Northern Express Spotlights Sara Hardy Humanitarian Award and 2025 Honorees

Traverse City’s Human Rights Commission recognized the late Holly T. Bird as the 2025 Sara Hardy Humanitarian Award recipient, presenting the honor at a City Hall ceremony on June 16, 2025 where Annabella Thompson and Sonny Haworth accepted the award for their mother. The HRC also named Michigan Indian Legal Services and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians as 2025 Business/Organization Humanitarian Efforts Award recipients, bringing the total number of 2025 honorees to three.

The Sara Hardy Humanitarian Award is presented to a person who “embodies the Commission’s core values of ‘mutual understanding, respect, and inclusivity within our community.’” Northern Express has described Sara Hardy as “fascinating and generous” and noted she is immortalized at the TC farmers market, a local touchstone that gives the award strong neighborhood resonance.

City and community accounts detail Holly T. Bird’s roles and activism: she was a local attorney, an Indigenous activist, and a member of the Traverse City Area Public Schools Board of Education. Title Track and City release language describe her as “a dedicated advocate for Indigenous visibility, racial and environmental justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and youth empowerment, Holly’s impact on the region was profound.” Title Track further noted that as a founding board member she “brought joyful optimism, tireless dedication, and fearless love to the work of advancing equity and community well-being,” and that she was a founding member of Northern Michigan E3 and the Children’s Garden.

Photos and accounts from the June 16 awards ceremony at Traverse City’s City Hall show family and community leaders on hand. Annabella Thompson and Sonny Haworth accepted the Sara Hardy Humanitarian Award for their mother. Holly’s sister, Sarah Moore Kuschell, wrote: “REFORMERS-RESISTERS-BUILDERS-HEALERS This was the message that I heard from her there. Which one are you? Grateful for Eva Petoskey, Courtney Wiggins, Seth Bernard (Iris), Percy Bird Jr. and Emily Kuschell who carried a good message for her. Love the sign that Seth brought in her beautiful handwriting. Such good instructions. 🦋✊🏼”

The HRC announced the 2025 recipients in early June 2025 through its official channels; the City posted the HRC news on June 10, 2025 and local coverage followed. Michigan Indian Legal Services and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians were named as the Business/Organization awardees for their “sustained and meaningful commitment to helping others in the Traverse City region.”

Nominations for the next cycle are open now through April 3, 2026. Nomination forms and submission instructions are available on the City of Traverse City website under Government > Appointed Boards > Human Rights Commission. The HRC’s annual spring awards continue to highlight neighborhood-level advocacy and organizational service across northern Michigan.