Wyandotte Woman Wins Outstanding Young Michigander Award

The Michigan Jaycees honored 25-year-old Wyandotte resident Megan Maiani Saturday night as an Outstanding Young Michigander.

The Michigan Jaycees give out the award annually to five people, between the ages of 21 to 40 years old, who have been nominated by a local Jaycees chapter. Winners of the award are chosen based on their accomplishments and contributions to the community they live in.

Maiani is a member of the Wyandotte Jaycees and is a children’s counselor for Camp Quality with the American Cancer Society. She is also a member of Women of Wyandotte, has taken part in the ACS Relay for Life and volunteers with Rainbow Connections, which makes wishes come true for terminally ill children.

Currently she works as registered nurse at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

To qualify for the state award, Maiani won the Outstanding Young Woman of Wyandotte award in February, after being nominated by Wyandotte Jaycees President John Dehring and his wife Shannon.

To receive the award, Maiani traveled to Lansing last weekend. In a ceremony held at the Michigan Historical Museum, she was given a special plaque and had the opportunity to give a brief speech.

Although she was happy to win the state award, Maiani said the true reward from her volunteer work is the joy she gets from helping others.

“I volunteer because I love to help those who are not as blessed as me,” Maiani said. “An award is not needed to thank me for my volunteering, the smiles and the lessons I help people gain are what gives me the satisfaction that I am doing good in the community.”

In the past, Henry Ford, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and current U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow have all won the same award.