Distinguished Alumni Award

David C. Anderson ’74

David C. Anderson is a 1974 Adrian College Graduate, a political science major and valedictorian of the class. While a student at Adrian College, David was a member of the prestigious Alpha Chi scholastic honorary society, the president of the Student Government Association, involved in many intra-mural sports, and started the pre-law club.

After graduation, David attended Detroit College of Law. While attending, he became a published author in the DCL law review. In his last year of law school, he was personally chosen by Judge O’Hair and Judge Burdick of the Wayne County Circuit Court to be their judicial research attorney. David has run his own civil defense law firm for the last 40 years. He is a member of numerous bar-related organizations. He served as the President of the prestigious Oakland County Bar Association from 2015-2016. He has served and is part of many boards and organizations in his community, and has taught classes at his alma mater, Detroit College of Law.

David has stayed connected to Adrian College ever since graduation. In the late 1970’s, he served on the College’s Board of Trustees. Later in the 80’s, David began volunteering again as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. He has represented the class of 1974 as a class agent and was a host and coordinator for several years of the Northern Michigan Adrian College Summer gatherings.

David met his wife of 44 years, Judge Martha Anderson, in the Wayne County Circuit Court. They have one daughter, Elizabeth, who is also an Alumna of the Adrian College class of 2003, and three grandsons.

Young Alumni Achievement Award

Eric D. Driver ’03 

Eric Driver is a graduate of the Class of 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, minoring in both exercise science and health science. As a student at Adrian College, Eric was involved in the Theta Chi Fraternity. After graduation, Eric was able to give back to the college by serving as one of the Adrian College Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2008 to 2011. He was also the recipient of Adrian College’s 2003 Community/Alumni Relation Award.

Eric went on to receive his master’s degree from Grand Valley State University, along with getting certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. For many years, Eric has been involved in the world of strength and conditioning. He has worked as a strength and conditioning coach at Howell High School, an orthopedic technologist at Bone and Joint Medical Center, an adjunct professor for weight training and conditioning at Jackson Community College and served as the strength and conditioning coach of the women’s basketball team at Adrian College from 2013-2015.

In 2010, Eric opened Mission Fitness and Nutrition, a local gym in Adrian. Eric has been able to help thousands of Lenawee County residents to achieve their goals of a healthy lifestyle. He has helped Lenawee County youth develop athletic strength and condition skills and instilled the proper way to train. One of the biggest accomplishments and something that Eric takes a big pride in, is his partnership with the Adrian College Career Services Office. He has been hosting Adrian College students as interns at his gym over the last ten plus years. Many of these students have gone on to be fitness trainers, head coaches, sports chiropractors, and even a division one strength and conditioning coach. As the relationship continues to grow with career planning, Eric can offer two intern positions each semester. One position is for a strength and conditioning coach, the other is a marketing intern. He loves being able to give students real-world experiences as current undergrads.

Eric lives in Saline, Michigan with his wife Kristyn ’04, and their two kids, Caleb and Isabelle.

Alumni Service Award

Dawn Howard Mullins ’80

Dawn Howard Mullins is a graduate of the Class of 1980 with a Bachelors degree in Art Fashion Merchandising. As a student at AC, Dawn was a member of the cheerleading squad, a sister of the Alpha Phi Sorority, and active in many other campus activities.

After graduation, Dawn moved back to her hometown of Hamilton, Indiana, and began working for the family business, Howard Insurance, nearly 42 years ago. Dawn and her husband, Dennis, have since taken over the family business along with several other rental investments.

Dawn has made it a priority to return to campus for AC homecoming for many years. A few years ago, she and her husband began to attend more hockey games and returned to campus more and more. This is when Dawn decided she wanted to be more involved with her alma mater. Dawn became a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors in 2019. She has been a crucial part of creating the Promising Undergraduate Bulldog Scholarship, which reflects many alumni friends from the late 70’s and early 80’s. The group’s focus is to be able to support current students as a way of giving back to a place that was so special to them. The group has currently raised over $10,000 in just over a year and the plan is to raise enough money to endow the scholarship.  She has also helped the sisters of Alpha Phi to start the renovation of the campus chapter house.

Dawn resides in Hamilton, Indiana with her husband, Dennis. When they’re not traveling or making their many trips to Michigan, Dawn enjoys gardening, attending concerts, and supporting her husband’s band. One of her favorite things is keeping in touch with all her fellow bulldogs. Dawn has two children and two grandchildren.

