Grand Rapids Business Journal 04.05.21

INSURER launches team to address disparities in health care.

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APR 5, 2021 VOL. 39, NO. 7

The Business Newspaper of Metro Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon & West Michigan

THIS WEEK

SERVICE IS HER DRIVING FORCE

Mary Muliett works to give children the best possible childhood and ensure families have a successful future.

Page 11

FloraCraft draws in the talent Foam products maker uses perks, destination marketing to draw former residents to Ludington.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

Long range Purchase-of-developmentrights program shields farmland from commercial development.

PAGE 3

ALICE assist Report shows progress is needed to help keep working people afloat.

PAGE 4

NONPROFITOPOLY Grand Rapids entrepreneur aims to raise $60K for nonprofits while promoting local businesses.

Page 7

THE LIST

The area’s top hospitals Page 9

People raised in small towns often can’t wait to leave, but a few years in the big city can make them yearn for home. A Ludington manufacturer is taking advantage of this by building a team of boomerangs.

“Boomerang” is a term used in human resources circles to refer to someone who leaves their hometown but later moves back.

Eric Erwin is president and CEO of FloraCraft, a family-owned company founded in 1946 that makes foam products for the craft and floral industries.

Its portfolio of brands includes FloraCraft Foam, Artesia, Desert Foam, Gala Boutique and Twinklets Glitter, and its products are sold at Walmart, Amazon, Michaels, JOANN Fabrics, Hobby Lobby and other major retailers

From left are FloraCraft’s Eric Erwin, president and CEO; John Nielsen, CFO; Annie O’Connor, vice president of supply chain; and Phil Gable, vice president of extrusion. Courtesy FloraCraft

in all 50 states and 17 countries.

The company grew from just over 200 employees before the pandemic to 300 in fall 2020 as it worked to catch up on the order backlog that accrued during the manufacturing shutdown. Today, it has more than 250 employees.

Erwin recently spoke to the Business Journal about the organization’s efforts to attract and

retain employees in an era when the talent shortage is on everyone’s minds — especially in manufacturing.

FloraCraft actively looks for top professionals wanting to return to Ludington, as they tend to have gained valuable experience while away but now are ready to put down roots in their hometown and be fully invested

in the company and greater Mason County.

“One of our key strategies, in terms of bringing back ‘boomerang’ people to fill key positions within our company, is something I’m very proud of,” he said.

“And I’m finding out that it also fits in with the whole ‘Zoom CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Partners launch ‘Grand Rapids X GRAM’ video series Producers plug Grand Rapids as a premier place to live for prospective residents.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

A new talent attraction video series will show off Grand Rapids as a place that has it all.

The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing to produce a six-month video series, Grand Rapids X GRAM, which will feature local leaders and residents talking about all the job opportunities, industries and lifestyle attrac-

tions the region has to offer. The series is part of the chamber’s Opportunity Awaits program in partnership with Hello West Michigan and Experience Grand Rapids.

The trailer was released last month on YouTube at bit.ly/Grand RapidsXGRAM, and the first video installment is expected to go live this week. The series will feature guests such as U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Michigan, and Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, as well as provide tours of Medical Mile innovators and West Michigan destinations.

Andy Johnston, vice president of government and corporate affairs at the Grand Rapids ChamCONTINUED ON PAGE 12

Grand Rapids Aseptic Manufacturing employees sport “peace, love and vaccine” shirts to promote the company’s work producing the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Courtesy Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing

GRBJ.COM Vol. 39, No. 7 $2.00 a copy. $59 a year © Entire contents copyright 2021 by Gemini Media. All rights reserved.

Inside Track ...... 11 Guest Columns.. 16 Great Lakes Tunnel Change-Ups ..... 20

DOCTORS stress vaccines, tout collaboration at virtual health care summit.

Calendar .......... 20 Public Record .... 21 Street Talk ...... 23

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

APR 5, 2021

3

Insurer launches team to address disparities in health care BCBSM charges group with developing strategies to focus on unconscious bias in providers.

Ehren Wynder

ewynder@grbj.com

One year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health disparities among Michiganders are even more apparent.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan launched the Office of Health and Health Care Disparities in December 2020. The cross-functional team addresses health disparities among members and develops strategies to address them and increase positive outcomes.

Bridget Hurd, vice president and chief diversity officer of BCBSM, said while the office of health and health care disparities is relatively new, the organization has had a long-term focus of addressing public health disparities in different ways. In May 2016, BCBSM established its health disparities action team, which led to the formation of this new office.

African Americans are two times more likely to have diabetes than Caucasians, for example, and are more likely to die because

of it, Hurd said. African American women also are more likely to die during childbirth.

“These are statistics that occur over and over again,” Hurd said.

“They have been around for a very long time. There are many factors and reasons that contribute to why we see these disparities, but understanding them is the first step, and then exploring the ways to address them become the second, third and fourth steps. It’s not always a direct line, because there are so many variables that contribute to it.”

The disparities BCBSM saw with COVID-19 were mainly in terms of morbidity and mortality, Hurd said. But already existing health disparities contributed to the disparities witnessed under the virus.

“If it’s a person who is diabetic or obese or has kidney disease – the places where we already see these disparities – they are more likely to have these severe outcomes,” Hurd said.

In the early months of the pandemic, 42.6% of COVID-19 cases were African Americans, who only make up 14% of Michigan’s population, according to BCBSM. Hurd said similar figures occurred among Hispanic, Latino and Native American Michiganders as well.

In terms of health coverage, the number of individuals

Members of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Community Responsibility team pack a Detroit resident’s vehicle with food and supplies at the Samaritan Center in October 2020. The event was part of a statewide effort alongside corporate and community partners to help individuals in need receive flu vaccinations. Courtesy BCBSM

who are uninsured has varied greatly because of the nature of COVID-19, Hurd said. Many individuals have repeatedly acquired and lost coverage because of job loss or because they became eligible for programs like Medicaid and Healthy Michigan. The wavering health care status of many individuals makes it hard to keep current data.

According to the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest estimates, 30.4 million Americans of all ages (9.4%) were uninsured from January through June 2020. This is lower than — but not significantly different from — 2019, where 33.2 million persons of all ages (10.3%) were uninsured.

Additionally, data from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 5.8% of Michigan’s population

was uninsured — as compared to 9.2% of the U.S. population being uninsured – in 2019.

CDC data also showed, among all adults aged 18-64, those who were poor (21.8%) and near poor (23.9%) were more likely than those who were not poor (8.8%) to be uninsured. Among adults in the same age range, Hispanic CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

Grants will preserve farmland Two farms, one each in Kent and Ottawa counties, will keep more than 200 acres from commercial developers.

Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

From left, Dr. Matt Biersack, Dr. Ronald Grifka and Dr. Joshua Kooistra speak at the Grand Rapids Chamber’s virtual Health Care Summit. Courtesy Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce

Doctors stress vaccines, tout collaboration at chamber’s virtual health care summit Ehren Wynder

ewynder@grbj.com

West Michigan’s medical professionals agree, despite warnings of more COVID-19 cases, the vaccines are working and are necessary to help the region and the country come out of the pandemic.

The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce recently held a virtual health care summit, where industry leaders discussed the future of health care and what the industry learned from the pandemic. During the summit, Andy Johnston, vice president of government affairs for the chamber, moderated a panel discussion with leaders from three health

care systems based in West Michigan.

Since the middle of March, the average number of new Kent County cases per day increased from approximately 75 to over 100, the Business Journal previously reported. The county’s positivity rate also increased to 5.4% after two months of a 4% rate.

Dr. Matt Biersack, interim president and chief medical officer at Mercy Health Saint Mary’s, said the increase in positivity is mostly among younger people, which could indicate the presence of a COVID-19 variant.

“We know there’s been a variant detected, based on testing done within the state,” Biersack said. “We know the so-called

UK or B117 variant has definitely gained traction and spreads more rapidly, and there are even studies that have shown it’s more deadly than, sort of, the ‘native virus’ we saw last year.”

As more schools open to in-person learning, and sports open up as well, medical experts are concerned about the further spread of the virus among young people, Biersack said.

The existing vaccines produced by Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson still can be effective, though. Dr. Ronald Grifka, chief medical officer of Metro Health–University of Michigan Health, said there is some differCONTINUED ON PAGE 21

Two West Michigan farms are among seven in the state that will be permanently preserved for agricultural use, courtesy of Michigan’s agricultural preservation fund grants that total $1.8

million.

