ADRIAN — The Lenawee Community Foundation (LCF) will soon be conducting its Annual Celebration; an event each spring that brings together individuals, organizations and businesses in Lenawee County to recognize and honor the work of outstanding donors, volunteers and community partners.
The community foundation’s 2025 Annual Celebration and breakfast will be held from 7:45 to 9:15 a.m. Thursday, April 17, at the Adrian Armory & Events Center near downtown Adrian, 230 W. Maumee St. RSVPs for those community members wanting to attend are due by Tuesday, April 8. The cost for attendance is $20 per person. RSVPs can be made by calling the Lenawee Community Foundation at 517-263-4696 or by stopping into the foundation’s office in Adrian, 1440 W. Maumee St.
On April 17, two individuals and two couples will be celebrated and honored.
Gary and Cindi Gray have been named the recipients of the Lenawee Lifetime Legacy Award, Stanley and Karen Caine will receive the Stubnitz Award, Robert Vogel will receive the Lenawee Leadership Award, and Jacob Wright will be honored with the Incito Award.
Here’s more about each of the awards and this year’s recipients with information provided by the Lenawee Community Foundation:
Lenawee Lifetime Legacy Award — Gary and Cindi Gray
Gary and Cindi Gray are the 2025 recipients of the Lenawee Lifetime Legacy Award, which recognizes individuals, couples and families who have given exemplary service and commitment to the Lenawee County community. The award honors consistent, lifetime giving to multiple local causes for a minimum of 20 years.
“The Grays have big hearts for our community and for others, especially children,” the community foundation said. “Nearly 35 years ago, they created Hot Rock Basketball Training Camp to teach basketball and life lessons all with no charge to attend this camp. Gary has been an assistant varsity basketball coach and Lenawee Christian School Board member. He is CEO of Gray Institute and director of program development and education at 3DPT Physical Therapy. He is world-renowned in the fields of physical therapy, functional movement and sport training.”
Cindi Gray has volunteered and taught at the Adrian Training School for 20 years. She has shared her skill of sign language in churches, schools, as well as at Gray Institute. She has served on the Crisis Pregnancy Board and volunteered at HOPE Community Center. Cindi also has written a historical fiction book, “Locust in the Sandbox,” about the 1963 bombing of a Black church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four girls.
From June 2019: Hot Rock basketball camp teaches kids about real toughness
“The Grays are kind and considerate, genuine and authentic, quietly living their values through actions that serve others,” LCF said. “They have big hearts for our community and for others, especially children. They embody all that the Lenawee Lifetime Legacy Award represents through their lifetime of giving to multiple local causes for more than 40 years.”
Lenawee Leadership Award — Robert Vogel
The Lenawee Leadership Award honors a person or couple, who exemplify the underlying principle that the future of Lenawee County will be determined by the quality of its leadership. Formerly known as the Maple Leaf Award, previous recipients continue to be recognized and are listed on the Foundation’s website, lenaweecommunityfoundation.com. The award has a county-wide focus that mirrors the Lenawee Community Foundation’s mission: “To connect people who care with causes that matter, bringing health, happiness and hope to our community, now and forever.”
Vogel graduated as salutatorian from Clinton High School. He worked at Hardwoods of Michigan in the village of Clinton for 43 years, serving as vice president for nine years and president for 20 years, while also serving as president for Walker Lumber Bigler in Pennsylvania, and vice president of Kansas City Hardwoods in Missouri. He was named one of the 50 most influential people in the hardwood industry in North America in 2010.
Vogel has served the Lenawee community on numerous boards and committees. He served on the Herrick Hospital Development Board, the ProMedica Herrick Hospital Board, the ProMedica North Region Board, and the Lenawee Intermediate School District (LISD) Board. He currently serves on the boards of Hospice of Lenawee (since 2013), Habitat for Humanity of Lenawee County (treasurer), Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute (charter board member), and the Lenawee Community Foundation (since 1999).
He is a member of the Lenawee Pillars Club and helped start the Clinton Area Fund. He is a charter member, active participant and donator to the Hunters Helping Lenawee initiative which donated a record 5,185 pounds of venison to the Lenawee County community for the 2024-25 hunting season.
