Nearly 300 donors, volunteers, and community partners filled Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center Grand Upton Hall on Thursday night for United Way of Southwest Michigan’s Annual Celebration, an evening that looked back on 2024 and honored the people who made last year’s impact possible.
President & CEO Anna Murphy opened the program by reminding guests that the night was really about them and their willingness to “live united” for neighbors across Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties.
Volunteer service took center stage. The Margaret B. Upton Volunteer Leadership Award—Berrien County’s lifetime‐achievement honor for community service—went to Rick Freridge, whose vision and elbow grease have transformed the St. Joseph-Lincoln Senior Service Center grounds and inspired scores of volunteers at Habitat for Humanity, Sarett Nature Center, and beyond. The Frederick S. Upton Foundation will donate $5,000 to a charity of his choice. Other finalists for the award included Sue Willming, and Joy Darlene Hawkins and Jolita Allene Smith, affectionately known as “The Twins.”
Leigh Goyings, who has spent more than three decades guiding Helping Hands of Cass County, championing the Cass County CROP Hunger Walk, and preserving Edwardsburg’s history, accepted the Judge Susan L. Dobrich Volunteer Leadership Award, which allows her to direct a $5,000 grant to a Cass County nonprofit. Other finalists for the award included Tim Hulett, Roseann Marchetti, and Carl Ross. The monetary portion of this award is being provided by the McLoughlin Family Foundation.
Workplace campaign champions were also celebrated. Indiana Michigan Power’s Cook Nuclear Plant earned the organizational Live United Award for combining a generous employee pledge drive with raffles, T-shirt sales, and a charity golf outing. The individual Live United Award went to Whirlpool Corporation’s Eduardo Lopez, whose steady leadership keeps the company’s popular appliance sales running smoothly and profitably for United Way. United Federal Credit Union took home the Whirlpool Community Commitment Award for pairing a sizeable pledge increase with robust volunteer turnout, and Kinexus Group captured the David J. Weichhand Award for weaving trivia contests, chili cook-offs, and even an escape-room challenge into its creative campaign.
Attendees also heard a keynote from John Farden, Executive Vice President of Global Network Advancement & Operations at United Way Worldwide, watched moving video spotlights on YMCA’s Healthy U and Domestic & Sexual Abuse Services, and learned about the impact of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library on area families.
Headline photo: Margaret B. Upton Volunteer Leadership Award winner Rick Freridge is pictured with Susan L. Dobrich Volunteer Leadership Award winner Leigh Goyings.