The Kent County Purchase of Development Rights program will receive a $201,294 grant to purchase the development rights to 167.76 acres of land on the Kruithoff family farm later this year.

The Ottawa County Purchase of Development Rights program will receive a $157,500 grant from the state to purchase the development rights to 37 acres of land on the DeHaan Brothers centennial farm in Blendon Township.

Matthew Channing, agricultural preservation specialist for CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

The DeHaan Brothers centennial farm in Ottawa County’s Blendon Township will mark 37 acres for farm-use only.

Courtesy Julie Lamer

4

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

APR 5, 2021

ALICE report shows progress needed to help working people 2021 study includes enhanced methodology, adds Senior Survival Budget and ALICE Essentials Index.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

The 2021 ALICE Report found 38% of households still struggled to make ends meet in 2019 prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Michigan Association of United Ways (MAUW) on March 16 released its latest study on the condition of Michigan’s working families, also known as ALICE households — asset limited, income constrained, employed.

The 2021 ALICE Report found 38% of households still faced financial hardships in 2019 before COVID-19 hit, and the pandemic has only made matters worse, exposing compounded economic fragility, widespread hardship and growing disparities — particularly by race and ethnicity.

The percentage of those categorized as ALICE households remained relatively unchanged from the 39% of households identified in the previous report and significantly up from pre-recession levels — 32% in 2007 (Note: both data points have been updated using the 2021 report’s enhanced methodology).

Of Michigan’s 3,963,558 house-

2019 ALICE data Population # of households

Median household income

Unemployment rate

ALICE households

Households in poverty

Kent County

656,955

245,437

3.8% (state average: 5%)

Ottawa Muskegon Allegan

291,830 173,566 118,081

105,004 66,148 43,667

$66,532 (state average: $59,584) $69,817 $50,366 $66,278

25% (state average: 25%) 22% 31% 21%

10% (state average: 13%) 8% 12% 10%

2.8% 6.7% 2%

Source: Michigan Association of United Ways

holds, 504,237 (13%) earned below the federal poverty level in 2019, and another 1,004,047 (25%) were under the ALICE threshold.

According to a data point new to this year’s report, an additional 10% of households in Larson Michigan were on the cusp of the ALICE threshold in 2019, with 236,620 households just one income bracket away.

“By showing how many Michigan households were struggling in 2019, the 2021 ALICE Report provides the backstory for why the COVID-19 crisis is having such a devastating economic impact,” said Mike Larson, CEO of MAUW. “This data shows the ALICE population was completely unprepared to weather a storm like the

one we have faced the past year, and those we have relied on the most — essential workers — were often receiving the least.”

According to the report, 70% of infrastructure jobs in Michigan paid less than $20 an hour in 2019, and 63% of nurturers — those in health care, education and caregiving — made less than $20 an hour.

The report also found households that are Hispanic, Black and single female-headed with children are more likely to fall under the ALICE threshold by significant margins.

“Every day and especially in times of crisis, we rely Whitmer on countless essential workers to keep us going,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “These frontline heroes show up day after

day, allowing the rest of us to stay home and stay safe, but as (the) 2021 Michigan ALICE Report shows, many of them are in need of our support. We must serve all Michiganders in need, especially those who keep us all going, with initiatives that invest in their health, education and financial security. I am proud of the programs I have proposed to uplift working families like Futures for Frontliners and Michigan Reconnect and my administration’s historic investments in expanding access to child care assistance.”

The report includes enhanced methodology, including new sources for more household-specific data, to adjust to the reality of changing needs.

The ALICE Essentials Index is a newly included measure of the change over time in the costs of essential household goods and services. It can be used as a companion to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index

(CPI), which covers all goods and services that families at all income levels purchase regularly. From 2007 to 2019, the cost of household essentials (housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and technology) increased faster than the cost of other goods and services. During that same time period, the cost of living, based on the ALICE Essentials Index, has increased by 3.4% for ALICE households in comparison to the 1.8% increase in the CPI. “Consumers Energy believes it’s critical to ensure all Michigan residents have a chance to succeed,” said Carolyn Bloodworth, secretary/treasurer of the Consumers Energy Foundation. “We are proud to continue to support the development of the ALICE Report — a critical tool for providing the data and information needed for policymakers and organizations in Michigan to make CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Arrow Staffing beefs up job skills training Kentwood firm builds free program after noticing an uptick in Zoom etiquette failures and resume mistakes.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

West Michiganders who suddenly find themselves back into job-hunting mode due to COVID-19 downsizing now have a new ally in a program created

by Arrow Staffing.

The Kentwood branch of long-term staffing firm Arrow Staffing said March 23 it is now offering West Michigan residents free resume building, mock interviews and job skills training.

Many Michigan residents have unexpectedly returned to the job search over the past year due to the economic fallout of COVID-19. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Michigan in April 2020 hit 22.7%, according to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget — the highest rate since at least 1976 (as far back as comparable estimates go), likely making it an alltime high, the department said.

While the unemployment rate has since lowered to 5.7%, state officials attribute the decrease

to a reduction in the size of the workforce rather than a significant increase in new job openings, Arrow Staffing noted.

Arrow Staffing’s roots date to 1972, when Redlands Employment was launched servicing the community of Redlands, California. In 1992, the Thalmayer family purchased the personnel firm and renamed it Arrow Staffing to reflect the company’s service expansion beyond Redlands (including Riverside, Ontario, and the surrounding Inland Empire communities). In 2019, Calvin University graduates Matt and Jeff Thalmayer returned to West Michigan and opened a new location in Kentwood.

The Kentwood branch of late has noticed new trends within the workforce coinciding with COVID-19. The staffing agency was inspired to create a free job skills program due to an uptick in resume errors and interview faux pas.

“We’ve had applicants show up to Zoom Interviews with wet hair and a bathrobe on. On a less extreme end, we have many candidates with spelling errors on their resumes or low typing speeds,” said Julie Ward, regional director at Arrow Staffing.

Resume errors and Zoom etiquette might seem like minor issues to some, but those little mistakes can determine if a candidate makes it to the interview, Ward said. A study by Career-

Builder reflected the importance of a well-written resume, with 77% of hiring managers identifying typos or bad grammar as an instant deal-breaker.

Interview skills also play a significant role in hiring decisions, according to Arrow Staffing. While job-specific skills and credentials remain important, soft skills have become the deciding factor for many companies. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found 97% of employers said soft skills were either as important or more important than hard skills.

“Candidates who have spent decades in one job or in one field often struggle in the interview process. Even though they have all the experience and skills employers are looking for, they don’t know how to convey that information,” Ward said.

Arrow Staffing’s recruiters are offering free resume and cover letter reviews, as well as mock interviews, to any interested job seekers in West Michigan.

Additionally, the company has created a program for those looking to change job fields.

Industries such as hospitality and food service have experienced a disproportionate decline, making it a challenge for workers in those sectors to find equivalent work. Others have CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Arrow Staffing’s recruiters are offering free resume and cover letter reviews, as well as mock interviews, to any interested job seekers in West Michigan. Courtesy Arrow Staffing

Jeff, left, and Matt Thalmayer opened a Kentwood location of Arrow Staffing in 2019. Courtesy Arrow Staffing

Working together to create

jobs for our community At Bank of America, we continue to invest in our local communities to help create jobs and fuel economic opportunity.

We’re doing this by collaborating with other companies, identifying needs and working with skill-building partners.

This effort also includes our recent $25 million investment in 21 higher education institutions including community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions.

Our shared focus is on education, reskilling and up-skilling to build a pipeline of talent — and on increased commitment to hiring by major employers across the country.

Here in Grand Rapids, my teammates and I are excited to be a part of creating more opportunities for members of our community.

What would you like the power to do?®

We’re supporting local organizations that are expanding access to skill-building programs and resources, including: • Women’s Resource Center • Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women • West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Renee Tabben Grand Rapids Market President

To learn more, please visit bankofamerica.com/community Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Credit Opportunity Lender. © 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

6

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

APR 5, 2021

FloraCraft draws in the talent CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Town’ phenomenon that’s happening across America, as well — that people are finding the area that they really want to live in and returning to their hometowns to raise children and families, even if they still have a job somewhere else. Ludington is becoming a popular site for people to return to, and FloraCraft has been a really cool company (that) built some of our top leadership from the local people that grew up here, went away, then returned years later to help us continue to grow.”

