The alumni H-Club at Hope College will present its "Hope for Humanity Award" to Gord Brewer of Holland on Saturday, Oct. 13.
The award, first presented in 1990, recognizes Hope athletic alumni for service to others, transformation of Christian values and consistency of commitment. The H- Club consists of Hope alumni who were athletic letter winners and other honorary letter winners as approved by the H-Club's Board of Directors. The group will recognize Brewer during its annual Homecoming luncheon, which will be held in the Haworth Inn and Conference Center.
Brewer was a member of Hope's physical education (now kinesiology) faculty from 1956 to 1988, when he retired. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor in 1973 and was promoted to full professor in 1983. He chaired the department from 1980 to 1985.
For a 20-year period, from 1960 to 1980, he was Hope's athletic director, directing all facets of Hope sports. His leadership spanned the planning and construction of the Dow Health and Physical Education Center, which opened in 1978.
Brewer coached the men's track team throughout his years on the faculty, finishing in the top half of the MIAA in all but three seasons and winning the league championship six times. He was also assistant football and basketball coach at Hope.
His book "...But How You Played the Game! A History of Intercollegiate Athletics at Hope College," covering through 1955, was published in 1992. Along with Russ DeVette, another kinesiology retiree, he organized a reunion of Hope student-athletes from the 1950s that was held during the college's fall, 1995, Homecoming celebration.
He received a "Meritorious Service Award" from the Hope College Alumni Association in May of 1996, and Hope named its track in his honor in April of 1991. The alumni H-Club had also honored him during its Homecoming luncheon in 1987.
He is a 1948 Hope graduate, and also holds a master's degree from the University of Michigan. He served with the Eighth Air Force in the European Theatre of Operations during World War II, and taught in the Byron Center Public Schools and the Kelloggsville Public Schools before joining the Hope faculty.
He is a former elder, and vice president of consistory, at Third Reformed Church in Holland. He also volunteers with the Salvation Army.
Brewer and his wife Lorraine reside in Holland. They have four children: Robert, Lawrence, Daniel and Susan.