Donor Stories
MIKE AND EMILY COYNE
ESTABLISHING A TRADITION OF GIVING BACK
 Anyone
who knows Mike & Emily Coyne know they share a passion for the
Marquette community. A fourth generation “yooper”, Mike was more
than enthused when Emily found an advertisement searching for
doctors in the small community of Marquette while they were in
Arizona. They were both excited about the prospect of returning to
Mike’s roots. Marquette offered the quality of life that appealed
to them; a small town with close neighbors and family ties.
“That was 40 years ago,”
exclaimed Mike. “We couldn’t have asked for a better place to live,
work, and raise a family. We recognized how privileged we were. We
had taken advantage of all the area had to offer and felt the desire
and responsibility to give back to the community.” Dr. Coyne, who
is one of the founders of the Marquette Community Foundation,
explained, “20 years ago, there wasn’t an appropriate vehicle
through which to establish the tradition of giving back until the
Marquette Community Foundation was incorporated on June 27, 1988.
In fact, the first $1,500 establishing the foundation’s assets came
from memorial gifts when my mother passed away in 1988.”
Emily and Mike were attracted
to the concept of the community foundation because of its
self-supporting nature. The community contributes and then decides
how to use the money generated by their investment. Another reason
they are still supporters is the many and various ways one can
contribute to a community foundation. They chose to leave a bequest
to the Foundation through a charitable remainder trust. “The trust
supplies an annual income during our retirement,” exp lained
Emily. “The remainder will transfer to our three favorite
organizations; the Marquette Community Foundation, the Girl Scouts,
Bay Cliff Health Camp, and Peter White Public Library.”
Both Emily and Mike encourage others to
consider the Foundation as a way to forever support the causes they
care about through a bequest and the importance of informing the
foundation about your plan. Mike stated, “Our bequest serves as a
strong reminder to our family that they are part of the community
forever and it sets an example for others. Besides”, he joked,
“It’s easier to give when you’re dead. It doesn’t hurt so much.”
Dr. Kellie Holmstrom and Dr. Craig
Coccia and Family
As a board member for the foundation
since 1995, and a former president, Holmstrom spends time
helping to oversee the running of the foundation. Helping to match
people with needs to funds that are available to meet those needs is
the most important part of being a board member, she said. Holmstrom
and her family also contribute financially to several of the
foundation’s funds.
One example of where their
contributions go is the Steve Blondeau Fund, which supports U.P.
Partnerships in Safety, an effort Dr. Coccia founded. They
also provide funding for the Excellence in Education Foundation,
which includes the Ruth Ann Marley Holmstrom Teacher’s Professional
Development Scholarship, named for Holmstrom’s mother. The fund
provides additional training for teachers in the Gwinn Area
Community Schools, where Holmstrom’s mother was a long-time teacher.
“We thought it would be a good way to honor my mother’s contribution
to education,” Holmstrom said. “I feel this is a wonderful way for
teachers to expand their knowledge.”
The Coccia family is also a major
contributor to the Francine L. Malindzak Scholarship Fund, which
assists members of the Marquette Mountain Race Team with college
expenses. “Contributing to this fund was a way to honor Fran
and support a scholarship for students who have participated in the
Marquette Mountain Race Team program,” Holmstrom said. “Fran was
instrumental in starting that program. Our own children have
benefited from her coaching and her support of local skiing.”
Donating to a fund that honors someone who their three children were
once close to is one way Holmstrom and Coccia show there kids the
importance of philanthropy. They also talk to their children
about donating and encourage them to become supporters of their
community in the future. “They’ve grown up with it,” Holmstrom
said. “We walk into the library or the YMCA and they see our
family’s name on a plaque – they’re aware of the importance of those
donations.”
Holmstrom mentored her philanthropic
spirit through her work with Dr. Dave Engstrom, the Harvey
veterinarian Holmstrom observed as part of her studies to become a
veterinarian herself. “Dave served on the MGH board for years,
and taught me to give back to the community you live in,” Holmstrom
said.
Holmstrom also credits her years of experience as a youth in the
Girl Scouts, which encourages community service to its participants.
The Girl Scouts are also another organization Holmstrom currently
supports.
One of the reasons Holmstrom said she
and her family give to the Community Foundation is the endowment
aspect of the funds. “It’s not just a one-time gift,” she
said. “It’s an investment in the community that will go forward.”
For those who are considering philanthropic giving, Holmstrom urges
them to consider the Community Foundation as a recipient. “The
Community Foundation is a vehicle to continue the enrichment of the
area for the people who live here,” she said. “If you feel that
Marquette is a great place to live, that you’d like to see the
quality of life to continue to increase, this is a way to contribute
in a way that will pay dividends in the future.”
Bernadette Reider
A LEGACY OF CARING...........
…….Diminutive in stature, large in heart.
This phrase best describes Retired Colonel Bernadette Reider. When both
brothers were serving overseas during World War II she answered the call when
the military needed medical personnel. She served state-side then, but during
the Korean War, was shipped to the front in the Pusan perimeter, South Korea,
with a medical unit to attend to the wounded during heavy fighting. “There were
so many casualties,” she recounted. “They just kept coming and coming.”
A generation later, she was again at the front in Viet Nam where she was
stationed in the city of Pleiku with the U.S. Army’s medical facility. “It was
very depressing. There were sandbags all around the hospital and we were
bombed. When we heard the artillery we had to put the recovery room patients
under their beds and cover them with mattresses.”
Colonel Reider retired from the Army in 1973, but did not retire from caring
for others. She was the Chief Operating Room Nurse at Brooke Army Medical
Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas when she left the military to care for her
aging mother. After her mother’s passing, she took care of her elderly sisters,
the youngest being 15 years older than she.
Bernie, as her friends know her, is still caring for others. She volunteers
once a week at Marquette General Hospital and helps prepare pasties and serves
at funerals and other functions at St. Christopher’s Catholic Church in
Marquette Township. An animal lover, she even leaves out food for the
chipmunks. Her caring ways will be continued into perpetuity with three
endowment funds she has established by way of a life insurance policy.
Her generosity will benefit the Marquette County Humane Society and St.
Christopher’s church. To perpetuate her commitment to the care of hospital
patients, another one of her funds provides a scholarship to a graduating high
school senior who intends to pursue a nursing degree. She prefers a recipient
who plans on serving as a military nurse.
Asked why she decided on establishing these funds, she remarked, “I had some
extra money and felt it was a nice thing to do……….to financially help someone
who needed to pursue a college education. I can’t think of a better way to
spend your money, especially when it will go on forever.
Date last updated
10/04/2007
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