Erwin said most of FloraCraft’s marketing is through word-of-mouth, as boomerangs tell their schoolmates and friends about moving back, and those people decide to relocate, too. But the company also works closely with the Ludington and Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce to help tell the region’s story — about the beauty of northwest Michigan, with its scenery, hunting, hiking and biking trails, beaches, golf courses and more.

Erwin acknowledged it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for Ludington, which like many cities across the U.S. is struggling with the affordable housing and child care shortages. Even so, FloraCraft has been successful drawing boomerangs home. Erwin

is hopeful the new elementary school that’s under construction and a tight-knit community that cares about friendships, family and public safety will continue to win folks over.

For FloraCraft, the return-to-Ludington trend began decades ago, with owner and chair Lee Schoenherr (pronounced “Shaner”).

Schoenherr, a Ludington native, worked for his uncle as a teenager in the 1940s at what was then known as The Foliage Company of America. After finishing high school, Schoenherr enlisted in the U.S. Army before going to work at a variety of positions on the East Coast and in Ohio. Eventually, the call of Ludington beckoned, and he ended up buying his uncle’s company in 1974 and renaming it FloraCraft. As it turned out, many of his future employees would take a similar path back to their hometown.

John Nielsen, for example, grew up watching the sunset nearly every day at Ludington State Park with his family. Nielsen spent more than 20 years working in finance in the Grand Rapids and Detroit areas before coming back to his hometown in 2020 as FloraCraft’s CFO — allowing him to once again visit the park at sunset and relive those warm childhood memories.

“I didn’t realize the impact (Lake Michigan) had on me until I left,” he said. “I’ve always found Ludington’s beauty so calming, which was a major reason I came back.”

Phil Gable, vice president of extrusion, previously worked in the U.S. Army Materiel Command, making stops in Texas, Arizona and southeast Michigan before moving back to Ludington in 2014 to take a leadership role with FloraCraft.

“I wanted my kids to have the same quality of life my wife and I had growing up,” Gable said. “I have an even greater appreciation for this close-knit community now, after living in other areas around the country.”

Annie O’Connor, vice president of supply chain, was set on going to college and never coming back after graduation. While home one summer, she took an internship with FloraCraft. Nearly 20 years later, she’s still with the company, and every position she has held has been created just for her.

“Having Ludington natives on our team only makes us stronger as an organization,” O’Connor said.

Her husband of nearly five years also works at the company.

“We know the community, have a strong desire to immerse ourselves in it and want to see local businesses thrive,” she said.

Erwin said it’s people like these who make FloraCraft and the region better for everyone.

“I’m constantly amazed at the talent, compassion, empathy and teamwork of our people,” he said.

“Having worked in bigger cities,

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you don’t always see that. They know the culture and want to see the community grow. Having this pipeline of local talent returning home just adds more value to our team. It truly is our homegrown talent who has been crucial to our success over the years.

“We’ve created a culture with a heavy focus on taking care of our team members that is getting noticed more when hiring, especially from the Ludington natives. From ‘the gift’ to investing more in employee growth and leadership development, we’ve shown we want to retain and grow employees from within as much as we can. People want to be a part of that.”

“The gift” he refers to is when Schoenherr announced he would be giving over $3.5 million — 25% in cash bonuses and 75% in retirement contributions — to all employees except senior management the week before Christmas 2018.

“A few years ago, I began thinking that I would like to do something more targeted for our employees, who really are the heart and soul of FloraCraft,” Schoenherr said at the time in a Business Journal report. “This idea has developed over the past year and is my way of saying ‘thank you’ to our team for the role they have had in our success.”

The gift amounts were made based on length of service with the company, with 45-year employees receiving nearly $75,000 and the average award amount equaling about $20,000. “(The story) blew up all over the internet. It’s really made Ludington a famous little town worldwide,” Erwin said.

But a one-time deal like that is not the only way FloraCraft takes care of its employees and draws in new ones. Erwin said it creates personalized professional development plans for its employees and future leaders, which could include training focusing on the transition from management to leadership through the FloraCraft Academy; online graduate classes at universities; membership in trade organizations like the National Association of Man-

ufacturers, with its roundtables and resources; paid travel and networking opportunities; annual assessments; succession planning; and more.

“We’re always learning, we’re always staying aware of what is changing our industry so we don’t become so isolated up here in a small town in northwestern Michigan (and) so we know what are the best practices of some of the more innovative companies across the country,” Erwin said.

“And we want to make sure that we’ve got the best executives running the business at every single level. There’s a very strong handful of what we call high-potential leaders/future leaders, and all of those people have got development plans that help direct their career. … But we believe education and development is an absolutely strategic imperative to the whole business, not just for our returning boomerangs, our future leaders or our executive team.”

Erwin said the payoff shows up in FloraCraft’s retention numbers, which are “astronomical” in terms of employee tenure and low turnover.

“More important than that, for three years in a row, we’ve done an employee engagement survey to measure exactly how our employees feel about the work they do, about the people they work with, or about the leaders (who) are entrusted with their work, and we have increased our scores every year for the last three years and are significantly above both the national averages and also Michigan averages of companies that are so assessed. I feel very good that we are doing the right thing in terms of meeting the expectations of our employees.

“This is a small company acting more like a big company when it comes to our employees and how we think about them, and I know we’re well respected in the community and also in western Michigan, and of course, my primary goal is to be the employer of choice for anyone in Mason County who wants to have a great job.”

More information about the company is at floracraft.com.

Arrow Staffing beefs up job skills training CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

purposefully left those industries, hoping to find remote employment in other industries.

“We’ve had an influx of candidates looking for clerical or administrative positions. Foodservice and retail candidates can really excel at this type of work due to their task management and customer relation experience. Unfortunately, there is a barrier to entry when it comes to typing and software skills,” Ward said.

Arrow Staffing offers a professional typing training program, as well as a Microsoft Office training program for job seekers looking to transition to clerical work. Candidates are not required to seek work through Ar-

row to access these programs.

“Because the company is new in Grand Rapids, not many people are aware of our reputation.

We wanted to offer our resources to show the commitment we have to improving people’s lives through job opportunities,” said owner Jeff Thalmayer.

Applicants interested in job opportunities with Arrow Staffing can apply online at arrowstaffing.com or call (616) 6000625 for more information.

Arrow Staffing also is looking to build relationships with employers that need employees with the skills obtained through training. Interested employers can contact Spencer Thalmayer at sthalmayer@arrowstaffing. com to learn more about the skilled employee program.

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

APR 5, 2021

7

Animation creative producing ‘Nonprofitopoly’ board game Grand Rapids entrepreneur aims to raise $60K for nonprofits while promoting local businesses.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

The owner of a local animation studio is putting a utilitarian twist on Monopoly.

Michael Lynn is founder, owner and producer of Michael Lynn Animation Studio, which the Business Journal featured in 2018. He is now working on a board game modeled after Monopoly, called Nonprofitopoly.

Of late, Lynn has been working with the business Lynn training program SpringGR, mentoring emerging startup founders and making animated videos for young businesses, and he said he has developed a passion for helping local small businesses. Lynn also has done pro bono animation projects for nonprofit clients in the past. He said he recognizes the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on businesses and charities alike, and he wants to help.

“I woke up at 5 a.m. one morning and I thought, ‘You know what would be really cool?

To make a board game that supported local nonprofits and gave all the money to charity.’ That is literally the story of how it happened,” he said.

He said as a commercial animator, he is always looking for entertaining ways to advertise, and in the past, he has worked on game design as a side hustle.

Although this is by no means the first Monopoly spinoff with a fundraising focus, nor is it the first game set in Grand Rapids, Lynn said Nonprofitopoly will be unique in its mission of benefiting Grand Rapids-based nonprofits while also promoting locally based businesses.

GAME DESIGN Nonprofitopoly is currently in production with a team of illustrators and Lynn as the project manager.

Instead of the usual Monopoly spots such Park Place and Boardwalk, local sponsoring businesses will populate the landing spaces, which will pay for the game production costs of $45,000 for a print run of 3,000 games.

Not all of the design decisions have been made, but Lynn’s vision is that the game will include QR codes for the businesses — either printed on the spaces or listed on the movement, trivia and property cards — in order to let game players know more about each advertised company.

All of the tokens will be diecut, wood-style pieces mounted on a black stand instead of the trademark pewter pieces that come with Monopoly, “to add more of a local feel.” Buyers of

ALICE report shows progress needed to help working people CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

informed decisions impacting our most vulnerable populations.

Together, we can create sustainable communities that are able to thrive well into the future.”

The Senior Survival Budget, another new data point, more accurately represents household costs for people age 65 and over, inBloodworth cluding housing, technology, transportation, food and health insurance premiums. The average ALICE Household Survival Budget in Michigan was $23,400 for a single adult, $26,244 for a single senior and $64,116 for a family of four in 2019 — significantly more than the federal poverty level of $12,490 for a single adult and $25,750 for a family of four.

The report concludes with an analysis of the economic benefits if all households had income

above the ALICE threshold — an estimated $98 billion added to the Michigan GDP. “We have the information we need to improve the lives of Michigan residents. Now it’s time to do the hard work of improving outcomes for ALICE,” Larson said.

Every two years, United for ALICE undertakes a full review of the ALICE methodology to ensure the results are transparent, replicable and current in order to accurately reflect how much income families need to live and work in the modern economy.

The addition of new data sources included in this year’s report resulted in a slight shift in the report methodology. As a result, updates to previous years’ data are included in this report to allow for an accurate year-over-year comparison.

In 2019, more than 40 external experts — drawn from the Research Advisory Committees across the United for ALICE partner states — participated in the review process.

A full description of the methodology and sources is available at unitedforalice.org/methodology.

the game can choose to sponsor a custom token in their image, or they can stick with the default pieces.

Lynn has made several design changes to make the game easier and shorter — noting the biggest complaint with Monopoly is typically, “I don’t have three hours to play a game.” People will be able to play Nonprofitopoly in 30, 60 or 90 minutes. Instead of rolling dice to move forward, players will draw movement cards that include the number of spaces to advance, with the name of a sponsoring business and its QR code on the lower half of the card.

Unlike Monopoly, the game’s objective is not to put competitors out of business, but to pay off a $20,000 tax bill. Players will be able to do this by earning cash or by donating properties to nonprofits and getting double their value as a tax deduction.

Instead of the jail-related and free parking spaces at the corners of the Monopoly board, those spaces will be occupied by local nonprofits, which will start out the game holding all the property cards divided among them. When a player lands on a property space that’s not on a nonprofit corner, they can still buy the property, but landing on a nonprofit corner lets players buy any of the seven or so prop-

The board game resembles the original offering but has new rules and features local businesses and nonprofits. Courtesy Michael Lynn

erties the nonprofit holds.

Lynn said he is intentionally not the middleman for Nonprofitopoly purchases. In order to obtain a copy of the game, people will need to select a nonprofit from a dropdown list that will be on nonprofitopoly.com, navigate to that nonprofit’s website, donate $30 to claim their code and use the code on the Nonprofitopoly website to order the game.

He said his conservative goal

is to sell 2,000 games to raise $60,000 for nonprofits.

At this point, he and his team are building a list of nonprofits the game will benefit, and they hope it will be quite a long one.

Later this month (April), they are going to ramp up their recruitment of sponsoring businesses.

Their goal is to send the game to the printer, Battle Creek-based Delano Games, by May. More information about the game is at nonprofitopoly.com.

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8

APR 5, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

Hobby turns into business for entrepreneur Ivana Rivera made vegan products for her own skin issues before discovering SpringGR. Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

What started out as simply making vegan products for her own skin issues is now a full-fledged business for Ivana Rivera.

She is the founder and owner of Koki, which makes skin care products for hair, body and face.

Rivera started her business in 2017 after encountering a series of health issues, including a breakout of rashes on her chest, face and arms, and inflammation in her knuckles and knees that left her with more questions than answers after doctor visits.

“I began experiencing health issues about nine to 10 years ago and doctors left me undiagnosed but wanted to prescribe me immune suppressants that would most likely cause my other organs to fail,” she said. “I was immensely scared and lost at that point, so I basically did my own research and it led me to understand the dangers of conventional skin care products and the food that I was eating, my diet.”

Rivera began making her own vegan skin care products such as

toothpaste, body lotion and deodorant from different ingredients, some of which she bought from fair trade sites such as coco butter, shea butter, coconut oil and other oils. Other ingredients are grown in her own backyard, including lavender, comfrey, chamomile, calendula, sage, hyssop and marigold, among other fruits, herbs and flowers.

Rivera is the sole crafter of her products. She spent the first year of her business testing her products and trying them on family and friends who were willing to help.

“It is a trial-and-error process (when making the products),” she said. “I do a lot of testing beforehand. My testing process is, I need to test it for at least six months before actually selling it. I create the initial recipe (and sometimes I think) the scent is not right; I don’t like the combination of it, or the herbs and flowers didn’t fuse right with the water or whatever I was using. I just figure out what works, and it takes time. I love it because when I actually get the right (recipe) I am like, ‘OK, this works, this is right and that’s it, I am selling it.’ It takes a lot of time, but I love it. I just have my own little creative ways of doing things and it is working.”

The New York native now offers a product lineup that includes lip glosses, perfumes, oils,

Ivana Rivera attended SpringGR courses to learn about finances, marketing, taglines and other business essentials, after which Koki really took off. Courtesy Cherith Hope Photography

soaps, toner, butter, serums, bug repellents, deodorants, pastes and hand sanitizers.

Although Rivera started her business in 2017, she wanted to know more about the business world, so in 2018 she attended SpringGR’s eight-week business course where she learned about finances, marketing, taglines and other business essentials.

“I really thought my business was just a hobby, but when I went to the business classes … I realized that my business is my baby,” she said. “It evolved into something bigger and something greater and I just continued going. SpringGR offered a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful business course. I met

so many people, so many entrepreneurs.”

Prior to COVID-19, Rivera said she went to several craft fairs, vendor shows, expos and pop-up markets to showcase and sell her products.

“Usually when I am at a vendor show or pop-up market and I actually see the customer’s skin, I can see what kind of products to use,” she said. “If there is a teenage boy or girl with intense hormonal acne, usually you just want to treat the skin nicely — no harsh chemicals. I usually ask them to wash their face with a good cleanser, toner and definitely moisturize it.

“It is always rewarding when

you get that new customer or returning customer and they tell you, ‘Oh, my gosh, your products are great and I came back for more.’ I love speaking to the customers face to face. I love it because they get to know me and they get to really understand what I do.”

Although the pandemic has put a halt to large indoor events, Rivera was one of the 68 entrepreneurs who received Start Garden’s 100 Comeback Fund. The nonprofit awarded the recipients a total of more than $300,000.

Rivera sells her products on her website, koki.life, and also at several locations in Grand Rapids, Grand Haven and Stanton.

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

THE LIST

APR 5, 2021

9

Metro Health recovery program limits hospitalizations COVID-19 patients who meet certain guidelines are being sent home to recover.

Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

COVID-19 vaccines are a welcome sight as people across the country are flocking to get their shots.

Nevertheless, not everyone can take that giant leap forward quite yet, as individuals and families still are struggling with the virus, which has caused a strain on health care systems throughout the region.

To ease one of its burdens, Metro Health–University of Michigan Health is reducing COVID-19 patients’ hospital stays through its new 24/7 home-monitoring program.

Dr. Lance Owens, chief medical information officer for Metro Health–University of Michigan Health, said 70 patients have been discharged from the program since it began in mid-November when Michigan was experiencing its second surge and there are currently four patients enrolled in the program. As a result, Owens said Metro has eliminated approximately 730 in-patient days.

“During the second surge, the death rate was going down although the hospitalization rate was going up,” Owens said. “The

hospitalization length of stay was going up. The system was being overtaxed. The hospitals were full, the ICUs were full and that was everyone here in town.

We were struggling to the point where we were having serious issues with staffing and deciding where patients were going to go.

All of the hospitals in town were discussing large-scale convalescent units, setting up field hospitals in the DeVos Place, warehouses and things like that. There were challenges in different ways and that was when we came up with the idea of getting a certain number of patients out of the hospital to free up beds in the hospital. Not only were the beds full of COVID patients, but we couldn’t do things like elective surgeries because we couldn’t admit the patients in the hospital and watch them afterward. It kind of paralyzed the entire system. We did have to ration care there a little bit.”

The program allows COVID-19 patients who are cleared by the Metro Health Advance Practice Provider (APP) team, which is made up of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, to begin home recovery with frequent virtual check-ins with the medical staff at the hospital.

Owens said before COVID-19 patients can enroll in the program they have to be off steroids and antibiotics, have their oxygen levels checked and have proper support at home.

