Nomination now accepted: Click here

John Newton was an active member of our community.  Not only was he a Char-Em United Way board member and president but he also volunteered his time and talents for many other local organizations.  Unfortunately, his term with Char-Em United Way ended when he suffered massive injuries from a car accident in September 2000.  A model for tenacity and perseverance, he fought his way back from his injuries.  He had to relearn how to perform all those daily tasks that most of us take for granted.  Eventually he was able to return to work for Bank One.  However, he was unexpectedly taken from us in the Fall of 2001 by complications of the accident.

Char-Em United Way created the John Newton Award of Excellence in 2002 to commemorate John’s life and the gifts he gave to our community.  The award is awarded to both an individual and a company who, through their actions, gave significantly to the health and human services in Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

In 2002 Greg Withrow of Big Rock Point was the first recipient of the John Newton Award. The first company to receive the award was Big Rock Point also in 2002.

Past winners: