MCC President Named GRBJ’s Newsmaker of the Year in Education

President Dale K. Nesbary

Muskegon Community College President Dale K. Nesbary was honored as the Grand Rapids Business Journal’s (GRBJ) Newsmaker of the Year in the Education category during the publication’s annual Newsmakers of the Year awards breakfast held Feb. 1 at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

Nesbary was one of three finalists, along with Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas and Western Michigan University President Edward Montgomery, in the Education category.

In recognizing Nesbary’s accomplishments, the GRBJ noted “Muskegon Community College is a small school that has made a big impact in 2018 with the completion of two major construction projects.” The Business Journal outlined the scope and potential of MCC’s Peter and Carolyn I Sturrus Technology Center in downtown Muskegon and the Health and Wellness Center on the MCC main campus.

In all, the GRBJ honored individuals as Newsmakers of the Year in 16 different categories:

  • Arts and Entertainment – Jori Bennett, ArtPrize
  • Beverages – Kyle Van Strien and Jon O’Connor, Long Road Distillers
  • Economic Development – George Haga, Ada Village
  • Education – Dale Nesbary, Muskegon Community College
  • Finance – Tom Welch, Fifth Third Bank
  • Food – David Staples, SpartanNash
  • Health Care – Tina Freese Decker, Spectrum Health*
  • Law – Floyd Gates Jr., Bodman PLC
  • Manufacturing – Kevin Lobo, Stryker
  • Nonprofits – Annemarie Valdez, First Steps Kent
  • Real Estate/Construction – John Wheeler, Orion Construction
  • Retail – Rick Keyes, Meijer Inc.
  • Sports – Russ Hines, River Bank Events and Media
  • Startups – Katarina Samardzija, Locker Lifestyle
  • Sustainability – Elissa Sangalli Hillary, Local First
  • Technology – Michael Rutherford, Rutherford and Associates

*Named the overall Newsmaker of the Year