January 9, 2026

Community leaders to receive Drum Major Award at MLK Regional Celebration

Four dedicated community leaders from Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties will be honored with the 2026 Drum Major Award for Community Service. Nicole Luczak, Jennifer Vannette, and Jack and Janet Nash will be recognized during the 17th Annual Great Lakes Bay Region Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Thursday, Jan. 22. The event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Malcolm Field Theatre inside Curtiss Hall at Saginaw Valley State University.

The Drum Major Award honors figures in the Great Lakes Bay Region whose behind-the-scenes service exemplifies values central to Dr. King’s legacy, including equity, justice and community responsibility.

Luczak, the Bay County recipient, is president and CEO of United Way of Bay County. She has spent more than a decade leading initiatives to deepen community resiliency and expand access to financial security, health and essential resources. She serves on the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance board of directors, the 211 Northeast Michigan Board and several advisory councils, including Blue Cross Blue Shield and SVSU’s College of Health and Human Services. Luczak is also a longtime volunteer with the Junior League of the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Vannette volunteers with the Midland Area Community Foundation’s Cultural Awareness Coalition, helping lead projects that highlight the stories and lived experiences of Black Midlanders through the Voices of Black Midland historical archive. In 2025, she supported the development of a community learning program built around the archive and continues to facilitate educational initiatives across the Great Lakes Bay Region. Vannette serves as the outreach coordinator for the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History.

Jack and Janet Nash have both contributed decades of service across education, community programming and historical preservation in Saginaw. Jack has practiced dentistry in the city of Saginaw for decades. A longtime leader on the Positive Results Downtown Saginaw board of directors, he is also active with the YMCA and supports projects that highlight local history. Jan Nash held prominent positions in the Saginaw Public School District, from community education program specialist to principal of the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy (SASA). In recognition of her decades of service to education, the riverfront preserve near Saginaw United High School was named in her honor. She continues to be active with the SASA Foundation. The Nashes have established three scholarships that support local youth.

The Great Lakes Bay Region. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration is presented in partnership with the Bay Area Community Foundation, Midland Area Community Foundation and Saginaw Community Foundation and Delta College. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit svsu.edu/mlk.