Chrisinske, Inglis Receive Bush Awards
June 5, 2013
Two athletic administrators respected as mentors and role models in their respective regions and throughout the state – Dave Chrisinske of Middleville Thornapple Kellogg and Cody Inglis of Traverse City Central – have been named the recipients of the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Allen W. Bush Award for 2013.
Al Bush served as executive director of the MHSAA for 10 years. The award honors individuals for past and continuing service to prep athletics as a coach, administrator, official, trainer, doctor or member of the media. The award was developed to bring recognition to men and women who are giving and serving without a lot of attention. This is the 22nd year of the award, with the selections being made by the MHSAA's Representative Council.
Chrisinske has served as an athletic director the last 21 years and for 36 years total in public and community education. He came to Thornapple Kellogg in fall 2011 after 32 years with Allendale Public Schools, where he taught and coached before serving 19 years as athletic director and also as assistant principal and community education director. He has coached football, basketball, baseball and volleyball at school or youth levels, and also is a registered MHSAA volleyball official.
The 1972 graduate of Stockbridge High School also worked for Coopersville Community Education for two years after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in group social studies from Grand Valley State University in 1977. He earned a master’s in educational leadership from Grand Valley State in 1992 and became a Certified Athletic Administrator in 1997.
Chrisinske continues to lend his time and expertise to a number of committees and community efforts; he has served as a region representative for the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association for a decade, on various MHSAA committees including the baseball and wrestling sport committees and the scholarship classification committee, and on three successful school bond committees that led to new buildings and outdoor athletic facilities at Allendale. He also was a district representative for the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association for 10 years and has served on recreation committees for both Allendale and Thornapple Townships.
Chrisinske was recognized as the MIAAA Region IV Athletic Director of the year in 2004, and as Athletic Director of the Year by the West Michigan Officials Association in 2006 and West Michigan Umpires Association in 2011.
“Dave Chrisinske has become a go-to person in his league and community, always willing to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for high school athletics and serving student athletes,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. “His dedication shines through as well in his efforts with the MIAAA and as a frequent host of MHSAA tournaments. We are pleased to honor Dave Chrisinske with the Bush Award.”
Inglis also has served as an athletic director at two high schools, dating back to 1997. He spent 11 years at Suttons Bay, first as a teacher and also as assistant principal and middle school principal. He has spent the last five years as athletic director and assistant principal at Traverse City Central High School. Inglis is a 1989 graduate of Portage Northern High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from Hope College and master’s from Ohio University.
He coached boys and girls cross country and track and field at Suttons Bay from 1995-2008, leading his teams to numerous conference championships and the girls cross country team to a runner-up finish at the 2002 Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. He was named Cross Country Coach of the Year after that season by the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association, and the MITCA Track Coach of the Year the following spring. He also served as an assistant coach for eight seasons for the Traverse City St. Francis-led cooperative hockey program.
Inglis has been a member of the MIAAA since 1997, became a Certified Athletic Administrator in 1999, and has served as an MIAAA region representative since 2001. He too is a regular host of MHSAA tournaments in a number of sports and has served as a member of the track and field, hockey, skiing and cross country sport committees and the site and officials selection committees. He was named MIAAA Region 2 Athletic Director of the Year in 2003. Inglis was league treasurer and secretary for the Northwest Conference from 1997-2008 and has served as Big North Conference secretary since 2009.
He’s also active in a number of community programs, including Boy Scouts, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Special Olympics, the Suttons Bay Township Recreation Committee, the Suttons Bay Art Festival and with his church.
“Cody Inglis is named time and again by his fellow athletic administrators as someone of integrity and character,” Roberts said. “He’s passed on these and various lessons to his coaches and athletes, but also as a regular speaker at the MIAAA’s annual conference. His impact continues to affect those he works with regularly in the Traverse City area, but also others across our state. He is a deserving recipient of the Bush Award.”
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.