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Saginaw Valley State University

March 20, 2019

SVSU to honor Great Lakes Bay Region business leaders, faculty members during awards ceremony

During its sixth annual Best In Business awards ceremony Friday, March 22, Saginaw Valley State University will recognize businesses and entrepreneurs as well as SVSU faculty, students and alumni dedicated to supporting the Great Lakes Bay Region business community.

Business and alumni awards were chosen by an advisory board featuring leaders from SVSU’s Scott L. Carmona College of Business & Management. Faculty honorees were selected by SVSU students.

Regional businesses honored will include the following:

  • Spence Brothers will receive the Outstanding Family Business Award, given to a family-owned company that demonstrates a commitment to community-minded business practices. Spence Brothers — based in the Great Lakes Bay Region since 1893 — was chosen for its support of important regional development projects in recent years.
  • Tri-Star Trust Bank will receive the Outstanding Business Award, presented to a company with a record of steady employment and strong corporate citizenship. Tri-Star Trust Bank — with offices in East Lansing, Frankenmuth, Midland and Saginaw — is a wealth management institution that handles over $1.3 billion in assets for its clients.

Business leaders honored will be as follows:

  • JoAnn Crary, a member of SVSU’s Board of Control and president of Saginaw Future Inc., a non-profit economic development organization, will receive the Outstanding Business Leader award. Among her recent accomplishments, Crary served as the 2015 board chair of the International Economic Development Council, where she focused on inclusive economic development. She was appointed in 2016 by Gov. Rick Snyder to serve on the 21st Century Economic Commission.
  • Daniel Kehres, owner of Kehres Health & Chiropractic, will receive the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award. Kehres opened his first chiropractic practice in Saginaw in 2010, and later expanded to five offices in the region. Kehres also volunteered hundreds of hours teaching free health classes and attended community health-focused events.

SVSU faculty members honored at the ceremony will include the following:

  • Lawrence Kickham, professor of accounting, will receive the Excellence in Service Award. Kickham has chaired the accounting department at SVSU for over 20 years. Kickham served as treasurer and board member for the Saginaw Choral Society for 14 years and on the Audit Committee for St. Mary’s Medical Center for over 16 years.
  • Kellie Konsor, assistant professor of economics, will receive the Excellence in Research Award. Konsor joined SVSU in 2016 and completed her Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University in 2017. Her research interests involve industrial organization and media economics.
  • Kevin Meyer, assistant professor of economics, will receive the Excellence in Teaching: Full-time Faculty Award. Originally from California, Meyer began teaching at SVSU after receiving his Ph.D. from Iowa State University.
  • Gerald Nelson will receive the Excellence in Teaching: Adjunct Faculty Award. Nelson began as an adjunct faculty member in SVSU’s Department of Accounting in 2015. He also is a three-time SVSU alumnus, receiving a master's degree in business administration in 2015, a bachelor's degree in professional accountancy in 2013, and a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1998.

SVSU’s Best In Business awards ceremony will recognize graduate students, undergraduate students and alumni at the ceremony.

SVSU's Scott L. Carmona College of Business & Management is among the 5 percent of business schools worldwide accredited by AACSB International, widely considered a gold standard for business school accreditation.

For more information, visit www.svsu.edu/cbm.