Metro officials say studies have shown people who are able to convalesce at home recover faster. Courtesy Health Recovery Solutions

Once they’re deemed ready, Metro Health, in partnership with Health Recovery Solutions, equips patients with an internet-connected tablet and Bluetooth-synched peripherals: a thermometer, a blood pressure cuff, a pulse oximeter and a scale to take home. The technology is provided by Health Recovery Solutions, which provides telehealth and remote patient-monitoring solutions.

“Everything is run through the tablet,” Owens said. “On the tablet is their information, their

medications, reminders to take their medications and there are a few surveys. We ask the patients to take daily surveys based on how they are feeling, and it puts them in a certain zone based on their symptoms. We ask them to take their daily weight, their blood pressure twice per day and their pulse ox at least once a day. All that information is Bluetooth-connected to the tablet so when the patient takes all these vitals it gets recorded into the tablet, which almost immediately gets sent to our portal. We have

a remote monitoring system that we use to watch the patient and we can see what vitals they’ve entered.

Metro Health patients use the equipment for an average of 10 days. Once they’ve recovered and are done using the equipment, FedEx picks it up and sends it to a processing center where it gets sanitized and repackaged for use again.

“What we are noticing is that patients love this program,” Owens said. “If you have COVID under current guidelines and you are in a hospital room, you are usually by yourself because you can’t have visitors because you have COVID, you can’t clean your room because you have COVID, you are basically left to your own devices and whatever entertainment you have, i.e., your TV or iPad, and that is it. That is all you have.

“People can bring you food, but it is almost like a prison cell,” he said. “The nurses and physicians obviously take care of you, but you can’t have family around so the COVID recovery plan allows those patients to go home.

They can sleep in their own bed, they can drink their own water, they can eat their own food, they can have family around appropriately with social distancing, masking and things like that.”

Owens said studies have shown patients in general are apt to recover better in a home environment.

Top Area Hospitals (RANKED BY 2020 NET PATIENT REVENUE) Top administrator

2020 2019 net patient revenue

Safety awards

2020 2020 Licensed bed occupancy of total revenue capacity beds

No. of inpatient days

No. of employees (fulltime equivalent) Specialties and services

1

*Spectrum Health System 100 Michigan St. NE Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 391-1382 f 391-3822 spectrumhealth.org

Tina Freese Decker

$3.17B $3.2B

$8.18B

2,522

63%

577,473

26,090

Level 1 trauma center, cancer services, continuing care, digestive disease, heart and vascular, neurosciences, orthopedics, outpatient services, children's hospital, rehabilitation, transplant, women's health, North Flight Aero Med

2

Mercy Health Muskegon 1500 E. Sherman Blvd.

Muskegon 49444 p (231) 672-2000 mercyhealth.com

Gary Allore

$558.93M $608.62M

$673.88M

409

52%

77,445

4,594

Heart and vascular, oncology, women's health, orthopedic, bariatric, imaging, primary care network, emergency, rehabilitation, nephrology, urology, teaching hospital

3

Mercy Health Saint Mary's 200 Jefferson Ave. SE Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 685-5000 mercyhealth.com

Matthew Biersack

$540.7M $593.8M

$771.6M

275

69%

74,000

3,326

Heart and vascular, oncology, women's health, orthopedic, bariatric, imaging, primary care network, emergency, rehabilitation, nephrology, urology, teaching hospital

4

Metro Health – University of Michigan Health 5900 Byron Center Ave. SW Wyoming 49519 p (616) 252-7200 metrohealth.net

Peter Hahn

$439.19M $440.6M

$488.82M

208

50%

39,483

3,065

General acute care, intensive care, surgery, emergent angioplasty-stent, cardiology, cancer services, emergency department, childbirth, assisted breathing center, neurosciences, MRI, CT scan, rehabilitation, radiology, primary and specialty care physician offices

5

Holland Hospital 602 Michigan Ave. Holland 49423 p (616) 392-5141 hollandhospital.org

6

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services 300 68th St. SE Grand Rapids 49548 p (616) 455-5000 f 222-4546 pinerest.org

7

Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital 235 Wealthy St. SE Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 840-8000 f 840-9767 maryfreebed.com

Dale Sowders

$233.23M $234.58M

$258.29M

189

69%

33,617

1,400

Full range of inpatient, outpatient, primary and specialty care

Mark Eastburg, Ph.D. Bob Nykamp Alan Armstrong Paul Karsten

$140.87M $138.01M

$162.9M

238

79%

57,311

1,519

Behavioral health services in inpatient and partial hospitalization, psychiatric urgent care, residential and outpatient services, addiction residential treatment and recovery, extensive child and adolescent programs, senior care services, specialized assessment and treatment clinics, perinatal mood and anxiety disorder services with unique partial hospitalization program for mothers and babies

Kent Riddle

$104.14M $101.5M

$143.8M

119

85%

37,031

1,240

Exclusive focus on rehabilitation, including acute, sub-acute and outpatient, for adults and children with brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple trauma, amputation, cancer and other diagnoses; orthotics, prosthetics and bionics, aquatic therapy, motion analysis, assistive technology, wheelchair and adaptive sports on-site

The Grand Rapids Business Journal's list of top area hospitals, ranked by 2020 net patient revenue, is the most comprehensive available. The Business Journal surveyed 25 hospitals; 7 returned surveys and 7 are listed. To be considered for future lists, email dnelson@grbj.com. DND = did not disclose. *Fiscal year 2020.

Spectrum Health Big Rapids, Spectrum Health United Hospital and Spectrum Health Zeeland Community were three of the recipients of the 2021 Economic Alliance for Michigan Hospital Patient Safety Awards.

Outpatient facility Mercy Health opened a new facility in Norton Shores that offers primary care, lab services and rehabilitation services, among other things.

ListStore

@ GRBJ.com

Download this list now at GRBJ.com in Excel or PDF format.

The Book of Lists and other lists are also available.

10

APR 5, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

First month of internet gaming and sports betting receipts near $90M State reports almost $302M was wagered during that timeframe.

Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

Internet gaming and sports betting have been legal in Michigan since the end of January. Courtesy Grand Traverse Resort & Casinos

Michigan’s internet gaming and sports betting operators reported $89.2 million in gross receipts for

February, their first full month of operation.

Their internet gaming gross receipts totaled $79.7 million and internet sports betting operators received $9.5 million in total gross sports betting receipts and reported a total handle of $301.9 million during that period, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

“Michigan residents and vis-

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itors continued to show strong interest in internet gaming and sports betting during a snowy and cold February,” said Richard S. Kalm, Michigan Gaming Control Board executive director. “The internet gaming taxes more than tripled, but that’s what we expected with a full month of gaming. This means more funding for the city of Detroit, K-12 education, economic development and tribal communities.”

Most internet gaming operators began their operations on Jan. 22, including MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Hannahville Indian Community, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians began its internet gaming operation on Jan. 29, Greektown Casino started on Feb. 1 and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians started on Feb 15.

The three operators that brought in the highest internet gaming gross receipts in January were MGM Grand Detroit, $11,075,980.37; Bay Mills Indian Community, $6,922,607.06; and MotorCity Casino, $6,633,734.86.

The top three internet gaming gross receipts in February were from MGM Grand Detroit, $26,912,267.71; MotorCity Casino, $16,574,979.13; and Bay Mills Indian Community, $14,467,033.05 MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, Greektown Casino, Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Hannahville Indian Community, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and Sault Ste. Marine Tribe of Chippewa Indians began their internet sports betting operation on Jan. 22.

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians began its internet sports betting operation on Jan. 29 and Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians began its operation on Feb. 15.

The operators with the largest gross sports betting receipts in January were MGM Grand Detroit, $5,096,934.43; Bay Mills Indian Community, $3,377,189.27; and Greektown Casino, $3,330,772.36.

The top three operators with the largest gross sports betting receipts in February were MGM Grand Detroit, $5,317,545.75; Greektown Casino, $1,894,529.33; and Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, $1,105,629.36.

Some operators had negative gross sports betting receipts in February, including Bay Mills Indian Community, -$161,495.79; MotorCity Casino, -$78,888.64; and Hannahville Indian Community; -$18,097.71.

The operators reported $14.1 million in taxes and payments to the state for February. The internet gaming taxes/payments were CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

INSIDE TRACK

APR 5, 2021

11

Service is her driving force Mary Muliett works to give children the best possible childhood and ensure families have a successful future.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

M

ary Muliett may have taken a roundabout path into social work, but looking back on her early years, she realizes she was always drawn to working with children and families.

