Published: Sept. 9, 2010
LANSING, Mich. - Tim Staudt, longtime sports broadcaster at WJIM-TV and WILX-TV, today received Sparrow Health System's highest honor, the 2010 Sparrow Founders' Award.
James Butler III, chair of the Sparrow Health System Board of Directors, presented Staudt with the award at Sparrow's annual Founders' Day celebration at Sparrow Hospital.
Staudt was cited for more than two decades of vocal support and advocacy for the Sparrow Children's Center. Staudt's fundraising efforts include serving as a host for the Children's Miracle Network annual telethon, the Tim Staudt Ultimate Golf Outing and the Spartan Marching Band for Kids Concert. His many efforts helped spearhead the development of Sparrow's Children Center and the creation of Sparrow's Granger Pediatric Emergency Department, the only facility of its kind in mid-Michigan.
"Tim has leveraged his status as a dynamic and strong communicator within our community to support and promote awareness of the Sparrow Children's Center," Butler said. "Tim is about helping all of us, by advocating for the finest health care and by working tirelessly to ensure that the people of our region have the very best."
Sparrow's Founder's Award is the highest individual honor bestowed by the Sparrow Health System. Past recipients include former Sparrow Board chairperson Lance Lynch; philanthropist and community leader Virginia Hilbert; Sparrow volunteer and longtime board member Evelyn Scheffel; former Sparrow President and CEO F. Karl Neumann; Mason businessman Frank Guerriero; community leader Duane Vernon; former Sparrow Vice President and Director of Nursing Sue Tadgerson; former Sparrow Health System Board Chairs, Marylee Davis, PhD, and Mary Jessup; former Michigan State University Athletic Director Ron Mason; and legendary physicians Dr. William Harrison, Dr. Mahlon Sharp and Dr. Joseph Sheets.
The celebration marks Sparrow's 114h year of service to the mid-Michigan community. Founded in 1896 by a group of 114 women volunteers, the organization got its start as Lansing Women's Hospital and was rebuilt as Sparrow Hospital at its current site at 1215 E. Michigan Avenue in 1912, taking the name of Lansing businessman and benefactor Edward W. Sparrow.