FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 7, 2006

CONTACT:
David Roseman, MD
Chairman, Citizen of the Year Committee, Pentwater Service Club
(231) 873-7176

dlr@eolas.com

Or

Tim Rossler

President, Pentwater Service Club

(231) 689-6714

trossler@remc4.k12.mi.us

Milton Pugsley named Pentwater’s 2006 Citizen of the Year

The Pentwater Service Club is pleased to announce that Milt Pugsley is Pentwater’s 2006 Citizen of the Year. Milt was born in Hart, and graduated from Hart High School. He attended Michigan State University for a semester, then enlisted in the Navy in 1943. In the Navy, he flew a single-engine reconnaissance seaplane that was catapulted from the USS California.

After his first tour with the Navy, he returned to MSU and completed a BA in Business Administration. He married Barbara Fuller in 1946, and has two sons. After college, he worked for two years in Barbara’s father’s cherry packing plant. He was recalled by the Navy for the Korean War, and spent most of the next nine years as a ferry pilot and flight instructor. He then flew as a commercial pilot for Continental Oil. After that, he joined Chrysler Aviation, which was eventually spun off as Pentastar Aviation. He served as President of Pentastar for many years, and built it from 9 to 250 employees.

Milt has been active in many local activities. He has participated in many Veterans of Foreign War projects, including the distribution of flags to all Pentwater School classrooms. He and others place the flags that line Pentwater’s Hancock Street on all national holidays. He participates in several military funerals each month. Milt will assume the position of Commander of the Pentwater Post this month.

Milt has worked with the Michigan DNR and DEQ on several projects, including eagle nest protection. He was one of the original board members of the Pentwater Lake Association, and continues to measure water quality. He served on the Pentwater Township Planning Commission for four years. He is a long-time member of the Pentwater Service Club. He founded the Friends of Pentwater, a group that made a determined effort to preserve lakefront property for expansion of the Village boat launch.

Milt is an avid fly fisherman, and bird watcher. He and Barbara have fished throughout the world.

Milt’s father bought their property on Pentwater Lake 85 years ago, as a place for the family to congregate. It continues to serve that function.

Milt will be honored in the Pentwater Homecoming parade, and at a dinner to be held in September.

More complete information, including an interesting magazine article about the type of plane and missions that Milt flew, is at http://serviceclub.org.

ABOUT Pentwater Service Club. Pentwater Service Club was founded in 1970. Its purpose is to encourage and promote good citizenship, worthy community projects, and a better informed citizenry. It meets every Thursday during the school year at 12:15 PM at the Pentwater School.

-END-