Muliett stepped into the role of president and CEO of the Grand Rapids-based social services nonprofit D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s (DABSJ) in December, bringing to the table 23 years of experience in the health and human services sector.

A native of metro Detroit, Muliett was born to loving parents who she said would have had more children if they were able. Her mother poured herself into raising Muliett and working as a special education teacher — then later a director and a principal — for children with developmental and cognitive disabilities. Muliett spent much of her time after daycare and school in the classroom with her mother, learning from her and absorbing her love of children and families.

“Unfortunately, she passed away unexpectedly years ago, but I learned so much about being a leader from her selflessness,” Muliett said. “Everything she did every day was just looking at what do others need, and I think that’s really the servant-leadership model that I embraced. I’m here to support everyone else. That’s really my job. … (Mom) just always lived down to earth and supporting everybody around her, family and work-wise, so if I could ever be the leader that my mom was, I will have obtained my life goal.”

During high school, Muliett expressed her love for people and animals through her earliest jobs — serving frozen yogurt at TCBY, being a nanny/babysitter, and giving horseback riding lessons and working at horse camps. Muliett began riding at the age of 6 and considered becoming a veterinarian until she started taking science classes and realized it wasn’t her thing.

Muliett’s father was an artist who sculpted clay models of the exterior of cars for General Motors’ Technical Center. Over the years, he moved into supervisory and leadership roles at GM. Muliett said she inherited his creativity and love of art, which is part of what led her to study art education at Western Michigan University. She said she is grateful for the example and support of her parents.

“I had an amazing, supportive upbringing, and I think that’s the thing that motivates me is supporting kids and families so that they can have the best possible childhood and families can have the most support to be successful and to be able to support their kids and keep their families intact. That’s really been my driving force in the work with kids and families.”

Instead of attending her father’s alma mater, Wayne State University, or another east side university, Muliett said she chose Western Michigan University after visiting and falling in love with the “green space” and vibrant diversity of the Kalamazoo/West Michigan area, as compared to the concrete jungle that is metro Detroit.

While a first-year student in Western’s art education program in 1997, Muliett got a part-time job at Family & Children Services in Kalamazoo, where she worked with kids with severe emotional disabilities (SED).

“The supervisor for that program asked me to stay on when I graduated (in 2001) and build out an art program for youth that were struggling being in general community environments. They just hadn’t built enough skills to know how to navigate all the things (like loud noises or people walking by). … For our kids, that was just triggering, and they were really struggling. We wanted to create kind of a middle option for our kids who were really struggling with going out bowling in the community, for example.”

Muliett was given a budget and built the art program from the ground up with the goal of helping children with SED be able to nav-

MARY MULIETT Organization: D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s Position: President and CEO Age: 43 Birthplace: Dearborn Residence: Battle Creek Family: Partner in Battle Creek; extended family on both sides of the state Community/Business Involvement: Advisory board member, Beer City Dog Biscuits; board member, Michigan Federation for Children and Families Biggest Career Break: Landing the job at D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s; having the opportunity to build an art program for children with severe emotional disabilities at Family & Children Services in Kalamazoo, which set her on the path of earning a social work technician license and pursuing a Master of Social Work degree to follow her bachelor’s degree in art education

D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s hired Mary Muliett as president and CEO in December. Courtesy Allyssa Murphy

igate sensory issues and re-enter the full community.

“It was wildly successful,” she said. “The organization, years back, last time I checked, still was running that part of their program because it was so helpful for kids who are struggling out in general community settings.”

Muliett found working with children more rewarding than the art education aspect of it, which led to her continuing in the field of social work, earning her social work technician’s license — an accreditation that no longer exists but which she earned on the job with supervision.

In 2002 and 2003, she was program director for the Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center in Augusta, which melded all of her passions — horses and students and adults with disabilities. While there, she found herself craving more clinical experience. She accepted a position that opened up at Kalamazoo Community Mental Health (now called Integrated Services of Kalamazoo) and worked there until 2005, at which point she decided it was time for further education.

That fall, she enrolled at Western in the MSW program and thereafter earned her Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) credential.

Muliett then returned to Family & Children Services as a homebased therapist, was team leader at Calhoun County Juvenile Home, and from 2008-20 held increasing roles of responsibility at the nonprofit Samaritas, most recently as vice president of community services, overseeing a $13 million budget, 12 programs and supporting almost 400 employees across

40 sites in Michigan that served 6,000 individuals and families.

Muliett said she owes a lot of her growth and leadership development to Samaritas, where supervisors, colleagues and friends mentored, supported and encouraged her for well over a decade, as well as to some of the earlier nonprofit organizations she worked for.

She recalls fondly moments of deep personal and professional fulfillment, such as when a nonverbal child she was working with for months and months finally began to speak, or when leaders she coached and worked alongside stepped into higher roles of responsibility and started advocating for systems change, or when families she was serving hit small milestones that led to big family impact.

Muliett said she is honored and thrilled to have been hired as the top leader for DABSJ. “This organization is so strong, with such heart, and so many people that work here just have an amazing passion for our mission for kids and families. It’s a really cool place to land at this point. I just am so excited to be here.”

She said she views some of her natural leadership strengths as authenticity and transparency and encourages others on her team to strive for that as well, to build a better organization.

Looking ahead, Muliett is planning to continue to position DABSJ for growth in the areas of family preservation and behavioral health alongside child welfare services, foster care, adoption and temporary residential care.

“We do believe kids do best at home with their family — when they can be safe — and so if we can be a service provider that supports a family so that their children can remain home with them and just get them back on their feet, that’s what we want to see happen,” she said.

This year, DABSJ will be breaking ground on a new building that will allow the organization to consolidate all of its operations into its Knapp Street campus and close and sell its Leonard Street campus.

A $10 million capital campaign, Together for Kids, launched in 2019 to support that effort.

Also on Muliett’s priority list is strengthening the organization’s focus on building equitable systems, procedures and processes to shape a more diverse and inclusive workforce to better celebrate and meet the needs of the diverse children and families the organization serves. DABSJ is currently in the midst of launching a three-month DEI assessment process with the Alliance for Strong Families & Communities, which will lead into a 12-month DEI development plan with the alliance to create positive systems change.

“I really do think we have a strong continuum of care for kids and families in the West Michigan community, and this organization exists, from way back when, our history is ‘existing to meet community needs,’ and that’s continually what we’re looking at today, is what needs are in the West Michigan community for kids and families, and how can D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s support those needs in the community.”

12

APR 5, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

Partners launch ‘Grand Rapids X GRAM’ video series CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ber, and Chelsea Keeton, marketing manager at Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing, recently spoke to the Business Journal about the partnership.

Keeton said from GRAM’s perspective, the video series is about continuing to attract quality talent to Grand Rapids by celebrating the booming life sciences industry in Grand Rapids and West Michigan, as well as the many other benefits of living here.

She said after moving from the east side of the state and joining GRAM just under two years ago, she was surprised by how many local people were ignorant of the company and its mission to make lifesaving, injectable drug products. At the same time, people she spoke to at trade shows knew very little about Grand Rapids and had all sorts of questions. She began doing presentations on why GRAM chose Grand Rapids and is staying here rather than relocating to the East Coast or West Coast, which have larger biotech clusters.

Keeton felt there was a better way to showcase the region and its life sciences industry than one-

Grants will preserve farmland CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Kent County, said once the development rights are purchased, landowners still can use their land for different agricultural uses such as building a barn for animals or building houses for farmworkers.

“We just have to make sure that

off conversations, so when she found out about the Opportunity Awaits initiative, she felt it was the perfect fit.

“It’s just so cool that we can collaborate with the chamber to connect ourselves with more local businesses and more local people and just get our name out there more and work together,” she said. “We’ve done a lot with the city of Grand Rapids and different organizations within Grand Rapids, but this is a new take on it that we’re really excited about … especially since we’re manufacturing the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, and people don’t understand that that’s happening in Grand Rapids, in their hometown.”

Keeton said GRAM is hoping to show clients across the U.S. and Europe “what Grand Rapids is made of” and the factors that led to GRAM landing on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing businesses for four of the 11 years it has existed, which could lead to new business development opportunities.

She said GRAM also wouldn’t mind persuading talented individuals to consider the company for their next career move. GRAM

has hired about 125 people in the past year and currently has about 75 openings in quality assurance, manufacturing, management and more. While she said the company has done quite well sourcing talent from within Grand Rapids so far due to the plethora of universities and research institutions here, she thinks the video series will do a good job of educating professionals from outside the region that GRAM is not an island; it’s part of a burgeoning health and life sciences scene, with many different opportunities.

