By Chelsea Dubey
Rotary Club of Grand Rapids
Marge Wilson has been chosen to receive the Frederik Meijer Service Above Self Award, given by the Rotary Club of Grand Rapids. The award is presented in recognition of Frederik Meijer’s philanthropic acts of selfless service to our community, which left a lasting impact on the lives of others.
“We are pleased and excited to honor Marge Wilson as the 2020 Frederik Meijer Service Above Self Award winner for her contributions to our community. Her generous and gracious spirit embodies the true meaning of this award,” said Hank Meijer, Fred Meijer’s son and Executive Chairman of Meijer, Inc.
Marge is an entrepreneur, community advocate and mentor. She is well-known for her sensitive and compassionate nature. She established Marge’s Donuts in 1975 and as her business grew, she expanded the shop to accommodate private gatherings and space for local organizations and clubs to meet.
Marge attended Davenport College and subsequently went on to work at banks in California, Chicago and Grand Rapids for 20 years. She was the first woman chosen to be on the national board of the Retail Bakers Association and served for many years as the Michigan Regional Director. Throughout the years she has collected an impressive number of awards and recognitions for her community service and business expertise. These tokens of recognition span an entire wall in the back of the bakery along with a timeline for her involvement in the community she loves so dearly.
“I am honored to receive an award that bears the name of Fred Meijer. I firmly believe that you should do all you can for others when you can and while you can, not expecting anything in return. I receive many blessings for giving back and I am humbled by this recognition which is truly an honor to me,” said Marge.
Some of Marge’s notable achievements are the establishment of the Samuel Omogo Foundation, a project designed to foster the responsible development of clean water sources for villages in southeastern Nigeria. She received the Inaugural Marge Wilson Community Service Leadership Award from AMBUCS and Distinguished Service Award from the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce.
Previous Frederik Meijer Service Above Self Award winners include Jackie Taylor, PhD, Shelley Irwin, Rick DeVos, Luis Tomatis, MD and John & Nancy Kennedy.
“By honoring such amazing people in a public way, we hope to inspire others to consider how they can extend themselves in the service of others and the community at-large,” said Neil Marchand, president of the Rotary Club of Grand Rapids.
The Rotary Club of Grand Rapids will honor Marge at the Frederik Meijer Service Above Self Award Dinner on Tuesday, April 21, at 6 p.m. at the Cultural Center at St. Nicholas. The community is invited to attend. Tickets are on sale at grrotary.org or by calling 616-429-5640.
