Each year, CTC gives two awards to recognize community members for their contributions to advance the work of the coalition.

The Sarah Cummings Coalition Leadership Award goes to an individual who is integrally involved with the daily work of the coalition. The award was first given to Sarah Cummings of Community Action, in appreciation of her years involved with CTC as Co-Coordinator.

The Mike Fritz Community Builder Award goes to a member of the community who contributes to the health and well being of local youth through efforts aligned with the work of the coalition. The award is named for Mike Fritz of Rugg Lumber, a founding member of CTC who contributed funds to help the coalition get off the ground. Cheryl Dukes, the 2016 recipient of the Community Builder Award recently peered back into CTC's origins and interviewed Mike Fritz himself. Here's what she learned:

Interview with Mike Fritz

 As the current keeper of the Community Builders Award, I was curious about all the award recipients before me, and their work. Brimming with curiosity and exercising a penchant for treasure hunting, I thought it would be instructive to knock on some doors to see who would open up and answer some questions. I wanted to learn about the award’s namesake –Mike Fritz. Thanks to Kat Allen, I was able to meet and speak with the Mike Fritz.
 
The question I had for him and have been pondering a great deal in these recent weeks – what is community and does it matter? There are plenty of complex, intractable, problems that seem beyond any solution that will require a lot of time, money, energy, brain-and-will-power to resolve. While many turn away, there are some people who lean in to immerse themselves in finding a solution.
 
Mike Fritz is one of those people. A successful businessman with his own interests living a good life in this community….Why would he become involved with the community’s youth and care about their challenges and difficulties?
 
How did he pull other people together to name and address the issue using a community involved, collective impact strategy? What can we learn from the tiny beginning of this effort that has grown over the years and is nationally recognized?
 
Mostly, I wanted to know, “So why did you care so much? You put a lot of energy into this.”
 
“…It needed to be done.”
 
“Things like this need to be done all the time, but not everyone steps up to do it. So, why did you care so much?”
 
He shared reflections on his father’s humble and challenging beginnings in life. Growing up in Wisconsin, he experienced his father’s caring attitude, despite his difficult formative years. He saw how hard his father worked. This strong foundation made Mike feel extremely fortunate to end up where he did.
 
He succeeded in school and sports, received an appointment to the Naval Academy, went to and returned from the Vietnam War, became a businessman, and wondered at the state of the youth in Greenfield with gaps in their leadership and a lack of care for and recognition of them.
 
He thought it was the right thing to do working with community. He was pretty blessed, and wanted to give back.

--photo and interview by Cheryl Dukes