All-Academic banquet brings out the best in all

This year’s Macomb County All-Academic Award Banquet will not have Gordie Wilczynski mingling among the crowd but the legacy created by the retired reporter and co-founder of the event will honor him for years to come. MACOMB DAILY FILE PHOTO

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By Gina Joseph

gjoseph@medianewsgroup.com

April is a great month for schools in Macomb County.

The month began with educators celebrating teachers who have been named the best of the best and this week they’ll applaud the brightest high school seniors being honored at the Macomb County All-Academic Banquet being held April 29 at Zucarro’s Banquet and Catering in Chesterfield Township.

“I think the banquet is a wonderful event; it’s one of the highlights of the year for me,” said Kevin Koskos, principal of Dakota High School. “To be part of a gathering honoring Macomb County’s top students is truly an honor and a humbling experience when one considers all that the MAC All-Academic students have accomplished and hear what their future plans are.”

The awards banquet is annually attended by teachers and parents who proudly gather to honor high school seniors, who are divided into Class A, Class B and Class C, based on school enrollment, and then chosen for the award based on grade point average and test scores.

The ceremony is staged by the Macomb Intermediate School District and Macomb Area Conference Principals’ Association and those who make the Dream Team are the best of the best.

“It is definitely a celebration we can all take great pride in as school administrators, along with our students and their parents,” Koskos said, of the event that was started in 1986 by The Macomb Daily and Macomb County Principal’s Association, and remains a legacy for Gordie Wilczynski’s family.

The late Wilczynski is the person who suggested the newspaper honor high school graduates and worked tirelessly with educators on it for years.

“At the time, the paper held two banquets a year honoring athletes and Gordie’s question was: ‘what about people who are excelling in the classroom?’” said retired Macomb Daily Managing Editor Ken Kish, speaking on behalf of Wilczynski’s contributions to his profession and community following his death last year.

“Gordie was a legend, in more ways than one,” said Koskos. “As a reporter, I can imagine anyone who was anyone in Macomb County knew who Gordie was. I had known Gordie since I was 8-years-old when I played baseball for him. Several of my friends played on the youth baseball team he took to Russia, an experience they talk about to this day, 35 years later. Gordie’s involvement with the youth of our county, whether it be through coaching or his leadership in orchestrating the MAC All-Academic banquet, will forever live on as prominent parts of his legacy, without question.”

This year marks the 38th edition of the All-Academic Banquet.

Being honored this year are more than 105 students from 38 schools, who are all featured in a special edition appearing in the Sunday, April 27 edition of The Macomb Daily.

“The work done by the ISD and principals association to keep this tradition alive is impressive,” said Jeff Payne, regional news editor for MediaNews Group-Michigan who oversees The Macomb Daily news staff and will speak at the event. “We look forward to producing the special section that will highlight the accomplishments of these fine students and the banquet is one of the most special school events of the year. Somewhere, I know Gordie is looking down with pride.”