- Brianna Wissink

Andy Karr

       Three and a half weeks. Twenty-four days. Five hundred seventy six hours. Thirty-four thousand five hundred and sixty minutes. Two hundred seven thousand three hundred and sixty seconds. How would you like to drive a van full of teenagers all around Alaska for this amount of time? For most people this may not sound like a lot of fun, but for Andrew Karr this is something that he has done, and enjoyed, three times.

       Karr has gone on the Alaska Great Lakes Project three times and has been a driver all three times. He has also supported it by running the golf outing for a few years, buying fundraisers, and by working and helping at most of the fundraisers. He is a member of Marshall's Tuesday/Thursday club which is made up of previous Adult drivers and supporters of the project. While he will miss the gang, they all know how unique and special the trip is to his family and the community.

       Karr has brown hair, dark eyes, and he has a very happy cheerful look on his face all the time. Sarah, Karr’s oldest daughter went on the Alaska Great Lakes Project when she was in 8th grade and this was the first time that he had experienced the beauty of Alaska. Sarah went back as a junior leader twice and both times Karr went with her. Karr is going back to Alaska this year as a van driver once again with his daughter Laura, who is now in 8th grade.

       You may wonder how someone would want to go back to a place for times. Karr describes Alaska as beautiful snow topped mountains, rivers, lakes, green grass, eagles flying above your head whenever you looked up, and the most amazing scenery that he has ever seen. Karr goes back to Alaska to watch kids learn and experience things that they had never done and learning new things. He decided to go back this year on his fourth trip because he thinks that it is important to know how young adults in his daughters graduating class behave and act.

       Karr works in a tiny little office in the basement of a building where he is the human resource director in Coldwater, Michigan at the Southern Michigan Bank & Trust. Karr goes back to Alaska because in his little office in the basement of the bank he only has one little window that holds the only view of outside. Being in Alaska makes up for everything he has not experienced and lets him do just that. Being in Alaska lets him do more than just see the sky out of one little window around him. It lets him live on the outside of that little window. “Alaska is a very spiritual place. Don’t just let the opportunity pass by. Take advantage of what you have in front of you and you will never forget it.”

       Karr loves being in Alaska with either of his daughters, but when he arrives home to Marshall, Michigan he has two feelings. He is upset about leaving such a wonderful place, but is always ecstatic to see his wonderful wife and kids.