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2006
1998 |
2006
Belleville High School Honors |
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Mr. Richard Pokerwinski
Richard Pokerwinski graduated from Belleville High School in 1964. Richard played football for the Belleville Tigers all through high school and one of his coaches was Mr. Richendollar in 1964. He also participated in Basketball, Baseball, and Varsity Club. Richard attended classes from kindergarten to graduation in the same building that is now BHS. Richard attributes is interest in education to his 6th grade teacher, Mr. Center, who was his favorite teacher. He began working at Ford Motor Company in 1964 at the Ypsilanti Plant and was then transferred to the Sheldon Road Plymouth Plant in 1967 where he became a UAW union representative in 1969. He retired as the UAW Employee Support Service Representative (which he held for 25 years) from the Sheldon Road Plant in Plymouth after 40 years of service to Ford Motor Company. Richard has been a parishioner of St. Anthony’s all his life. He has been Co-chair of the Strawberry Festival at St. Anthony for the last five years and has been the representative for St. Anthony on the Belleville National Strawberry Festival Board. He is also on the Sumpter Parks and Recreation Board and is actively involved with the Sumpter Country Fest. Richard has been involved in community affairs for many years to benefit the communities in which he lives. Richard, with his long time friend, John McLeod, still attends the BHS football and basketball games as strong alumni and will always continue to support the teams and the school. Richard has been on the Board of Directors, as a Director, for Parkside Credit Union for 15 years with branches in Livonia and Westland. He is actively involved with Parkside and hopes to be for years to come. Richard is working on a project now to bring Parkside to Sumpter Township. Richard likes nothing more than stripping down an old vehicle to build it back up again. His very first car was a 1955 Chevy Bel-Aire Hardtop, which he still has. Richard also has a 1939 Ford Panel Truck that is original and is currently working on a 1928 Model A. The Belleville Enterprise featured Richard because of his involvement with Sparkplugs Car Club of South Lyon and America’s Most Wanted Car Club of Canton. Richard won 1st Place at the 53rd Annual Detroit Autorama Car Show in 2004 through the Michigan Hot Rod Association with his 1940 Ford Panel Street Rod. He is actively involved in a yearly car show in Canton which raises funds that are donated to charity. Last year the club chose to donate to the Disabled Vets and the Military Moms. Richard married Sharon Mashike in 1966 and they have two children, Richard (Rick) and Amy. Richard is a lifetime resident of Sumpter and raised his children in Sumpter. He is proud of his children who graduated from BHS. Richard’s greatest accomplishment was supporting his children through college and seeing them graduate from college with their Master Degrees. Richard plans on continuing his work in the community, enjoying his family and retirement. |
Mr. Glenn Silvenis Glenn Silvenis, a 1966 graduate of Belleville High School, has been a resident of the Belleville area for over 50 years. While at BHS he was involved in Marching Band, Concert Band, Orchestra, Astronomy Club, and many other activities. He was a member of the first graduating class at Washtenaw Community College and attended Eastern Michigan University for an additional two years. Glenn started his commitment to the city of Belleville with an appointment to the Park Commission. He then went on to Belleville City Council and served as Mayor Pro Tem under Mayor Beverly Stinehour. In 1987 he was elected to serve as Mayor of Belleville for four years and was reelected to complete an additional four year term. During these eight years, the City of Belleville saw much prosperity and development that included: Control of Main Street from the county, the library expansion, the building of Harbor Pointe and Victoria Commons subdivisions, the streetscape implementation, Victory Station renovation, the old Belleville Hospital demolition, the demolition of the old A&P grocery store and the building of Oakwood Health Care facility in its place, a sewer separation, the development of the industrial park, and the start of construction of the new Belleville bridge. Glenn’s most memorable event was helping to be a part of the Veteran’s Memorial, located near Horizon Park on High Street. Glenn has also distinguished himself in the area of real estate. He has received significant awards including twice being the number one RE/Max agent in the Metropolitan area out of more than 1,000 agents. He has received the platinum performance award five times, the chairman’s award three times, and was inducted into the Re/Max Hall of Fame in 1999. He was most recently awarded the Re/Max Lifetime Achievement Award and was twice chosen as one of the top 300 realtors in America by Realtor Online Magazine. No longer in city politics, Glenn still helps this community through his real estate business and especially through his big heart. Glenn has been very generous to many individuals and organizations in this community. He established a music scholarship fund in memory of his father in 2001 to serve BHS students. He is a member of the Girlstown Foundation, the Belleville Rotary Club, St. Anthony’s Catholic Church (50 years +), the National Association of Realtors, and the Western Wayne-Oakland Association of Realtors. Glenn attributes much of his success to the support of friends, family and especially from his wife, Christine, and their three children: Eric, Aaron, and Adam.
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Ms.
Barbara Mitchell Barbara Jean Mitchell has distinguished herself as a lifelong resident of Belleville. Barbara graduated from Belleville High school in 1953 at the age of 16. She was even in attendance and helped collect bricks after the fire at the old Belleville High School. Barbara participated in many activities during her high school career and after. While in high school she participated in GAA Basketball and Band. She graduated from Eastern Michigan University at the age of 20 with a Bachelors of Science degree, and was a member of Phi Kappa Epsilon sorority at EMU. Barbara continued her education by receiving her Masters degree in Reading/Administration in 1961. She began teaching 1st and 2nd grades at Quirk Elementary and then Haggerty Elementary. Barbara firmly believed in community involvement. She was an active member of the Belleville United Methodist Church for 57 years, serving on their Board of Trustees, teaching Sunday school, being involved in the Blessed Bells, and was caretaker of the LOGOs, a group that is now known as The Stars of Jesus. She was active within the September Days of Van Buren Township by helping those who needed rides to medical appointments, she arranged bowling trips for the seniors, and was involved in arranging a bowling tournament at the time of her death. Barbara was a member of the Belleville Band Boosters and the Mortar Board, the first national organization honoring senior college women, and was involved in the Belleville High School Distinguished Graduate program from its inception until 2005. She supported Girls’ Town, Dawn Farms Recovery Center, Arbor Hospice, Interlochen, and Eastern Michigan University. She was named Woman of the Year in 1973 by the Belleville Business and Professional Woman’s Organization and was President of that same organization from 1973 to 1975. She was involved in Alcohol Anonymous (A.A.) being sober for 22 years at the time of her death. She began an A.A. meeting out of her home in 1977 and then moved the meetings to a church within the community a year later. She sponsored many ladies so that they could find a life free from addiction and become productive citizens. She was the keynote speaker at the Windsor, Ontario Canada A.A. convention in 2003. She was an avid bowler since 1980 holding many offices in her league. She bowled on as many as seven different leagues in one week in Belleville, Westland, and Taylor. In the time she spent with the Ann Arbor Michigan Bowling Association 500 Club, she served as President, Vice-President, and was named League Secretary of the Year 2001-2002. Barbara enjoyed a good football, basketball, baseball, or bowling game. Although she loved the competition, it was the camaraderie that she found to be the most fulfilling. Barbara was married for 38 years to Robert M. Mitchell (deceased) and had three sons, Robert J. Mitchell (married to Nancy Mitchell with one child, Kira), Gary Lee Mitchell (deceased), and David Means Mitchell. |
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