
Vicksburg AD Roy Honored Nationally for Service to School Sports
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
February 15, 2022
VICKSBURG — Accepting an award on a national stage is an impressive feat for any athletic director.
But it was even more special for Vicksburg AD Mike Roy, who shared that stage with his mentor and good buddy.
While Roy was presented a Distinguished Service Award from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association in December, retired AD Mike Garvey was inducted into its Hall of Fame.
“This award from the NIAAA was exceptionally special to me because Mike got inducted the very same night into the NIAAA Hall of Fame,” Roy said.
“To be able to receive that award with someone who means so much to me and has guided me and been so influential in my career was the icing on the top, the cherry.”
Garvey said to be mentioned as Roy’s mentor “is an amazing compliment. When the Hall of Fame asked me to send some photos, I had to have him in one.”
The two men first connected 23 years ago when Garvey left Lawton High School for the AD’s job in Delton. Roy filled the Lawton position.
“Mike took me under his wing,” Roy said. “He introduced me to another great friend, Fred Smith.
“Just a couple guys who are awesome gentlemen who are recognized throughout the country.”
Garvey reflects that admiration.
“Mike Roy has been recognized in Michigan and it’s time the rest of the country knows how great he is.” Garvey said.
“It was wonderful to share the stage with him. He’s a high-energy person who attacks everything with vigor. He gets things done.”
Two years ago, Roy received the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush for service, prompting a Roy-like comment.
“With my joking, sarcastic system, I said to myself, ‘I must be getting old because I’m starting to get these awards and being recognized for it,’” he said.
“But, really, upon hearing it, you just sit back and are really taken aback and humbled by it.”
Rooted in Paw Paw
Roy started his athletic career in Paw Paw with football, basketball, baseball and track in high school.
After turning down offers from Division III schools, Roy accepted a football scholarship to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which was an eye-opener.
“I found out very quickly when I got to UNLV to play football that I was no longer the big fish in the pond,” he said. “I was a very small fish in a very big pond.
“Going to UNLV forced me to grow up. Sometimes when reality smacks you in the face, it kind of wakes you up.”
That experience helps him guide high school athletes today.
“Looking back now, there are some things I wish I had done on the academic side of it,” he said. “I wasn’t a great student; I wasn’t a terrible student. I wish I had done better.
“My career goal at that time, wishful as it was, was to be an NFL player.”
At UNLV, Roy earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health with an endorsement in driver’s education and a master’s in instructional and curricular studies.
Once back in Michigan, Roy coached golf and strength and conditioning at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, taught strength classes at Western Michigan University and was an assistant to Kalamazoo College men’s basketball coach Joe Hacklin.
Roy applied for a job at Vicksburg High School — which he did not get.
Instead, he was hired to replace Garvey at Lawton, also teaching strength and conditioning, and coaching varsity basketball.
Three years later, Roy became AD at Vicksburg, a job he has had for the last 20 years.
Accolades began piling up, including the certified master athletic administrator designation from the NIAAA in 2005, Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrator Association (MIAAA) Athletic Director of the Year in 2012, MIAAA president in 2019-20, NIAAA delegate at the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) national conference for 10 years and being named a finalist for National Athletic Director of the Year from the National High School Coaches Association.
At the NHSCA ceremony, Roy said he noticed one of the other finalists.
“One of the guys, when I looked, I said ‘Oh my gosh. He’s been an AD for 45 years.’
“Here I’m sitting with not even half that under my belt, wondering if I’m going to get 45 years in.”
Ever humble, Roy makes a point several times of mentioning that any award he receives is a culmination of efforts from a great support staff.
“I tell people in my joking way, ‘It’s my ugly face that gets the award, but when people come to Vicksburg they meet my ticket-taker or see my game management is on point,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be able to get half this stuff if I didn’t have the athletic secretary (Rhonda VanderKamp) I have. She’s phenomenal.”
VanderKamp, who has worked with Roy all 20 years, said they work well together.
As for sharing in any awards, “I’m honored but truly he deserves those awards,” she said. “We just complement each other.
“I’m so honored when I attend some of the conferences and they go around the room and ask you how many years you’ve been an athletic secretary and how many ADs have you been through. I can say only just one. It’s awesome.”
Showing off a great home
Under Roy, Vicksburg has hosted more than 100 MHSAA postseason events, and he takes pride in the workers and facilities.
