'Larger-Than-Life' Pennfield AD Admired for Statewide Service
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
April 14, 2021
BATTLE CREEK — To many Battle Creek sports enthusiasts, Bernie Larson was known as “Mr. Pennfield.”
But for two former athletes, twins Chris and Cam Larson, that was not the case.
“I never knew him or thought of him as Mr. Pennfield; he was Dad,” Chris said.
Larson, 78, who served as athletic director at Pennfield for 29 years, died March 14 after an extended illness.
A memorial service is being planned for May 15 at a time and place to be determined.
“A lot more remembrances come back when someone passes,” said Chris Larson, who lives in Virginia. “You hear so many stories from people who remember him, including former students and coaches.
“It’s great to hear the impact he had on so many people that you never knew about.”
Stories are plentiful when it comes to Bernie Larson.
“He was a heckuva golfer,” said Karen Leinaar, the current executive director of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) who during an early stop served as athletic director at Delton Kellogg, which with Pennfield for a time was part of the Kalamazoo Valley Association. “If you needed golf balls on the course, everyone said, ‘Just ask Bernie.’ He always had them.”
The reason?
“If he had one ball in his bag, he had 50 or 60 in his bag,” said Larry Wegener, former Battle Creek Central athletic director. “He had milk crates full of golf balls in his garage” that he found on the course or fished out of ponds.
Championship City
When Larson was named Pennfield’s athletic director in 1970, it became a family affair.
“I had no clue, no clue,” said Joni, Larson’s wife of 56 years. “We never trained to be wives of athletic directors. We learned the most from other wives.”
She became involved in the job, selling tickets at home games. When their sons were old enough, they helped out with the field.
“They knew where the flag was kept and how to play the national anthem. They learned how to keep score” and were active in playing sports, she recalled.
“Cam (who lives in Minnesota) played football, baseball and basketball,” Chris Larson said. “I played tennis, golf and basketball. We grew up playing little league baseball and football.”
One family favorite was the yearly athletic directors conference at Grand Traverse Resort.
“He was there for business; we kids were there for fun,” his son said. “As we got older, we went to the auditorium that was filled with booths with sports-related things.
“As a kid we went around and grabbed the swag. It was a kids of athletic directors thing.”
It was not all fun and games.
“Bernie Larson was instrumental putting Battle Creek on the map athletically,” Leinaar said. “Four of (the ADs), Bernie, Ralph Kenyon of Harper Creek, Glen Schulz of Lakeview and Larry Wegener of Central put on the tournaments and had crews of people every year right there helping.
“Their hard work and commitment to the MHSAA, running perfect tournaments, made Battle Creek a stop for athletics for many, many years. Many times, Bernie led the pack.”
In spite of his willingness to help others, there was a caveat, Leinaar said.
“He would say to me, ‘Karen, I’ll help you out however I can, but remember, Pennfield is going to win.’
“Pennfield joined the KVA in the late 1980s, so we saw each other quite a bit. Our football games were always barn burners as were track and field.”
Wegener recalls those days full of tournaments and 65-hour work weeks.
“We did so many MHSAA events, I think a lot of people thought we were on the staff,” he said.
Those tournaments included more than 50 state championships in baseball and softball, team and individual wrestling, volleyball and girls basketball.
Brett Steele, Pennfield’s current AD, said Larson “was still a strong presence in the athletic department and community as a whole even after he retired.
“Up until last winter, Bernie still helped out at football and basketball games as our officials host. He knew most of the officials in those sports and was a familiar face to many when they worked games at Pennfield.”
Larson had served as an MHSAA basketball and baseball official. He also helped found and is a member of the Pennfield Hall of Fame and coached both girls and boys golf.
He received the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award in 1997, the MHSAA’s Charles Forsythe Award in 1999 and was the MIAAA State Athletic Director of the Year for 1991-92.
All About Family
In spite of the hours spent with his job, Larson was a good family man, Wegener said.
“He spoke highly of his kids,” he said. “Chris and Cam were the pride of his life. Joni was a real good fit for him.”
Wegener said Larson was a larger-than-life guy.
“If you were going to run a tournament and you brought a notebook full of stuff for your tournament, Bernie brought a briefcase.
“If you brought a briefcase, Bernie brought a suitcase. He just believed in being prepared for everything.”
One thing the athletic directors did a lot was frequent restaurants, and Larson had his favorites.
