BY SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com
TRAVERSE CITY — Trish Fiebing has long been a voracious volunteer.
She retired this year from Traverse City Area Public Schools as its volunteer coordinator and this week received an award from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City for her efforts. Fiebing helped create a partnership between the military base and the local school district, including the station's association with Traverse Heights Elementary.
Fiebing, of Traverse City, received a Coast Guard Certificate of Appreciation this week to recognize her contributions, said Lt. Karyn Forsyth, public affairs officer at the base.
"They are such an asset in our community that quite often we don't get to meet or get to know them," Fiebing said.
Forsyth and Fiebing worked together to expand outreach efforts to Coast Guard families — families that often spend just two years here before transferring to another base. It began with informational sessions to help them learn about educational options with TCAPS.
"It's helping folks who are here temporarily," Fiebing said.
The program expanded to a volunteer effort at Traverse Heights where Coast Guard members spend time with students on Tuesdays and Thursdays during recess and lunch periods. The base even landed a helicopter at the school and allowed the students to inspect the aircraft.
"One of the sweetest moments of my life was that day when a little fifth-grader was there watching the helicopter land, and he didn't say it to me, but he muttered, 'This is the best day of my life'," Fiebing said.
Fiebing helped make that moment possible, said Cmdr. Tom McDevitt, the base's executive officer, who values his volunteer time at the school.
"It's a chance to interact," he said. "They have a lot of questions when you show up in uniform or in a flight suit."
Fiebing also worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Grand Traverse and United Way of Northwest Michigan. She lives on Old Mission Peninsula with her husband, Gregory Fiebing.
