Mr. Thomas F. Koernke

Class of 1966
Career Pathway: Human Services

Thomas Koernke was valedictorian of his Frederic High School class and Student Council president, and he served as a page in the Michigan House of Representatives. He earned nine varsity letters -- three in basketball, two in cross-country and four in baseball -- and was all-conference his junior and senior years and all-state in his senior year in baseball.

He earned a bachelor of arts degree with high honors from the Honors College at Michigan State University in 1970. He was president of his senior class at MSU and presented the valedictory address for the Class of 1970. He attended the University of Michigan Law School where he earned a Juris Doctor degree in 1974. He was the recipient of the Edward H. Rakow Award as one of the three outstanding graduates in the Class of 1974, the outstanding U-M intramural athlete award in 1973 and a member of the Big Ten Conference intramural basketball championship team of 1973.

Mr. Koernke is a partner in Koernke & Crampton, P.C., a Grand Rapids law firm. He is a fellow in the Michigan State Bar Foundation, was a member of the State Bar of Michigan judicial qualifications committee for two terms and was a member of the alternative dispute resolution advisory committee to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. He is a co-author of Comparative negligence in Michigan, published in 1982 and supplemented in 1985. He was also the fundraising chair of the Michigan Trails Girl Scout Council in 1986-1987.

Mr. Koernke and his wife Holly have been married for 24 years. They have two children -- Dan, a senior at Davidson College, and Molly, a junior at Wake Forest University. His mother Hazel lives in Lovells. He enjoys golf and being a fan of both MSU and U-M sports teams.