Longtime Adrian resident Rudy Flores recognized by governor for community service
ADRIAN — It’s been a memorable and humbling last couple of weeks for lifelong Adrian resident Rudy Flores, to say the least.
Normally someone who is behind the scenes and making sure others are recognized for their good deeds, this time, it was Flores who was at the forefront of recognition — both locally and at the state level.
Flores was the recipient of the Michigan Hero Award, presented to him during the Governor’s Service Awards ceremony Nov. 17 in Detroit at the Fox Theatre. The award is one of several bestowed to Michiganders, businesses and nonprofit organizations across the state who are applauded for their commitment to volunteerism, service and philanthropy. The awards were presented by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Community Service Commission and have been presented since 1994.
The Adrian City Commission at its Nov. 21 meeting conducted a proclamation ceremony for Flores, recognizing him for his statewide award and his numerous efforts to volunteer locally while lending a helping hand to those in need.
He was also recognized for the award during the Adrian Board of Education’s Nov. 28 meeting.
A couple of weeks ago, at the Adrian school board’s Nov. 14 meeting, Flores was presented a certificate of recognition from the Lenawee County Association of School Boards for his service on the board of education as a trustee from January 2017 to this month. Flores is wrapping up his tenure on the school board and will be succeeded by Anna Solis-Gautz in January. His final school board meeting will be Dec. 12.
Several school board members at the Nov. 14 meeting spoke highly of Flores.
“It’s been a blessing. Every one of the (recognitions) was just humbling,” Flores said following the Nov. 28 school board meeting. “When you serve, you don’t do it to seek attention. I sometimes don’t know if anyone even pays attention. You just go out and do what you do.
“I'm just so blessed and fortunate to be around such amazing people.”
Flores is the co-chair of the Southeastern Michigan Migrant Resource Council. Professionally, he is employed with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. He volunteers on the board of directors for the Rea Literacy Center and he recently accepted a board position with ProMedica.
By choice, he said, he has lived in Adrian his entire life. He has had opportunities to leave the city and the county, but he has turned down those offers.
“I've had opportunities to leave, but I'm going to hang around,” he said. “Everything is cyclic. So what’s not so good today, we can’t just guarantee that’s the way it’s going to be forever. It’s going to change, and I’ve seen change. I’ve seen the cycles of our community; the goods, the bads, the uglies and everything like that. I choose to stay because Adrian has been my home my entire life. I wasn't trying to go look for something better because we make our best lives wherever we're at, regardless of the situation.”
Empathy, care and concern for others are important to Flores, he said, and are at the core of how he conducts his daily life.
“That’s what it’s about. That’s what’s going to allow folks to open up and to talk about what's really going on,” he said.
He was raised in a family that promoted kindness, caring and hospitality, especially when it came to making others feel welcome, he said.
He also focuses a lot of his attention on creating inclusive opportunities for all people.
“My heart is with our migrant seasonal farm worker families and our immigrant families — documented and undocumented. Our dairy workers, too. I believe strongly that these people are the hands who feed us,” he said.
One of the first things Flores said he is going to do after his time on the Adrian school board is up is take a vacation to Disney World. After that, he plans to come back home to Adrian where he’ll pray and serve and go where he’s called to help and serve where he’s called to serve.
“I’m going to keep working and making a difference,” he said. “There’s always going to be something. There’s always going to be someone who we can help in one capacity or another.”
As a member of the Adrian Public Schools Board of Education for nearly six years, Flores said he has learned how to always be a student in life.
“I didn’t join the school board to teach. I came to learn, and I will be a student forever of whatever group or whatever I am a part of. I will always take the student role, so that I can learn another perspective,” he said. “And I've learned so much from the custodians to bus transportation, to the graduation coaches, to the educators, to the administrators and all the way up to my fellow board members who are just amazing people. I have just been blessed to have been a part of it.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian resident Rudy Flores recognized by governor for service
