the recently passed Title IX. In 1986, Jodi and her husband, Doug, moved to Reed City and became active members of the Osceola County Democratic Party. During her time at Reed City Schools, Jodi served as RCEA Convention Delegate and Secretary. When the school board decided to privatize its support staff, she spoke out against it.  After retirement, Jodi ran for State Representative for the 102nd district. She also served on the MDP Central Committee and was an advocate for rural democrats. As chair of the Osceola County Democratic Party, Jodi recruited candidates and kept the party going. Jodi resigned as chair of the party in 2015, but remained active in it until it went into abeyance. She became a board member of the reborn Osceola Dems in 2023 but resigned in 2024, confident that the party under fresh activist leadership would prosper. Jodi sincerely thanks Richard Nixon for signing into law the twenty sixth amendment allowing her full citizenship at 18 and his later behavior that made her an active Democrat for over half a century. The Osceola County Democrats are pleased to nominate Jodi for the Legacy Award.

Ottawa County Democratic Party's 2 nominees: None given as of 05/07/2024.

Wexford County Democratic Party's 2 nominees:

Male Nominee: Mark W. Yonkman Bio - Mark W. Yonkman is a Michigan native and long-time supporter of Democratic causes. His ancestors homesteaded Michigan beginning in the 1870s and he is now a 6th generation family farmer in Boon, Michigan. Mark started in a one-room schoolhouse and was a first generation college student when he attended Kalamazoo College. The Cadillac Rotary Club sent Mark to Brazil for a year during his Junior year at Cadillac Senior High. He went on to Wayne State Law School and first practiced law at Pepper Hamilton in Detroit. He went on to become General Counsel-Corporate Finance of Comerica Bank in Detroit and later General Counsel of M&T Bank, the largest retail bank in New York and a Fortune 500 company. While in Michigan, Mark became a foster home for the City of Detroit and did emergency placement and respite care for Detroit foster children. Mark is also a co-founder with a federal judge of Law School Yes We Can, which is a non-profit dedicated to ensuring under-represented minorities complete college and get into law school with the goal of ensuring that our legal system more closely reflects the makeup of society at large. Mark has also been an active supporter of obtaining equal rights for the LGTBQ community. Mark inherited his family farm in Michigan when Covid hit. Being back on the farm in rural Michigan and watching how urban and rural America mis-communicate prompted him to write a book to help Democrats rebuild communication with rural America - specifically the 8 Upper Midwestern states, and to help Democrats win those states. Mark firmly believes that there is a lot of low hanging fruit for Democrats in the rural cohort of voters, which comprises at least 25% of the Electoral College vote. He is working hard to reverse Democrats’ losses among rural voters. 

Female Nominee: Antonette (Tiyi) Schippers - Tiyi has been a Democratic activist since, at age 17, she was the student coordinator for the Northern Cook County, Illinois Citizens for McGovern even before she was eligible to vote. After moving to Michigan in 1986, Tiyi, and her husband David Bunce sought out and participated in the Wexford County Democratic Party. She sat on the board of The Committee to De-Elect George W. Bush, then served as chair of the Wexford County Democrats throughout the Bush Administration. In 2006 she ran for the 35th District Michigan Senate race against the republican juggernaut, Michelle McManus, so she would not run unopposed. Despite enormous funding disparity she won 39% in the general election in a solid red district, pushing the needle blue. 
She helped organize the first and second Obama campaigns from her home in Cadillac, working with field operatives to organize volunteers, to canvass throughout the county from her living room in Cadillac, where she would provide hot soup lunches to the volunteer canvassers, as well as walking the streets despite her physical disabilities. As a result the city of Cadillac voted in the majority for Barack Obama in 2008, the first time a democratic candidate won the city… ever. During the Obama administration Tiyi created and maintained a Facebook group titled Wexford County Progressives, to keep the conversation alive in her extremely red area. During this time she also ran for and won a seat on the Cadillac City Council where she continues to serve as Mayor Pro Temp. When Trump held a rally at The Wexford County Civic Center in 2016, Tiyi used her contacts in the community to organize a flash protest involving hundreds of people during the event.  After Trump was inaugurated Tiyi, pushing her walker she named Alice Walker, rode a bus to D.C. and marched in the largest protest in US history, The Women’s March. Then, on MLK Day, she helped transform the Wexford County Progressives into a PAC, to organize her community with the goal of making Trump a one term president. Over 75 people attended the first organizational meeting. Tiyi Schippers has also mentored many young democrats, serving as campaign manager for Amanda Siggins who ran for state rep in the 102nd, in 2020, then in the redistricted 101st, in 2022. She has been a listening ear and mentor to Representative Betsy Coffia for many years. She also created, and serves as advisor for  The Cadillac Mayor’s Youth Council, a city sanctioned organization to help Cadillac area youth participate in municipal government.  Tiyi continues to serve the Wexford County Democratic Party as an advisor, offering her institutional memory, and expertise to the newly reinvigorated Wexford County Democratic Party. Aside from her party activism, Tiyi has also organized her community to stand up to neo Nazis who were recruiting and inflicting violence in her community, creating a group called Cadillac United, bringing education, political, faith based, public safety, and other community leaders together to stand against hate. She helped organize the Black Lives Matter March in Cadillac, as well as the Rally for Reproductive Freedom in her community. She was awarded the Cadillac Area Chamber of Commerce Spirit of the Community Award in 2023.  Antoinette (Tiyi) Schippers continues to serve and exemplify the Democratic Party ideals and principles throughout her work in the community, state and nation.



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