Community Foundation Honors Nonprofit Leadership and Program Excellence at Annual Meeting

The Community Foundation has announced that Robert G. Riney, President Health Care Operations and Chief Operating Officer for Henry Ford Health System was selected as the recipient of the 2020 Mariam C. Noland Award for Nonprofit Leadership, and Covenant Community Care has been selected as the recipient of the 2020 Richard F. Huegli Award for Program Excellence. Both awards were presented at the Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees September meeting.

Named after the Community Foundation’s first and current president, the Mariam C. Noland Award for Nonprofit Leadership recognizes a nonprofit president or CEO in southeast Michigan whose service exemplifies the importance of leadership in his or her organization and the wider nonprofit community.

The selection of Riney for the Noland award is recognition of the role he has played in the community over many years. He is a passionate contributor to the overall quality of the community, as well as his profession, and he is often sought out for input on major community strategic issues. Beyond Riney’s personal contributions to the local nonprofit sector, he has had a great impact on the healthcare field in helping to redefine the role of a large healthcare institution in the community.

“I am very honored to have been chosen to receive this important community award,” said Riney. “I have incredible respect for the tremendous and longstanding work of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and the spectacular leadership of Mariam Noland.”

The Richard F. Huegli Award for Program Excellence identifies a nonprofit that reflects Mr. Huegli’s high standards in human services programming and belief in human potential. Huegli, who passed away in 1988, was an integral figure in the region’s human services sector for nearly half a century, spending 42 years with United Community Services of Metropolitan Detroit, now part of the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. He later helped to establish the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan and served as the Foundation’s acting director in its first year of existence.

Covenant Community Care has been named the 2020 Richard F. Huegli Award recipient. Covenant offers a full range of primary health care services for the community at six locations – Royal Oak, Westland and four Detroit locations.

In addition to its full-service locations, Covenant operates a school-based clinic, a mobile school-based dental program and a homeless outreach team. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Covenant continued to serve its community members by offering telehealth visits at all of its locations for primary care, OB, dental, behavioral health and recovery center services.

Covenant received the Huegli award for its high-quality service to residents most in need, and for its strategic, thoughtful expansion, which has sustained over time.

“It is an honor to accept the Richard F. Huegli award on behalf of our entire team at Covenant Community Care,” says Joslyn Pettway, chief executive officer, Covenant Community Care. “Our team has worked with diligence and compassion to continue providing necessary care to those who need it most, especially throughout this pandemic. Thank you to the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan for this special recognition and your continued support of our efforts.”

“Bob Riney and the team at Covenant Community Care represent some of the best leadership in our field in southeast Michigan,” Mariam Noland, president, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, says. “While stepping up during the pandemic, it reminds us of how our community pulls together during the toughest of times. They inspire us to do even more.”