<title>Starr Commonwealth to honor four ‘Stand Tall’ recipients, including Albion’s Vivian Davis</title>
<link>https://www.advisor-chronicle.com/starr-commonwealth-to-honor-four-stand-tall-recipients-including-albions-vivian-davis</link>
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Albion-based Starr Commonwealth will be holding its 5th Annual Night of Starrs event on Wednesday, Sept. 22 at
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the Franke Center for the Arts in Marshall.
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A VIP reception will be held from 5-6 p.m. and the main program will be
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held from 6-9 p.m. honoring the following Stand Tall recipients:
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*Vivian Davis, Retired Educator, Albion Public Schools, Former Adjunct Instructor, Kellogg Community College,
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Kellogg Community College Foundation Board, President of Albion Rotary Club, Albion Community Leader
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*Dr. Yvonne M. Friday, MD, FAAP Division Chief, General Pediatrics Adolescent Medicine, Children’s Hospital
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of Michigan
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*Jeannie Goodrich, CEO, Summit Pointe
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*Lachanda Garrison, Department of Defense Education Activity, 2021 State Teacher of the Year
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Since 2017, the Night of Starrs has served as an evening of celebration for champions of children.
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“Stand Tall Award honorees are selected thanks to their dedication to healing trauma and building resilience in the
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children they serve,” said Starr Marketing and Communications Director Matt Ray. “Each recipient exemplifies
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Starr Commonwealth’s core values and plays a key role in achieving our mission to create positive experiences so
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that all children, families, and communities can flourish.”
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The VIP reception is sold out due to reduced numbers. A general livestream of the event will be available at
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starr.org/nos.
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Vivian Davis came to Albion in 1974, just after her marriage to husband Arthur, and ever since her arrival, Davis
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has worked tirelessly to serve and better the Albion community, including working for Albion Public Schools for 37
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years, serving on the Board of Education and numerous organizations and committees:
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Leadership:
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Past President, Albion Public Schools Board of Education
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Past Secretary, Albion-Homer United Way
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Past President, Michigan Counseling Association 2000-2001
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Past Board Member, Albion Education Association (2004-2010)
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Past President, Calhoun Counselors Association (2007-2009)
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Charter Member - Lions Club of Albion, Presently serves as Secretary
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Past Member, National Education Association National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Examiner
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Present member of the National Education Association Diversity/Social Justice Trainer
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Past Member, National Education Association Resolutions Committee
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Past Michigan Education Special Services Association Board of Directors (MESSA) Trustee
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National Education Association-Retired Board of Directors (Alternate)
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Past Member, Michigan Department of Education Standards Commission for Teachers
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Community/Local Affiliations:
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Member, Kellogg Community College Foundation Board
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Member, Albion Lions Club, Treasurer
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Member, Albion Philanthropic Women
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Member, SISTERS (Sisters Influencing Society Mentoring Program)
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Bethel Baptist Church Anniversary Committee
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Executive Board, Psi Kappa Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
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Secretary, Albion Branch NAACP Board of Directors Board member, Albion Bohm Theatre
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Member Albion American Legion
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Member, American Association of University Women
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President Albion Rotary, Charter Co-Sponsor of Interact Club for youth
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Davis was raised in Fitzgerald, Ga. and was adopted and grew up as an only child, but over the years she has
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reunited with her nine siblings.
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“I have always been an independent thinker,” said Davis. “So, to me, that was best thing that could have happened
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to me because my parents taught me a different structure in life, different values in life and I was always raised with
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the idea of when you go to college, you will be able to be self-sufficient. Not, if you go to college. Of my brothers
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and sisters, I am the only one in the family of my siblings who has a post-secondary education…I kind of had the
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best of two worlds. Rather than looking at it negatively, I’ve always looked at my adoption as a positive part of my
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life.”
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Following high school, Davis attended Fort Valley State, a Historical Black College. He then went to Case Western
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in Cleveland to get her Master’s in Social Science Administration.
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She then married her childhood sweetheart, Arthur, and soon thereafter, the couple moved to Albion after Arthur got
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an engineering job at Corning Glassworks following his graduation from University of Wisconsin. (The couple have
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two sons and four grandchildren.)
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If a management employment came into their system, and their spouse wanted to work, the company would help the
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spouse find a job on their particular area.
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So, Corning arranged an interview for Vivian with the Albion schools superintendent.