Johnston said the Opportunity Awaits project was born during the pandemic as the chamber watched the “Zoom Town” trend of people moving out of high-density, high-cost urban areas to smaller communities with more natural resources.

“If you can work from anywhere, why not in beautiful West Michigan? We’re that mid-sized city that has the urban amenities that we all want, but also enough room to be outside and alive and still have great affordability and value,” he said. “We thought … this was an opportunity to get our existing business community and those living here in West Mich-

igan to own this message and reach out to people who may have left for the East or West coasts or another city to say, ‘Hey, this is a great opportunity to come back home.’”

While the housing market here is still “incredibly hot” and Grand Rapids has many problems just like any other city, Johnston said the region is collaboratively working to address those issues.

He said the Grand Rapids X GRAM video series will provide compelling visual content that people can share with nonresident friends and family to convince them to come to Michigan and be part of the vibrancy and economic growth here.

“No matter what industries they may work in, we think there’s a place for them in West Michigan,” Johnston said. “We want to share those stories of others that have made the move.”

He pointed to examples like the city’s new director of communications, David Green, an Austin, Texas, resident who chose West Michigan not just for his new job, but because he and his wife were eager to live here. Additionally, Katie Doyen is the chamber’s new government affairs coordinator

who moved home to Michigan after living in Denver for two years.

Originally from the east side of the state, she had vacationed in Grand Rapids before, but then her career took her to Colorado.

While she loved the Rocky Mountains, ultimately the community, culture, “fantastic Midwest vibes” and beauty of the lakeshore pulled her to West Michigan, as she said in an Opportunity Awaits blog post.

Johnston said stories like these are popping up all the time.

“I think we found out if you’re going to ride out the apocalypse, this isn’t the worst place to do it,” he said. “The pandemic has caused folks to reevaluate what’s important, what they’re grateful for, what assets we have or maybe that we need, and I think this campaign really was born out of that and the opportunity we see to leverage how we’re going to be positioned really well for success.”

More about the Opportunity Awaits initiative is at opportunityawaitswm.com, and the Grand Rapids X GRAM video series will be available to view at grandriv erasepticmfg.com/grandrapids xgram.

it does not permanently erode the land and remove any future agricultural uses that might not be happening now,” he said.

The Kruithoff family farm has been in Timothy Kruithoff’s family for 51 years. They have farms that spread across four counties, including Kent, Ottawa, Newaygo and Muskegon. The family raises about 18,000 hogs and between 300-400 cattle per year. They grow crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa.

Christine, Timothy Kruithoff’s wife, said the family wants to preserve their multigenerational farmland because of their two sons who farm with them and their five grandchildren, to ensure that the land remains farmland and also to re-invest in farming.

“To us, it is a preservation of our farm, but it is also the preservation of farmland in our area,” she said. “We are a little bit north of Grand Rapids and we are starting to get more people toward our area and farmlands are starting to turn into developments and different things. We want the farmland that we currently own to stay farmland.”

Last year, the family preserved 148 acres of land in Ottawa County, and in 2012, Christine’s inlaws, Rose and Wilson Kruithoff, preserved 212 acres of farmland adjacent to the land that Christine and her husband plan to preserve this year.

Becky Huttenga, economic development coordinator for Ottawa County, said it is becoming a common practice in the county —

just like in other places throughout the country — where farmers are converting their farmland into non-agricultural developments for a variety of reasons.

“Our population continues to grow, and those people want somewhere to live and also a certain lifestyle,” she said. “A lot of people like to live in the country area. Also, farming is hard.

You don’t make a lot of money.

Farms are getting larger. Smaller and medium-size farms are decreasing because farmers are getting out of the business. They are aging. According to some statistics I read, farmers age 65 and older outnumber farmers 35 and younger by about six to one, so the vast number of our farmers are over 65. Farmers don’t usually say ‘I will farm until I retire,’ they

say, ‘I will farm until I die.’

“If they get to the point at the end of their life when they are no longer going to farm, there aren’t a lot of beginning farmers to take over for them. So that land goes up for sale, and it either goes to a larger farm, which is fine in most cases, or it is sold for development. A lot of times, farmers have their retirement, livelihood, tied up in the assets that are the land.

They need the money out of that, so it is more advantageous for them to sell it with full development rights. It is a problem. We are losing farmers and as a result farmland.”

Agriculture is Michigan’s second largest industry. According to Michigan State University Extension’s 2020 Kent County Annual Report, the U.S. is the second-largest apple producer in the world. The state is the third-largest apple producer in the country.

There are over 2,200 acres of preserved land on farms across Kent County, which includes in the Fruit Ridge area, which is approximately eight miles wide and 20 miles long, covering 158 square miles in portions of Kent, Newaygo, Muskegon and Ottawa counties.

Sixty-five percent of all Michigan apple production is in West Michigan, including 40% in Kent County alone.

“The Fruit Ridge area is a prime growing area, and it is a rather unique growing area, not just in Kent County but in the world,” Channing said. “You don’t really see those apple-growing conditions in a lot of places in the world, so it is definitely a treasure that needs to be preserved for that use because you don’t see that availability anywhere else in the county. Most of the interest we see and most of the preservations that we currently have are in the northwest area of Kent County.”

Insurer launches team to address disparities in health care CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

adults (26.5%) were more likely than non-Hispanic Black (13.2%), non-Hispanic white (9.7%), and non-Hispanic Asian (9.3%) adults to be uninsured.

“In terms of COVID, the key was getting information and educating people about preventing the disease … community outreach, putting testing sites in communities and making sure we’re playing a role in eliminating barriers,” Hurd said.

Another focus of BCBSM was food insecurity, Hurd added. As far as social determinants of one’s health, food insecurity proved to be high on the list, and BCBSM made corporate contributions to alleviate it. Additionally, BCBSM is developing a roadmap to address social determinants of health.

“Having that data is import-

ant, because it directs us to what we need to put our attention on,” Hurd said.

BCBSM also worked with the state and other entities to make telemedicine more available in the midst of the pandemic.

“Everyone doesn’t have technology, so there was a big focus on how we address that issue, and it hasn’t been completely resolved,” Hurd said.

A major piece of the office of health disparity’s work is unraveling unconscious bias in health care delivery. BCBSM last year kicked off an unconscious bias education program to its physician network, beginning with primary care physicians.

In the case of maternal health, Hurd said African American women are two times more likely to die during childbirth, sometimes because of the perception of pain management.

“This is unconscious in most instances,” Hurd said. “Pregnant women who are giving birth, for example, if they’re in pain and request pain meds, they’re often denied that, because the view is they’re exaggerating.”

Hurd continued, “If you look at folks with sickle-cell anemia, for example, and they present in the emergency room, they’re often turned away, and that’s a disease that often impacts Black people … the stereotype is that, because they’re a Black person, they’re only in the emergency room to get drugs.”

Bias occurs not only by race.

The office of health disparity also keys in on the needs of LGBTQ+ and individuals with disabilities or who are overweight.

“Sometimes we have a perception about a person who has a certain kind of disability,” Hurd said. “And again, how we interact

with them might change. It might be more deficient and not as complete as it needs to be to address their health care needs.”

Hurd said it’s important to understand and be honest about personal biases and not rely on fast judgments, which often is the case in health care because of the fast pace of the work involved.

“Even with COVID, there are stories of African Americans, when they go to a testing site – if they could get to it. That’s another important issue – that they were often turned away, even though they showed symptoms,” Hurd said. “They were told to go back home and sit it out, and a lot of that has been attributed to unconscious bias, because there’s a different standard of care for different people … does everyone act in this way? No. But the key is to become aware of it and address it if it shows up.”

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14

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

APR 5, 2021

Samaritas welcomes in-person visitors after year of COVID-19 Vaccinations, protocols allow loved ones to reconnect.

Ehren Wynder

ewynder@grbj.com

A full year after being separated from their loved ones by COVID-19 and the state’s stay-athome orders, Samaritas’ senior residents once again are able to see friends and family in-person, and it’s been a long time coming for both residents and staff members.

Beth Covault, executive director for Samaritas, said the organization made COVID-19 parameters for closing each of the three buildings on its main campus, including independent living, assisted living and a nursing home. All three buildings were closed to in-person visits when the pandemic hit, but the state passed down stricter regulations for nursing homes.

