MHSAA News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Aug. 25, 2008
Contact: John Johnson or Andy Frushour
517.332.5046

Bush Award Presented to Jerry Rosevear & Michael Young

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Aug. 25 – One of the state’s longest serving sports editors and a Southwestern Michigan administrator who have given a combined total of over 80 years of service to educational athletics are the recipients of the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Allen W. Bush Award for 2008.

This year's recipients are: Jerry Rosevear, retired sports editor of the Petoskey News Review; and Michael Young, assistant principal at Buchanan High School. The recipients of this year's awards will be recognized at local ceremonies this fall.

Al Bush served as executive director of the MHSAA for 10 years. The award honors individuals for past and continuing service to prep athletics as a coach, administrator, official, trainer, doctor or member of the media. The award was developed to bring recognition to men and women who are giving and serving without a lot of attention. This is the 16th year of the award, with the selections being made by the MHSAA's Representative Council.

Here are brief biographical sketches of the 2008 Bush Award recipients:

Jerry Rosevear: Retired in 2005 after 44 years with the Petoskey News Review, the last 34 as its sports editor, Rosevear stayed engaged in his community for a lifetime. A Mayville native who graduated from Petoskey High School in 1958, he attended both Central Michigan University and North Central Michigan College. With the News Review, he covered a dozen local high schools athletic programs, and won numerous awards for his writing from the Associated Press and United Press International.

His involvement in community programming was deep. Rosevear worked with a character based program called “Beyond The Scoreboard,” which encourages and acknowledges ethics, integrity and respect in school sports. He had leadership roles with local youth baseball and softball organizations, the Petoskey Jaycees, and the Petoskey High School Sports Hall of Fame. He continues to be an active member of St. Francis Church in Petoskey, and also established the football and basketball record books for Petoskey High School. He is the first newspaper sports reporter to be honored with the Bush Award. He was nominated for the award by Petoskey High School.

“Local newspapers provide positive recognition for young people playing high school sports, and that was a role Jerry Rosevear embraced,” said MHSAA Executive Director. “He was a welcome sight whenever he walked into a school to cover a game, and his writing captured the true local flavor of high school sports. We’re delighted with his selection as a Bush Award recipient.”

Michael Young: Serving three schools in his career, with 32 of those 37 years at Buchanan, Young was a teacher-coach, athletic administrator and assistant principal. After his graduation from college in 1968, he spent four years each at St. Johns High School and Colon High School where he taught and coached. At Colon, he was the head coach in football and track, and he held the same roles at Buchanan – coaching football for eight seasons and track for four. He assumed the dual role of assistant principal and athletic director in 1984, working in both roles until 2001, when his athletic responsibilities shifted to a game management position. He retired in 2005.

As an athletic administrator, Young hosted numerous MHSAA and Lakeland Conference tournaments. He was twice honored as a coach of the year, and also won teacher of the year honors. The South Bend Classic Track Meet bestowed a service awards upon him in 2002. In the community, Young participated in a Neighborhood Watch Public Task Force, and in lay positions at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University. He was nominated for the Bush Award by the Lakeland Conference.

“Michael Young is a great role model for anyone wanting to become involved in high schools sports,” said Roberts. “He enjoyed working with young people, providing participation opportunities for them, guiding them in the way they should go and then delighting in their success. He is regarded as a loyal leader, and respected for his expertise and his integrity. We are pleased to honor him with the Bush Award.”

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,600 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

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