Five new graduates of the Macomb County Veterans Treatment Court were celebrated Thursday for their accomplishment, and one of them received a new humanitarian award.

The graduation ceremony featured talks by U.S. Rep. John James, the graduates and Judge Carrie Fuca, who heads the specialty court at 41B District Court in Clinton Township.

Fuca complimented the culture of the program created and nurtured by the organizers and participants.

“It’s more than a court program. It’s a fellowship,” Fuca said. “It’s the greatest thing we do. It only works when so many people devote their time and energy.”

She called the graduation “bittersweet” for the staff because they’ve grown attached to the veterans who are moving on.

“You are such a great example of what can be achieved,” she told the graduates.

Graduate Gregory Maddux called Fuca “one of the toughest people I’ve come across in my life” but also someone who delivers her message with a positive attitude and “a smile.”

The graduates are all military veterans who came into contact with the criminal justice system and were offered the chance to participate in the rehabilitation program monitored by Fuca that typically takes about two years to complete. Participants are assisted by a mentor and VA programs to “address the issues that brought them into the criminal justice system,” its mission statement says. It also helps “mend families and give hope to those suffering from the disease of addiction, while fostering healthy, long-term lifestyle changes.”

The graduates recognized Thursday at the courthouse were Army veterans Maddux and Nicholas Stevenson, Navy veteran Dallas Pruitt, Air Force veteran Jason Hosking and Ethan Vallen of the Michigan National Guard who also received the Anklam Humanitarian Award because, “He goes above and beyond,” said Specialty Court Cordinator Kara Hartman.

Vallen performed over 300 hours of community, which is five times more than required, and donated all of the gift cards he received for achievements within his program.

“He helped everybody,” Hartman said.

Vallen added: “Just be a person. We’re all struggling with something.”

The Anklam Humanitarian Award was created this year and named for John Anklam, a VTC graduate several years ago who has remained actively involved in the program.

The annual Terry Theuninck Award was presented to Jennifer Chupa, who serves as the program’s defense attorney for the participants. The award is named for a former beloved mentor and graduate who died in 2020.

It is given to “a mentor, team member, or volunteer whose devotion and service to our program rises to the level worthy of the name,” according to the VTC.

The event was attended by other various officials, including County Executive Mark Hackel, and others involved with the program or the court. There was an Honor Guard posting of the colors of Vietnam Veterans of American Chapter 154.