Alumni and Friends of Central Michigan University

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Alumni Recognition Award

Alumni Recognition Award - Fred Mester

Fred Mester, '59, is a judge for the 6th Circuit Court of Michigan in Oakland County, impacting his community from the bench.

He was a captain in the U.S. Army, and he is a member of the CMU ROTC Hall of Fame.

Fred served as president of the CMU Alumni Board. He also served on the Lem Tucker Steering Committee, President's Detroit Area Advisory, and Centennial Year Award boards. In 1995 CMU awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree.

He has received numerous awards for his community service, including NAACP's Humanitarian Award, the John N. O'Brien Memorial Award for Distinguished Community Activities, Centennial Award, and Michigan Corrections Association Judicial Award for his contributions to the enhancement of the judicial system.

Fred serves as chairman of the Oakland County Community Corrections Board, the William Booth Legal Aid Clinic, Detroit Board of the National Council on Alcoholism, and the Multiple Sclerosis Board.

He also founded a program called Reading to Reduce Recidivism after observing that a majority of offenders appearing before him were unable to read. He saw a link between their illiteracy and ability to get better jobs and change their lives. He secured seed money, volunteers and a coordinator to run the innovative program.