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“As it so happened, the school social worker was retiring that year and so I just moved right into her position,” said
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Davis, who would go on to hold that position for 10 years, working at Albion’s five elementary schools, middle
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school and high school.
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Davis then went on to get a Master’s in Counseling Psychology and became a high school counselor.
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“My entire professional career was in Albion Public Schools,” she said.
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Davis retired in 2011 and in 2013, she joined the Albion Board of Education, ultimately becoming president of the
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board and overseeing the annexation with Marshall Public Schools in 2016.
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During her career Davis saw firsthand how the flourishing Albion school district dwindled in size over almost four
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decades.
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“It was very sad,” she said. “When the elementaries closed that wasn’t as emotional for me as when the high school
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was losing students. When I first got to the high school, as a counselor I was assigned 400 students, and that was just
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students in two grades. Actually, it was a little more than 400 and it was very stressful trying to keep up with so
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many students.
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“When the high school closed, we had less than 300 students district-wide. In the end, we had about 70 seniors
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graduating; when I first got to the high school, we had over 200 graduating… I think what a lot of community
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people did not realize was that it was very difficult, impossible actually, to run a viable school district that is
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designed for 600 students to dwindle down to less than half that. We didn’t have the financial support and teachers
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felt as if their job were always in jeopardy.”
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Davis was on the initial MPS Bond Steering Committee in 2019 and last week, Davis was asked to be on the present
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steering committee regarding the $45 million bond that voters will decide on in November.
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One of the big items of the bond is a new elementary school in Albion to replace outdated Harrington Elementary.
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“I remember sitting in a meeting with (MPS Trustee) Matt Davis and he was the first one I heard say we could patch
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and patch and patch or we could build,” said Davis. “I had not heard anyone ever mention anything about building a
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new school. I thought he was talking about a new school to be located between Albion and Marshall and he said, no-
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a state of the art elementary school in Albion.”
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Vivian Davis said a new elementary school in Albion would be a huge boost for students and the community.
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“Facilities mean a lot,” she said. “We have not had an air-conditioned building. We have not had a state-of-the-art
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learning environment. I remember when the students began attending school in Marshall, especially the middle
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school and high school students, they would say Marshall offered so many more opportunities. So, I think anytime
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we can enhance the educational structure in the community, without a doubt, it’s a positive.”
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Seeing the Albion school district shut down, said Davis, was like losing “a part of your family.”
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“It was devastating for a lot of people,” she said.
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Davis said found out about the Stand Tall Award about six weeks ago when she received a call from Starr CEO
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Elizabeth Carey.
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“It was a good feeling to know that the work I have done in the community has not gone unnoticed,” said Davis.
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“It’s a good feeling.”
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She added that Starr has a special spot in her heart because of the various programs and collaborations Starr has had
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with Albion students over the years.
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“Who I am today is very much influenced by my experiences with Starr,” said Davis, who makes mention of that
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rather extensively in her remarks for the Night of Starrs event that she submitted a few weeks ago. An excerpt:
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“At Starr, I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Floyd Starr who begin his journey in 1913 with the saying, ‘There is no
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such thing as a bad child,’ and Dick Vitale who added if you hug a child, give them unconditional love, and give
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them guidance… they will make it. At Starr, I worked John Seita who gave me his book In Whose Best Interest, told me how kids outwit adults and give me guidelines for students in foster care to experience opportunities in
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college.
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“At Starr, I met Stanley Allen who has a passion for the Albion community and a willingness to honor people who
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help mold him into a productive and successful adult. At Starr, I learned the importance of creating an environment
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committed to the oneness of mankind as a core value through an earnest commitment to diversity, equity and
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inclusion.
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“Starr Commonwealth has put into action several of my personal core values to empowering young people to
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develop hope and optimism, self-awareness and compassion for a better world.
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“My experiences with Starr enabled me to grow as a social science professional, beginning in the 1980’s when Asa
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Hilliard spoke at the Starr Commonwealth’s National Children of Color Conference, when he said, ‘There is no
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mystery on how to teach children. The first thing you do is to treat them like human beings and the second thing you
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do is love them."
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<pubDate>Fri, 17 Sep 2021 18:57:13 GMT</pubDate>
<guid>https://www.advisor-chronicle.com/starr-commonwealth-to-honor-four-stand-tall-recipients-including-albions-vivian-davis</guid>
<g-custom:tags type="string">Nov 2020</g-custom:tags>
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