Alumni Humanitarian Award

John J. Krimmel IV ’92

John Krimmel is a graduate of the Class of 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in Health, Physical Education & Recreation. John was the team captain of the Adrian College football team in 1990 and a member of the 1988 and 1989 MIAA back-to-back championship teams.

After graduation, John got his start teaching at Camden Frontier Schools. His next move was to Mason Consolidated Schools. During his time at Mason, he served as a teacher, the interim principal, the Athletic Director for a year, the head baseball coach, an assistant football coach, and the head golf coach. As John’s career in education continued to grow, he was hired as the Middle School Principal and Athletic Director at Dundee Community Schools. While at Dundee, he went back to school and completed his Masters of Education from the University of Toledo. He currently serves as the Airport Community Schools Superintendent, where he has been since 2010, after a three-year stint as the high school principal.

John has had a huge impact on many young adults and children, and a lot of that comes through sports programs.  John is a member of the Carlton Rotary Club, and he serves on Promedica’s Philanthropy Board. He has been a part of and led many community service projects for the Bedford community. In 2017, he was awarded the Bedford Minuteman Award for his many hours of community service, especially in the Bedford Community Stadium. 

In 2020, John played a crucial role in creating opportunities for Airport students to navigate virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. He worked with all the Monroe County superintendents to create options for families and consulted with the Monroe County Health Department to create a safe environment for all students. He was a fundamental part of helping organize and deliver over 300,000 meals to students in the Airport District in efforts to be sure that all students had meals during the time of the pandemic. 

John currently resides in Lambertville, Michigan with his wife, Kammy, daughter, Kassidy, and son, Bryce. When he’s not serving the community, you can find him officiating boys and girls basketball, or out on the baseball diamond.

AC Stewardship Award

Connie Williams

Connie Williams has been a part of the Adrian College family for the last 36 years. She has had roles in several different departments during her tenure and has been involved in much more on this campus than just her time in the office.

Connie came to Adrian after working at the local newspaper, The Daily Telegram. During her time at The Telegram, she wrote for the family living section. It was here where she first began working with AC alumni. Connie started her career at Adrian in the Music Department, where she worked for 13 years. In 2000, she made the move to the Alumni Office, and in 2019 she transitioned to her current role in the Alumni and Development Office. She is currently “semi-retired” and splits the role with her dear friend and coworker Kaye Reinhart.

Connie has built a lot of relationships with our Adrian College alumni over the years. It doesn’t just come from her everyday job, but many will recognize Connie from what she does at homecoming. For the last twelve years, you can find Connie with her entire family, kids, grandkids, and anyone else to help run the most popular event, kids korner. The family run petting zoo has been a hit for all our visitors over the years. One unique fact you may not know about Connie is that before Adrian College introduced and brought our official Bruiser to campus, Connie’s family BULLDOG would attend home football games.

Outstanding Alumni Employee Award

Toby Ernst ’03

Toby Ernst is a graduate of the Class of 2003, with a Bachelor of Arts in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation with a minor in Business Administration. Toby was no stranger to AC when he came to campus in 1999. He grew up in Adrian and graduated from Adrian High School. Toby was a student-athlete participating with both the men’s baseball team and then the basketball team. When Toby wasn’t on the court or at the ballpark you could find him with his SAE Fraternity brothers.

After graduation, Toby started his career with The Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee, as the Teen Director. In this role he was assisting with many programs and working with many Lenawee County youth.  Two years later, The Boys and Girls Club promoted Toby to Program Director. This encompassed new duties with the YMCA, with a focus on youth sports programs.

In 2007, Toby returned to Adrian College as the Director of Athletic Equipment Operations, another familiarity for Toby, as he was a four-year work study under Coach Rainey in this office during his undergrad. He continued his career at AC for the next 15 years. He was promoted to head strength and conditioning coach and responsible for overseeing training programs and workouts for all Adrian College athletic teams in 2012. Outside of Adrian College, Toby has served as a coach for many different sports, from the Adrian College football team, baseball and basketball at the high school and many youth programs. His passion for working with student athletes ultimately pushed Toby to start his own business in 2016. He is the proud owner of NXT LVL Sports Performance Training LLC, and he has worked with many athletes to achieve the goals they are working towards on the sports field. 

This summer Toby took a new position at Adrian High School as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. He resides in Adrian, Michigan with his wife Shantay ’13 and their children Devon and Ciara. Devon is currently a junior at Adrian College and Ciara is a two-sport athlete at Adrian High School.