Drum Major Award
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major Award for community service is based on nominees who selflessly perform daily acts of service to make their community—and our world— a better place. The award was created by the Great Lakes Bay Regional MLK Celebration event committee, and the honorees are selected from Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties.
“Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness… We all have the drum major instinct.”
Excerpt from The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
"Drum Major Instinct" sermon,
given on February 4, 1968.
2024 Honorees
Moira Branigan
Bay County
Moria Branigan is the executive director of the YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region, which offers mission-oriented programs to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity. In 2020, she began the InterACT Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program, which was inspired by similar programs at other YWCAs throughout the country. During her career, Branigan has worked in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, fulfilling roles in program development and management, nonprofit operations and outreach. She is a certified IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory®) qualified administrator and has a certificate in diversity, equity and inclusion from Cornell University. In 2022, she was appointed to the Bay City Human Relations Committee.
Anita Jenkins
Midland County
Anita Jenkins has spent 47 years in the Midland community as a dedicated community volunteer, activist and faithful philanthropist. Jenkins worked for many years as a tax attorney for Dow, where she was encouraged to join a variety of boards and committees. Anita is one of the founders of the local chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and was instrumental in helping to establish the chapter’s endowed scholarship at the Midland Area Community Foundation. She and her husband, James, have given generously to help others in the community and region. She generously shares her wealth of information on financial literacy by recommending books and encouraging others to not only be financially solvent but also to financially support the local needs of others.
Joyce Aldridge Seals
Saginaw County
Joyce Seals has dedicated much of her life to education and community service. During her career, Seals held positions with the State of Michigan, serving as an educational analyst supervising the King-Chavez-Parks College Program, Title IX coordinator, and ombudsman for post-secondary education and athletics. Locally, Seals taught at the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Metropolitan Saginaw and Buena Vista schools, both now closed. Seals has volunteered her time and talents to a number of organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, Saginaw County Youth Protection Council, Ezekiel Project and Good Neighbors Mission. She also served on the Saginaw city council for 12 years and was the city’s second Black female mayor. She currently chairs the Saginaw Promise scholarship program and sits on the Saginaw Public Schools Board of Education.
Past Honorees
2023 Honorees
- Pastor Philip Johnson
- Smallwood Holoman, Jr
- Angelia Williams
2022 Honorees
- Darold Newton
- Erin Patrice Walker
- Waheed Akbar, M.D.
2021 Honorees
- Charles Brunner
- Diane Brown Wilhelm
- Frances Carter
2020 Honorees
- Carolyn Wierda
- Dave Stickles
- Charles McNair
2019 Honorees
- Jeanne Lound Schaller
- Benton Gibson
- Leola Wilson
2018 Honorees
- Eileen Curtis
- Pastor Rufus Bradley
- Randi Kawakita
2017 Honorees
- Brandon Murphy
- Billy Strawter
- Odail Thorns
2016 Honorees
- John Smith
- Kevin Kendrick
- Joan Douglas
2015 Honorees
- Betty Jones
- Freddie Jones
- Aladia Mazique
- Teresa Stitt
CONTACT US.
Sponsorship Information
(989) 964-4068
Office of Diversity Services
diversity@svsu.edu
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The Conference Center
(989) 964-4348