A Legacy of Giving

Mike and Lisa Welch make lasting impact at LMC

Mike Welch smiled as his wife, Lisa, leaned her arms on his shoulders to steady the oversized scissors in her hand. The Aug. 27 ribbon cutting for the Welch Center for Wine & Viticulture, named in honor of the couple who has long donated both time and resources to Lake Michigan College, was the culmination of a five-year journey that began in Walla Walla, Wash.

“When we went to Walla Walla I thought we were just going to get some wine, little did I know we would end up building a wine center here in Michigan,” Lisa Welch said. “It is amazing. We love helping LMC on their boards and committees and love volunteering here. It’s just a great place.”

Mike, weakened from a long battle with brain cancer, sat in a wheelchair as Lisa cut the red ribbon that officially opened the doors to the new $7 million, 14,000-square-foot teaching winery on LMC’s Benton Harbor campus. Sadly, it would be his last such event. Mike passed away a month later, on Sept. 27, but his legacy of giving lives on.

In addition to being lead donors for the new Wine & Viticulture Center, Lisa serves on the board of Lake Michigan Vintners. The Welch’s also have been involved with the Winner’s Circle Benefit Auction for nearly two decades, beginning as guests, and serving as event chairs in 2010. In 2011, they established the Mike & Lisa Welch Family Endowed Scholarship.  

A proud LMC alumnus who finished his bachelor’s degree at Western Michigan University, Mike served on the LMC Foundation board since 2002 and was board president from July 2012 to June 2014.  During the Campaign for Tomorrow, Mike served on the campaign cabinet and was instrumental in helping raise more than $7 million for all the components of the campaign, including the wine center and the Hanson Technology Center. In 2018, the Welch’s were awarded LMC’s prestigious Bernard C. Radde Distinguished Service Award in recognition of their support to the college.

Just before receiving that award, Mike talked about the couple’s dedication to LMC.

“As we learned more and more what LMC does we just became more excited over the years,” he said. “As time went on, we just became even more connected, which I think is unique. We are so proud to have Lake Michigan College in the community, and we just want to see it prosper and grow.”

LMC opens Welch Center for Wine & Viticulture

The Welch Center is the new home for Lake Michigan Vintners, the first commercial teaching winery in the Midwest, and LMC’s Wine & Viticulture Technology program.

LMC broke ground in May 2018 and opened the $7 million, 14,000-square-foot teaching winery on Aug. 27 on its Benton Harbor campus. It is designed to provide Wine & Viticulture Technology students with a state-of-the-art environment to gain hands-on education in the art, science, and business of winemaking.

“The new center will help teach students how an efficient winery should operate,” Wine & Viticulture director Michael Moyer said. “I’ve seen many facilities at various colleges in the U.S., and for an academic program, this winemaking facility is unrivaled.”