Soo K. Eaker (Sponsors: Carolyn Hiatt and Kate VanHorn)

Soo Kim Eaker was born in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the U.S. as a child. She was raised and lived most of her life in Houston, Texas. She earned a degree in MIS (Management Information Systems) and a Master’s in IT before spending six years in a corporate career.

She eventually followed her passion for real estate, which she has pursued for over 17 years. Soo is the broker and owner of Maven Real Estate Group in Houston, specializing in residential real estate. Almost two years ago, Soo, her husband, and their two very active sons moved to Michigan for her husband’s job. Despite living in Texas most of his adult life, her husband, a true Michigander, has always, only rooted for Michigan sports and is extremely happy to be back in his home state, where he grew up in Northville. Soo holds broker’s licenses in both Michigan and Texas, focusing on commercial real estate in Ann Arbor while continuing to manage her residential brokerage in Houston. Two things Soo loves most about Michigan are the four seasons and the ability to enjoy the outdoors in the summer. PS – Her favorite season here is Spring.

Robert (Bob) Harrington (Sponsors: Leo Shedden, Susan Shipman and John White)

Bob is a lifelong Michigander who grew up in the City of Detroit. He attended Michigan State University, majoring in what is now Construction Management. He met his wife, Nancy, while at MSU and married her after he received his second lieutenant commission in the United States Air Force. He was assigned to various Air Force bases in the US plus one year in Viet Nam during the war.

After the Air Force Bob and Nancy moved to Ann Arbor where he worked for an asphalt paving company. One of his first projects was to design and build the first synthetic grass field in the Big House.

Bob had a career long relationship with Roger Penske during which he paved Michigan International Speedway (MIS) three times with a new asphalt design now used on all North American NASCAR, INDY CAR and F-1 racetracks plus over forty racetrack related projects in the US, Canada, Mexico and England. He retired at 62 and has continued to be a consultant working on Daytona, Sebring, Talladega and other speedways. His favorite project is volunteering at the Detroit Grand Prix.

Bob also restored a 1925 Dodge Brothers Coup and donated it to the Hartland High School automotive program. His other hobbies included a private pilot license, hiking, canoeing, biking and traveling.

Bob and Nancy have two married children and four grandchildren. They are longtime members of the First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor.

Fernando Leon (Sponsors: Bob Mull and John Sepp)

Fernando was born and raised in Ann Arbor. While he moved away to other locales in his life, he kept returning to Ann Arbor. He graduated from Michigan State University in 2006 with a degree in Political Philosophy.

After working in the technology industry in Europe for about 10 years, Covid prompted Fernando to re-examine what he wanted to do with his professional career. Ultimately, he decided to move back to Michigan and get into a field that would offer an opportunity to truly be of service to his family and community. He recently became a certified financial advisor at Edward Jones.

Fernando has enjoyed the privilege of having dual citizenship with both the United States and Spain thanks to his family background and is a lifelong traveler, having spent periods of time living in Spain and most recently Ireland.

He plans to volunteer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and is undergoing training with the new Accounting Aid Society regime. He is a fitness enthusiast and currently training to run his first half marathon in the Spring of 2025, and at the same time will be on the water with the Ann Arbor Rowing Club.