Organizers at the Sterling Heights Community Foundation’s “Putting on the Ritz” fundraiser said the event, the foundation’s primary annual fundraiser, supports local cultural, educational and recreational programs and presented the 2025 Richard J. Noddy Civic Service Leadership Award to attorney Clark Andrews.

An event speaker described the occasion as “a key fundraising event mainly because it's our only really fundraising event that we have during the year,” and said, “the funds that we receive, we use to help the foundation fulfill its mission to improve the quality of life for Sterling Heights area residents through cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities.”

The speaker said the foundation has operated for “nearly 35 years” and has “spent and invested in the community, nearly 1,800,000 over our tenure in 3 main areas, cultural, educational, and recreational.” The speaker cited improvements made to the library, parks and recreation programs and other local facilities as examples of where the funds have been used.

The foundation presented the 2025 Richard J. Noddy Civic Service Leadership Award to attorney Clark Andrews. The presenter said Andrews “is an extremely strong advocate of the legal profession,” noting volunteer work across Macomb County, service with school systems in Utica and Warren and that Andrews has “provided... sage legal counsel to Sterling Heights, to Shelby Township, to Fraser, to Utica.” The presenter added that Andrews has more than 50 years of legal service.

In brief remarks accepting the award, attorney Clark Andrews said, “First of all, I love the community. I raised 3 kids in Sterling Heights. I love the level of services that it provides to the to the people that live there. It's a very hardworking, very dedicated staff of people and and I've enjoyed working there.” He told attendees he began practicing at age 24 and is now 75.

Organizers said they expected a large crowd at the still-to-open event; the transcript did not specify an exact attendance figure or the event’s fundraising totals for 2025.

The foundation did not make any formal motions or municipal decisions at the gathering; the program focused on fundraising, community recognition and remarks by the award recipient.