GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Though there are some big-name performances and events on deck for this year’s ambitious 99th annual Coast Guard Festival, those putting it on know all too well that someone is missing.
Commander Michael Smith died April 27 after a brief illness. He was 70 years old.
Smith had been the festival’s executive director for 17 years – the longest tenure for that position – and was planning to retire after 2023.
“He loved the Coast Guard, he loved this community, and he loved his job,” said Annie Lengkeek, marketing director for the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival, who worked with Smith for nine years. “He just knew how to have a great festival, keeping it fun, but also keeping the heart of the Coast Guard Festival’s mission at hand, which is to honor the men and women of the Coast Guard – that was his number one goal.”
Smith, also known as “Grander” and “Mr. Coast Guard”, grew up in Bogota, NJ, but would one day call West Michigan his home.
After graduating from the Coast Guard Academy in 1975, Smith served as commanding officer at the Grand Haven Station from 1990 to 1994. He would later return to Coast Guard City USA in 1996 to raise his family.
But in 2006, he got the chance to become a part of a festival close to his heart.
Although emotions are heavy this year, Lengkeek said this year won’t be a memorial, but rather a celebration.
“He would want the show to go on. He would want us to have a fantastic festival. He loved it. It was his passion. So we are we are going to try our best to make this one of the greatest.”
This year’s musical fountain show will be dedicated to Smith. On Friday, the Walk of Coast Guard History ceremony will be also be honoring Smith.
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