Beverly Bodem

MACKINAW CITY — Alpena’s Beverly Bodem was honored on Saturday with the Representative Cora Reynolds Anderson Award at the Straits Area Lincoln Day Dinner, organized by Friends of Up North.

Bodem, who served four terms as a representative in the state Legislature from 1991 to 1998, was surprised and honored by the award, named after Anderson, the first woman elected to the state Legislature when she was elected as a Republican from an Upper Peninsula seat in 1924.

“It’s hard to find a hat that The Honorable Beverly Bodem hasn’t worn over the years in service to her community and the Republican Party,” Friends of Up North secretary Dennis Lennox said in a press release. “Republicans in Northern Michigan are grateful for everything she has done over the years.”

“I did not know I was nominated for it,” Bodem said in a phone interview on Sunday. “I was very surprised and honored.”

She added that the credit belongs to the people she represented while in office.

“They should be honoring the people,” she said. “It’s because of the people. I was elected by the people. I believe strongly that you’re there to serve the people and not the party, and you take into consideration the needs of the community overall … Everyone’s issue is important.”

The 150 attendees listened to speeches from Congressman Jack Bergman; Congressman Bill Huizenga, a potential U.S. Senate candidate; Republican national committeeman Dr. Rob Steele; and gubernatorial candidates Aric Nesbitt, the state Senate minority leader, and Mike Cox, a former two-term attorney general.

Friends of Up North is a political action committee supporting Republican principles. The committee’s leadership comprises chairman Melanie Greenfield, vice chairman Creston Scheel, Lennox the secretary, Tom Stillings, committeewoman Danielle Walin, and committeeman Jesse Osmer, who also serves as administrator of Alpena County.