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 hrough 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," explained 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."

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."

….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.