Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Brighton Area Schools recently honored the two newest members of its Brighton Distinguished Alumni Wall of Fame.

Kari Seitz and Charles Brady were recognized on Thursday, October 11th. The honorees were also part of the district’s homecoming parade and honored at half-time of the homecoming football game. Local State Representative Ann Bollin presented a plaque of honor to both honorees signed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Senator Lana Theis and herself.

Below are bios for the two honorees:

Kari Seitz (1988) – Kari Seitz is a 1988 Brighton High School graduate. She is one of the most accomplished soccer referees in the entire world having officiated at the highest levels including eight FIFA tournaments, four World Cups (more than any other official male or female) and three Olympic Games (also more than any other male or female). As an official, Kari was pioneer for women and for US officiating have held the honor of officiating the highest-level world cup game by any US official for 12 years. In 2016, she became the Head of Women’s Refereeing for FIFA which is the world governing body for soccer. She remains the only American to ever serve in the FIFA refereeing department. FIFA stated that “Seitz was responsible for leading the global development of women’s refereeing, including a four-year project to select, train, prepare the referees for the Women’s World Cup, a process which ultimately transformed the opportunities for women referees globally”. This past year, Kari was hired as Vice-President for the US Soccer Federation in charge of all refereeing. In addition to her time in referring, she was previously a managing director at an advertising agency in California.


Charles Brady (1941) – Charles Brady was honored posthumously on the Distinguished Alumni Wall of Fame this fall. He was represented by his family with his Daughter, Lynn Strong, being the point person. Mr. Brady graduated from Brighton High School as valedictorian in 1941 after which he worked at the General Motors Proving Grounds. When the US enter WWII, he enlisted in the Army Air Corp and he rose to the rank of Captain. He worked as a specialist at the Norden Bombsight project. Upon his return from WWII, Charles earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University in 1948 and began working full-time for General Motors. He spent the next 42 years in service at GM rising from the engineering staff to manage the Desert Proving Grounds and eventually the Milford Proving Grounds. He later became the Director of Worldwide proving ground operations and ultimately was selected to become Vice President of Current Engineering and Manufacturing in 1984. Mr. Brady was honored as an MSU College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni in 2008 and game the commencement address to students that same year. He passed away at the age of 87 in 2010.


Superintendent Dr. Matt Outlaw commented “This was our third class of honorees and the speeches were truly inspiring. Both had a long list of career accomplishments, but what stood out most was their humility and passion for service. We look forward to continuing this tradition next fall with the selection of our next two honorees”.

Nominations will be accepted through the end of May, with next year’s honorees selected in June. Next year’s ceremony will be on October 16th, 2025 at 6pm.