From February 2025: Community foundation: Register for ‘Lunch and Learn’; record year for Hunters Helping Lenawee
“He works hard for our community and quietly lives each day as an example of the quality of leadership that determines a positive future for our county,” the community foundation said.
Stubnitz Award — Stanley and Karen Caine
The Stubnitz Award is presented annually to a person or couple demonstrating exemplary commitment to Lenawee Cares, the community and volunteerism in Lenawee County. The award is named in memory of Lenawee philanthropist and businessman, Maurice Stubnitz.
Stanley Caine and his wife, Karen, moved to Adrian with their children Rebecca, Kathryn and David, in June 1989 when Caine assumed the position of Adrian College’s president. Since coming to Adrian, the Caines have been members of the Adrian United Methodist Church and have volunteered with Meals on Wheels and Share the Warmth of Lenawee, the county’s homeless shelter based in Adrian.
As president of Adrian College through 2005, Stan Caine made efforts to connect the college with the community. He was a member of the NCAA President’s Council, which allowed him to ensure that athletes in Division III had access to various sports. He was a member of the Rotary Club and served with the Lenawee Community Foundation as part of the Investment Committee and the Lenawee County Educational Foundation (LCEF).
For 16 years, Karen Caine served as a coach for both high school girls and college women’s tennis. She also served as a substitute teacher for the Adrian school system.
From September 2022: Lenawee Community Foundation celebrates 25 years of existence at awards breakfast
Karen has served on the board of Housing Help of Lenawee since the 1990s, including spending time as president. She was a member of the Adrian Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Board and has been a member of the Stubnitz Foundation board since 2006, including being the current president.
“The Caines are especially honored to receive this award since they had the opportunity to meet Dorothy Stubnitz before her passing,” the community foundation said. “They also feel blessed that their service has given them the opportunity to meet people with whom they wouldn’t normally connect, and the chance to learn from diverse perspectives.”
The Caines are Lenawee Cares Pillars Club members and have demonstrated exemplary commitment to Lenawee County and the cause for volunteerism in the Lenawee community for decades — “so much so, that following his retirement from Adrian College, they remained in Adrian and continue to call it home,” LCF said.
Incito Award — Jacob Wright
The Incito Award was established in 2011 to recognize a young person, age 40 or under, who has emerged as a community leader and demonstrates a commitment to volunteerism, philanthropy and leadership in the community.
“Incito” means to inspire, excite, spur, increase, hasten and urge forward.
Wright is a Tecumseh High School graduate who pursued architecture earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan. He is an architect/project manager at Krieghoff-Lenawee Co., licensed in both Michigan and Ohio. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Council of Architecture Registration Board (NCARB) and the Tecumseh Public Schools CTE Advisory Committee.
Wright also serves as secretary on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Michigan, the Lenawee County Land Bank Authority board of directors, the vice chair of the Charter Township of Raisin, and Zoning Board of Appeals.
“Wright inspires by example while making our community a better place in which to work and live,” the foundation said. “He follows his passion and thrives on doing good in his community. He inspires others with this passion; when he sees a need he wants to fix it and doesn’t let obstacles slow him down.
“He takes risks and puts it all on the line. He enjoys the challenge and strives to make things better. He feels fortunate to be born and raised in Lenawee County and strives to make it even better where he can so his daughters can grow up with the same pride in the Lenawee community.”
Wright is involved with the Kiwanis Club of Tecumseh, serving on the board of directors and several committees. He revived the Canoe Race and chairs the Canoe Race committee, putting all he has into this community effort to bring everyone together for a family-friendly event.
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The Annual Celebration, which is presented each year by the Lenawee Community Foundation’s board of directors, will also provide an update on the foundation’s Health, Happiness and Hope Fund (H3 Fund), which had a goal of raising $2 million by the end of 2024.
“This was not only met, but exceeded,” the community foundation said. “This speaks volumes about the caring and generous spirit that makes Lenawee (County) such a remarkable community — collectively creating something transformative: a flexible, local resource to meet needs and opportunities as they arise, now and for generations to come.”
Every dollar pledged through the H3 Fund through Dec. 31, 2024, was matched — dollar for dollar — up to $1 million, thanks to a matching gift from an anonymous donor.
— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at bheineman@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LenaweeHeineman.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Two couples, two individuals to be honored at Lenawee Community Foundation’s Annual Celebration
Reporting by Brad Heineman, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
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