“I’ve always been big on the appearance of our facilities,” he said. “Unfortunately, the outside community doesn’t get to see our library. They don’t get to see our science labs and all the other wonderful things we have going on in the building.
“When they come to Vicksburg, they’re drawing their assumptions on how they’re treated when they walk through the gate, how do the facilities look, are the trash cans overflowing, are things broken.”
He said when the MHSAA asks or looks for people to step up and host tournaments, “We have always been willing to do that. I ask our people and they say yes, we want to bring people to Vicksburg and show off our facilities.”
Roy also implements ideas he hears at various conferences.
“I always try to network and find out who’s doing something better than I’m doing and borrow that,” he said. “The neat thing about athletic directors in our association is we’re willing to share everything.
“We’re different than coaches who have a secret play or a playbook and don’t want anybody to know those plays.”
He noted that not everyone is cut out to be an athletic director.
“Most think all I do is sit around and eat popcorn, a hot dog and watch contests and how cool that is,” he said, laughing.
He said they do not see the contact with officials and support staff, refilling of concession supplies, setting up transportation to away games, notifying parents of any changes or problems and working on game schedules for next year.
As for non-AD duties, Roy spends time with his two children: Harper, a 5-foot-8 seventh grader whom he coaches on a 12-and-under softball team; and Ryker, a fourth grader involved in football, basketball, wrestling and baseball.
Doing things the right way
Roy said former Gull Lake AD Mike Foster helped craft his philosophy that high school sports are more than just winning.
“To me, in high school educational athletics, we’re here to grow the whole child and just not teach him how to win,” he said.
“I’m hiring my coaches who are going to be the best role models for my kids. We do want to win, because it’s important, but it’s not the ultimate goal for me.”
Speaking of coaches, Roy noted that his mentor is now an employee.
“Funny thing,” he said. “Mike Garvey’s my golf coach here. I always try to surround myself with some talented individuals.”
Garvey said Roy is the only reason he agreed to coach the boys golf team, and he would not consider doing it for anyone else.
“With his coaches, they’re a family and he’s like the patriarch who shows a lot of love and respect,” Garvey said.
***
Garvey was one of 10 inductees making up the 13th class of the NIAAA Hall of Fame honored in December. Garvey served as an athletic administrator for 24 years through 2018 with stops at Lawton, Delton Kellogg, Otsego and Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep. He received the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award in 2015 and Charles E. Forsythe Award in 2020. He also was an assistant coach on two MHSAA Finals wrestling championship teams and as head coach led Lawton to the Class D title in 1990.
Garvey has been an active member of both the MIAAA and NIAAA and the Michigan Wrestling Coaches Association, and a member of the faculty for the NIAAA’s Leadership Training Institute while also serving as Michigan’s coordinator for the program. In retirement, he has continued to contribute to school sports in a variety of other ways as well including as a meet manager of the MHSAA’s Team Wrestling Finals at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo.
Among additional accolades at the state and national levels, Garvey received the NIAAA’s 2016 Distinguished Service Award and the George Lovich State Award of Merit in 2009 from the MIAAA.
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) Vicksburg athletic director Mike Roy gives much credit to his secretary Rhonda VanderKamp, his assistant during the entirety of his two decades at the school. (Middle) Roy takes a minute to take a photo with Donald Duck during a conference in Orlando, Fla. (Below) Roy and his children Harper and Ryker await the presentation of his MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award. (Photos courtesy of Mike Roy.)

East Kentwood’s Brumels, Gull Lake’s Furlong, East Lansing’s Norris Selected for Bush Awards
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 23, 2025
East Kentwood athletic director Blaine Brumels, Richland Gull Lake athletic director Karyn Furlong and East Lansing athletic director Nikki Norris are widely regarded as exemplary event hosts after decades of managing countless Michigan High School Athletic Association tournament competitions at their respective schools – and also thriving in leadership positions at the Finals championship level.
Their expertise in fulfilling this essential role in MHSAA postseason play is among several reasons Brumels, Furlong and Norris have been honored as the 2025 recipients of the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award.
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 34th year of the award.
For 20 years, Brumels has directed the athletic department for what is currently the largest (by enrollment) school in the MHSAA high school membership with nearly 3,000 students and 30 varsity athletic teams. This is his 34th year total with Kentwood schools and 40th in education.
Brumels came to his longtime district after six years at Fremont, where he taught and coached track & field, football and junior varsity basketball. He spent his first year in Kentwood at the middle school level before moving to the high school as a teacher, and he later assisted in managing athletic events before eventually becoming the athletic director.