“Perkins whenever he traveled, the Pancake House every Sunday and the Irish Pub,” Chris Larson said.
A person could always spot Larson. He was with one with the napkin tucked over his shirt.
“He always wore a suit and tie and would use a napkin as a bib because he was always spilling something on his necktie,” Joni Larson said.
Another thing her husband was famous for was his jokes.
“He always had a favorite joke that I’d hear 27 times,” she said, laughing. “It was like he had a joke of the week, and everybody had to hear it.”
During summers, Larson taught driver’s education at the school, something Chris Larson remembers well.
“I remember on the last day of driver’s ed, you drove for 45 minutes,” he said. “My brother and I and one other kid were in the car, and I drove to Lansing to the MHSAA and we sat in the parking lot while my dad went inside.
“I know the MHSAA through his eyes and through my own eyes.”
Larson’s love of sports transferred to his sons.
“We all share a love of golf and would play together any chance we got, but over the past years his health wouldn't allow him to play,” Chris Larson said. “I miss that very much.”
Another tradition is being carried on by his son, but it evolved in an unusual way.
The twins were a Christmas surprise for Bernie and Joni.
“They didn’t do ultrasounds routinely back then (1974) so we didn’t know,” Joni Larson said. “We had Bernie’s middle name, Leon, picked out as a first name,” Joni Larson said.
“When we found out there were twins, we gave Chris ‘Leon’ as his middle name and Cameron ‘Noel’ which is Leon backwards, so both had dad’s middle name.”
Chris Larson has continued the tradition, giving his oldest son, Joshua, Leon as a middle name.
Chris Larson echoed the thoughts of many who knew Mr. Pennfield as a people person.
“In my opinion, he was the most Christian man I knew. He lived a Christian life and he shared it with others,” Chris said.
“He was chaplain for some baseball and basketball teams. He knew somebody everywhere no matter where we went in the state.”
Chris Larson paid a special tribute to his father after the funeral.
“He had a parking spot in the circle of the old Pennfield High School right in front of his office,” he said. “His van was there all the time.
“One of the things I did after the funeral was just hang out there for a while.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Longtime Pennfield athletic director Bernie Larson also raised his family in the district, with sons Chris (left) and Cam among those to wear the uniform. (2) Bernie and Joni Larson were married 56 years. (3) Among Larson’s longtime colleagues were former Delton Kellogg athletic director Karen Leinaar and retired Battle Creek Central athletic director Larry Wegener. (4) The Larson family, more recently, from left: Cam, Joni, Bernie and Chris. (Family photos courtesy of the Larson family; head shots by Pam Shebest.)
2026 MHSAA Bush Awards Honorees Exemplify Dedicated Service in Several Roles
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 30, 2026
Athletic administrators must balance multiple roles no matter the size of their school districts or numbers of sports they direct, and St. Ignace’s Don Gustafson, Brethren’s Jason Kemler, Grand Rapids’ Jolinda Lucas and Greenville’s Brian Zdanowski have thrived while shouldering wide-ranging responsibilities to provide first-rate athletic experiences for their students.
Their dedication to school sports and those athletes – both locally and statewide – made them clearly deserving recipients of 2026 Allen W. Bush Meritorious Service Awards as selected by the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Representative Council.
Al Bush served as executive director of the MHSAA for 10 years. The award honors individuals for past and continuing service to school athletics as a coach, administrator, official, trainer, doctor or member of the media. The award was developed to bring recognition to people who are giving and serving locally, regionally or statewide without a lot of attention. This is the 35th year of the award.
Gustafson has taught at his alma mater St. Ignace since 1982 and continued even after retiring from administration in 2021. In addition to his classroom work, he served as assistant athletic director his first three years, then athletic director for four, as junior high principal from 1994-2005, high school principal from 2005-11 and superintendent for the next decade.
He’s also been an MHSAA-registered game official since 1978, working six Finals in football, one in basketball and numerous in cross country, in addition to several more postseason events during his time officiating seven sports. He was named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Hall of Honor in 2021 as an official and “Friend of Basketball.”
Gustafson served on the MHSAA Representative Council from 2015-21. The Michigan State University grad also has served on St. Ignace’s city council, taking time away only during his tenure as superintendent.
