In gratitude for his academic and athletic education, well-known professional numismatist Michael “Miles” Standish has created a $250,000 trust fund for his Portage, Michigan high school.
The 1983 graduate of Portage Central H.S. also paid for an 8½ foot tall, bronze statue representing the school’s mascot, the Mighty Mustangs, that was formally dedicated at the entrance of McCamley Field football stadium at the school on Thursday, August 29, 2019.
“I am so proud to be a Mustang and to give back to Portage Central and my hometown of Portage,” said Standish, now a resident of Austin, Texas. He is a Vice President and Senior Coin Grader at Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), an award-winning author of numismatic reference books and a recipient of the United States Mint Directors Medal of Excellence.
Standish established the quarter-million-dollar trust fund to benefit education and sports programs at Portage Central High School.
School Principal Eric Alburtus stated:
“It is hard to express how grateful we are to Miles for what he has provided to our community. So many members have done so much to provide our students with incredible new facilities, and Miles has gone above and beyond, giving us the McCamley Mustang that will serve as a symbol for all we strive to be as individuals and as a whole community for decades into the future.”
Standish played defensive end on the school’s 1981-1982 varsity teams.
“The lessons I learned and the experiences I had as a student and an athlete at Portage Central were an important foundation for my success in life and work. The key to my success has been focus, determination and never giving up or quitting on the goals I set out to accomplish,” Standish stated.
