Public invited to volunteer sculpture dedication June 6

TRAVERSE CITY - The public - especially the thousands of volunteers who have served Northwestern Michigan College over more than 50 years - is invited to main campus June 6 for the dedication of a new outdoor sculpture in their honor.

Crafted by Illinois sculptor Bob Emser, the nine-foot-tall work is entitled "What You Can Do" and will be located north of the entrance to the Tanis building and west of the Health/Science Building on NMC's main campus. (See attached map.) The dedication is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 6 at the sculpture site.

Hundreds of volunteers help NMC each year in countless ways. They include docents at the Dennos Museum Center, line servers at the annual NMC Barbecue, announcers for WNMC, advisers for occupational programs and assistants for the Rogers Observatory. Area dentists volunteer in NMC's dental labs and alumni of the Maritime Academy make training excursions on the T/S State of Michigan possible for current students. In addition, volunteers help raise resources for the college by serving on groups ranging from the Barbecue Board and Golf Committee to the Foundation Board.

The $40,000 sculpture project is being totally funded by Barb and Dudley Smith, longtime NMC volunteers and benefactors, particularly of the Dennos Museum Center's Inuit art collection. Barb Smith currently serves on the board of the NMC Foundation.

The new sculpture will become the 13th piece in a collection of outdoor sculptures placed in several locations around NMC's campuses. After reviewing resumes, an NMC committee that included five current volunteers commissioned Emser's piece in January.