Under Brumels’ leadership, East Kentwood has hosted several MHSAA postseason events including Track & Field and Soccer Finals; this season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Track & Field Finals will be competed there on May 31. Brumels also has served on several MHSAA committees over his tenure, assisting with selection of basketball and volleyball sites, competitive cheer judges and annual awards. He was named the Regional 4 Athletic Director of the Year in 2016 by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA).
Brumels has filled several more roles at East Kentwood, including as department chair and MEAP coordinator for mathematics, curriculum council representative, intramural and KIDS program director and senior class advisor, and he has also served on the board for Byron Center Christian School. Brumels earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics with an emphasis on education from Hope College in 1985 and his master’s in educational leadership from Grand Valley State University in 1992.
“Blaine Brumels is a consummate professional who embraces the philosophy of educational athletics as well as any athletic director in the state – that sports can provide lifelong lessons whether students are state champions or role players on a team,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “Blaine has been a significant part of passing on those lessons not just through athletics but in several roles as a champion of Kentwood Public Schools and loyal member of the Kentwood community for more than three decades.”
Furlong has served as athletic director at Richland Gull Lake High School for 11 years and has contributed to her district for nearly three decades, as she also served as varsity volleyball coach for 19 seasons before stepping down after the 2014 season.
As athletic director, Furlong has served on several MHSAA committees including those for officials and site selection for various sports, and she’s part of the administrative teams at the Girls Volleyball and Team Wrestling Finals. She’s currently serving as the MIAAA Region 5 representative, and she’s served as Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference (SMAC) chairperson for volleyball, competitive cheer, golf, wrestling and basketball. Furlong was named Michigan Wrestling Coaches Athletic Director of the Year in 2023 and Region 5 Athletic Director of the Year by the MIAAA in 2024.
As a coach, Furlong was named Wolverine Conference Coach of the Year multiple seasons and twice Regional Coach of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA). She also has been a registered official the last two school years, currently in volleyball, cross country and track & field.
Prior to taking over at Gull Lake, Furlong served as director of volleyball for nearly 12 years at Courthouse Athletic Center in Kalamazoo and was an event coordinator for the Gull Lake athletic department for two years. She has helped coordinate youth wrestling and basketball programs in the Gull Lake community and worked with the Gull Lake Area Rotary on several events. She earned her bachelor’s degree in finance and business law in 1997 and master’s in sport and fitness administration management in 2003, both from Western Michigan University.
“Karyn Furlong genuinely cares about enriching her community and the kids growing up in Gull Lake. Whether it’s in the building of facilities or managing of programs or hiring of personnel, she always has the end goal of helping students in her school become better people,” Uyl said. “She’s also become a go-to voice in the athletic director community, especially in southwestern Michigan, on how to host events and provide great hospitality to visiting teams and their spectators. It’s that dedication and care that has made her an admired leader locally and across the state.”
Norris is completing her seventh year as athletic director at East Lansing High School after eight in that position for Corunna Public Schools. She previously taught for six years at Carson City-Crystal and then 11 at Corunna before taking over the Cavaliers’ athletic department during the summer of 2010. She also coached volleyball at multiple levels over more than 15 years including Corunna’s varsity for seven seasons over two tenures, and coached high school basketball for a combined eight years during her time at the two schools where she taught. Additionally, she has served as an MHSAA registered volleyball official for a total of 15 years.
Her schools have hosted various MHSAA Tournament events in multiple sports, and she’s served on every type of MHSAA Committee, providing input on a variety of sports and selection of tournament sites, officials and Scholar-Athlete Award honorees. She also annually contributes as a tournament administrator at the Girls Volleyball and Softball/Baseball/Girls Soccer Finals.
Norris served as MIAAA president in 2021 and 2022 and was named Region 7 Athletic Director of the Year in 2016. She has received “Certified Athletic Administrator” designation from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and was honored with the MHSAA Women In Sports Leadership Award in 2020.
A 1987 graduate of Ithaca High School, Norris received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Alma College and then earned master’s degrees in biological sciences from Michigan State University and educational leadership from American College of Education.
“Nikki Norris is the ultimate utility player in athletic administration. She knows the ins and outs of every sporting event and understands which problems are unique to high school athletics and how to solve them,” Uyl said. “She’s a school-first, sports-second type of athletic director who prioritizes the development of the whole student, and that philosophy and knowledge have made her very well-respected in her field.”
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.