“Don Gustafson’s contributions to school sports span nearly half a century and have included everything from behind-the-scenes support to being considered one of the state’s top game officials and a valued voice on our Representative Council,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “He has long been a knowledgeable and positive voice impacting not only the Upper Peninsula but our community statewide.”
Brethren High School athletic director Jason Kemler recently completed his 20th year with the Kaleva Norman Dickson school district, where he has hosted several MHSAA Tournament events in a variety of sports including Regionals in track & field both at the high school and middle school/junior high levels. He’s also served on multiple MHSAA committees including the Junior High/Middle School Committee.
Kemler has done extensive work as well as part of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), serving as a regional representative, historical records chairperson and co-chair of the middle school/junior high committee, and also co-chair for the MIAAA’s 60th and 65th anniversary celebrations. He was named the MIAAA’s Region 3 Athletic Director of the Year in 2023.
Kemler is a graduate of Dansville High School and Albion College and received his teaching certificate from Michigan State University and master’s from Central Michigan University. He also serves as a captain for his local fire department.
“Jason Kemler’s stamp is all over the Brethren athletic department and community as a whole, as he’s embraced all of the roles that go with serving at a small school – teaching physical education and history and coaching as well as serving as athletic director and representing his school in significant ways among his colleagues statewide,” Uyl said. “His commitment and dedication are fine examples of what the Bush Award seeks to recognize.”
Lucas also has made an outsized impact at the middle school level during her 14 years serving in multiple roles for Grand Rapids Public Schools, including as middle school athletic director, director of all GRPS elementary sports and as athletic director for Grand Rapids University Prep Academy, whose students compete for either Ottawa Hills or Union High School. She has served on the MHSAA Junior High/Middle School Committee, contributing to an increasing emphasis at that level, and was selected as a meet manager for inaugural MHSAA Cross Country and Track & Field Regionals for junior high/middle school athletes.
Also a teacher at University Prep and an MHSAA-registered official the last six years for track & field and cross country – and the last two for volleyball – Lucas has served as sportsmanship chair for the MIAAA and as part of the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award Committee, and on the board for the Michigan-based Academy of Sports Leadership. She was named the MIAAA’s Region 14 Athletic Director of the Year in 2022.
Lucas graduated from Hobart (Ind.) High School and has a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from Indiana State University, a master’s in educational leadership from Indiana University, and earned her certified athletic administrator designation from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). She is a Red Cross instructor and has served on the GRPS health and physical education leadership team. Prior to coming to Grand Rapids, Lucas served in multiple athletic administration roles in Indiana, where she also taught for 24 years and earned a 30-year coaching and multiple 20-year service awards.
“Jolinda Lucas has brought a special dedication to our junior high and middle school sports and their important roles in educational athletics,” Uyl said. “She has provided valuable input on a variety of historic decisions, including the addition of sixth graders to MHSAA competition and creation of Regional competitions in cross country and track & field. Her foresight is impacting Michigan’s school-sports athletes at the youngest levels and making a difference that will continue to benefit them as they advance to high school programs.”
Zdanowski recently completed his 28th school year as athletic director at Greenville after previously serving as a teacher, coach and athletic director over a decade at Onaway and Midland Bullock Creek. As an athletic director, he has hosted more than 100 MHSAA Tournament events, including five 8-Player Football Finals and 13 11-Player Semifinals. He also has been an MHSAA-registered game official for 44 years, working five sports including Finals in baseball in 1995 and football in 2001.
The longtime administrator also has served on multiple MHSAA committees, including more than a decade on the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award Committee, and served as Ottawa-Kent Conference president for two years. He’s been a member of the MIAAA for 34 years, Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) for 28 years and National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) for 25. He was named the MIAAA’s Region 4 Athletic Director of the Year in 2008.
Zdanowski, a graduate of Standish-Sterling, has a bachelor’s degree in teacher education from Saginaw Valley State University and a master’s in athletic administration from Central Michigan University. He’s also completed 24 courses from the NIAAA Leadership Training Institute.
“Brian Zdanowski has created a program at Greenville that is the model of quality, and that was proven deservedly when his athletic department was named an Exemplary Athletic Program by the MIAAA in 2000, the first year of that prestigious recognition program,” Uyl said. “He has consistently shared what he’s built at home with the rest of the state for now several decades, and we continue to be thankful for Brian’s desire to serve and contribute to school sports in a variety of leadership roles.”
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 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 more than 1.4 million spectators each year.