Always Looking Forward

Origin

The not-quite-official Community Health Motto (CMH) motto, “Always looking forward” can be attributed to our dear brother, John. John Loring’s work in the community and his leadership in our organization was well known. He was a Program Administrator for Adult MI Services and for PORT (Project Outreach), the program specializing in meeting the needs of the homeless population in Washtenaw County. 

He brought SOAR to the state of Michigan in 2007, training others in the state on the SAMHSA initiative which increases access to the disability income benefit programs administered by the Social Security Administration for eligible adults who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder. John’s tireless efforts and caring commitment to the citizens of Washtenaw was a vocation as much as it was an avocation evidenced through his many achievements and service to the community.

John Loring

Video

Watch John preach what he practices (WMV).

Memorial

Memory of his leadership and advocacy are only surpassed by memory of his kindness, sense of humor, and enormous spirit. We lost our brother John from an inoperable brain tumor soon after his diagnosis in early 2015. The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution honoring his memory and tremendous work in April 2015 and a ceremony dedicating a conference room in his honor at his primary worksite on North Fourth Street in Ann Arbor was attended by many in April 2016.

The loss of Mr. Loring as a husband, father, brother, friend, colleague, and dedicated advocate is felt across all of Washtenaw County. Using his personal mantra of “Always looking forward” honors the life of John Loring for his commitment to the greater good, his illumination of the value of dedication and service to the community, and his lasting impact on all who knew him.