MT. MORRIS TWP., MI – The Beecher community’s newest public space will be named after Larry Foster, Mt. Morris Township’s first Black township supervisor.
The new community center, located at 1309 West Coldwater Road, was opened and dedicated to Foster during a ceremony on Thursday, June 29. Family and community members gathered to tell stories about Foster, who died in 2007.
Community meetings will be held in the building that was given a new interior and new roof thanks to the fundraising by the Greater Beecher Business District Association. The building will also serve as a personal hygiene pantry.
Dedicated to the late Foster on the date of his birthday, the center will honor the legacy of a man who’s remembered fondly in the Mt. Morris Township community.
Foster served the Beecher community in many ways – first in the U.S. Army, then as a township supervisor, school board member, senior center volunteer and more. Many remember him as Coach Foster, as he used to play and coach basketball and baseball.
Beecher Head Basketball Coach Marquise Gray said Foster was the first person to teach him how to drop step. While it’s a fundamental move in basketball, what he was really teaching Gray was discipline, he said.
“If you don’t have discipline, you won’t have success. And so, because he taught me that simple thing – I try to carry that throughout my life,” Gray said.
Foster commanded respect from everyone in the Beecher community, Mt. Morris Township Supervisor Jolena Sims said. He was the one who told Sims to run for the supervisor position, making her the first female Black supervisor.
“He was just a pillar of this community,” Sims said.
The dedication event had several guest speakers, free lunch, a bounce house and tours of the new community center building.
Foster became the first Black township supervisor in 1992. He served the board until his death at age 65.
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