Michael A. Evans Featured in Reader's Digest "Everyday Heroes"

Reader's Digest profiled Michael A. Evans in its April 2020 "Everyday Heroes" series after he anonymously paid a stranger's property tax bill to help her keep her home.

Reader's Digest featured Michael A. Evans in its April 2020 "Everyday Heroes" series, in a story titled "A Very Special Tax Break" by Emily Goodman. The piece described a moment at the Wayne County Treasurer's Office when Evans, waiting in line, overheard an elderly woman in tears — her home was headed for foreclosure auction after the recent loss of her daughter. Evans stepped in and covered her $5,000 tax bill, then tried to leave before anyone learned it was him.

The article traced this to a broader pattern of quiet giving: sponsoring a local youth football team's equipment, uniforms, and travel; paying funeral costs for families in need; offering free driving lessons to teens through his driving school; and organizing a fundraiser at his restaurant, Detroit Shrimp & Fish, for a local boy facing a serious bone disease.

Evans later received the Spirit of Detroit Award recognizing his history of community generosity. As he put it to the magazine, "We help people, me and my son."