“Because it was such an unknown, or new experience for everybody, we tended to lean on what we were doing in the nursing homes … as far as no visitors coming in, routine testing of staff,” Covault said.

Samaritas also put in place COVID-19 questionnaires for vendors and employees coming in and out of the campus, as well as shared best practices with other nursing communities. The main challenge for the organiza-

tion was monitoring the scenario to conform with ever-changing state regulations, Covault said.

“If any residents were to get COVID, we had special units,” Covault said. “We still have one in the event we need it. We were able to isolate effectively. We also had to focus on any new residents that were coming that would need services or care.”

Nancy Coan, whose husband Bill has been a resident at Samaritas for three years, said Samaritas reacted quickly when the pandemic first hit. She recalled just a year ago when she first heard about the pandemic entering nursing homes on the news, and she emotionally prepared herself for when Samaritas would cut off visitations.

“I told my husband, ‘I think very, very soon they’re going to cut off visitations to protect you,’” Coan said. “Of course, at that time we didn’t know how long this was going to go on, but I prepared him for a day or two ahead of time.”

After Coan hugged her husband goodbye for the last time, the only communication they had with each other was via phone. Although he missed her, she said he understood the severity of the situation.

“I could tell in his voice he was fine. He’s his usual self,” Coan said. “He’s a very calm person … even if he felt anxious, he wouldn’t show it easily, but after

50 years, I know him (laughs).”

While Bill Coan may have fared well in isolation, Covault said many residents suffered from depression brought on by loneliness. Samaritas saw a decline in all of its levels of care, physical care especially, because residents were not able to be out and socializing with the rest of the community.

“We had a lot of residents where, I think, their routines were altered so much – even in our independent living – that having to try to change that so suddenly really showed some deficits people had that we weren’t aware of,” Covault said.

“Having a routine – if you’re starting to lose your memory, for example – and having that disrupted is like being thrown a curveball.”

Samaritas issued weekly updates in letters and emails for residents, as well as virtual town halls to update residents on the situation, but the length of the pandemic eventually took its toll on residents, Covault said.

“I think everybody initially was like, ‘OK, yeah, we’ll do what you’d like us to do to be safe,’ but after a couple months it got to be, ‘Oh, man, how long is this going to go on for,’ and that’s when, I think, it started to take its toll,” Covault said.

Nancy Coan said the early days of the pandemic were rough for her, but when the weather was nice, Samaritas did allow window visits, and family mem-

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Samaritas issued weekly updates in letters and emails for residents, as well as virtual town halls to update residents on the situation, but the length of the pandemic eventually took its toll on residents.

Courtesy Samaritas

bers were able to see their loved ones in person in a controlled environment.

Eventually, Samaritas set Bill Coan up on a tablet with Facebook Messenger so he could communicate with his wife via video chat.

“I wasn’t sure he’d be able to manage video chat, but he was actually pretty good at it, so we got to video chat a lot,” Nancy Coan said.

Coan said she and her husband were used to going long periods of time without reliable communication. Back in 1970, when the two were first married, they had only been together for nine months before Bill joined the Navy, so for their first four years of marriage, Nancy would have to wait for her husband to be able to call her when he was in port.

“At least now we have the telephone and the video, so we can see each other,” she said.

The Coans celebrated 50 years of marriage in November 2020, but unfortunately the pandemic dampened their celebration.

“It’s memorable, but it wasn’t the memorable one we were wanting,” Coan said, laughing. “I hope we can celebrate our 51st and make it like the 50th … the last couple of anniversaries, we’d just be inside, and my daughters would bring a nice steak dinner for us, and in the conference room we could have dinner and time together. That was special.

You’ve just got to change things up and make the best of what you’ve got.”

Now that Samaritas is allowing in-person visitors again, Coan said she’s happy to see her husband again, as well as the other residents at the nursing home.

Before the pandemic, she would

come five to six days a week and got well acquainted with staff and residents.

“They just became my friends, and they looked forward to when I’d come in,” Coan said.

“They’d get real animated and say, ‘Hi, Nancy!’ … Sometimes if the daughters would come, they’d ask, ‘Where’s Nancy?’ and they’d say, ‘Well, she’s staying home or she’s out with a friend,’ and they’d say, ‘Oh, OK. Apparently, we’re not good enough’ (laughs).”

While Samaritas is allowing in-person visits, it still is enforcing six-foot distance between residents and visitors, but Coan said she’s fully vaccinated and is hopeful for when the organization allows vaccinated visitors to sit with loved ones.

Samaritas had very high vaccination participation once the vaccine was rolled out to nursing home residents in January. Only a handful of residents did not receive the vaccine for medical or personal reasons, Covault said.

Vaccinations were issued to assisted and independent living in February, which also saw high turnout.

Now with the majority of residents immunized and able to see their loved ones, Covault said there’s been a significant uptick in positivity on campus among residents and also among staff, who for a year had to fill the role not just of caregivers, but of family and emotional support as well.

“We were concerned, when this first came out, that we would lose staff,” Covault said. “Would they be fearful to come to work in this pandemic? We did not see high turnover due to that. Everybody stepped up to provide for the residents, and that was wonderful, too.”

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

APR 5, 2021

15

Brewers say grants help keep establishments open, save jobs MEDC funds have been used for payroll, expansions and fixed costs.

Kristia Postema

Capital News Service

LANSING — West Michigan is celebrated nationally for its breweries.

From the lakeshore breweries that line the coast of Lake Michigan to the downtown breweries that have made Grand Rapids the self-proclaimed “Beer City USA,” breweries are a staple of West Michigan.

Last year was difficult for West Michigan breweries.

Two of them, Tibbs Brewing Co. in Kalamazoo and Craft Beer Cellar in Grand Rapids, closed permanently as the COVID-19 pandemic hurt them financially.

But state grants are helping keep other breweries open.

Osgood Brewing in Grandville has suffered from a lack of sales brought on by the pandemic, owner Ronald Denning said. The company received a $15,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., a government agency that helps businesses grow through investment in businesses and communities.

Overall, MEDC’s Small Business Survival Grant program has distributed grants to 5,960 businesses, which has saved 55,783 jobs since Jan. 14, according to

Overall, MEDC’s Small Business Survival Grant program has distributed grants to 5,960 businesses, which has saved 55,783 jobs.

Photo by iStock

the agency.

“Being able to use it toward payroll really helped soften the blow,” Denning said. “Basically, it helped keep four of my employees on payroll between kitchen and management.”

Denning said the grant funding and the Paycheck Protection Program loans the brewery received were essential for keeping Osgood Brewing open. PPP loans help cover payroll costs and qualifying non-payroll expenses.

“Restaurants have taken on a lot of struggles from COVID,” Denning said. “Quite honestly, if it wasn’t for the MEDC grant and the PPP funds we wouldn’t have made it through.”

Osgood Brewing struggled financially when it couldn’t open for indoor dining, Denning said.

“When we did takeout, things were going decent for a bit, but it wasn’t enough,” Denning said.

“We were still taking a loss, and it was a matter of how much of a loss do we take? Even though we’re taking a loss by being open, it’s less of a loss than if we closed our doors.”

According to Denning, the length of the pandemic has been hard on Osgood Brewing.

“You have certain funds that you save for things happening — that’s just a normal part of owning a restaurant — but over time those all got dwindled even with the PPP, so that’s created a hole we have to dig out of,” he said. “That’s why I’m really hoping that people do come out and it does start to return to normal.”

Flat River Brewing in Green-

ville also received an MEDC grant of $8,421 to fund expenses, owner Linda VanPortfliet said.

“That money allowed us to keep going with our bills and not fall behind,” VanPortfliet said. “We have to pay for propane, electricity and rent. All those daily expenses don’t stop, so that money just helped us limp along and not have to close our doors.”

The money also was used to help Flat River Brewing expand its Greenville location, while following pandemic protocols, VanPortfliet said.

“We brought back one of our main employees with that money and we were also able to increase our outdoor area,” VanPortfliet said.

According to VanPortfliet, increasing the brewery’s outdoor serving area turned out to be a good investment.

“The fact that we only were able to do pick-up and delivery of our food and beverages was a huge toll,” she said. “We were very thankful that we had the insight to invest in a large tent so that we were able to have a few people still stop in and enjoy themselves.”

VanPortfliet said the pandemic also hit the company in unexpected ways.

“A big expense for us with COVID is purchasing masks, hand sanitizer and to-go containers. We don’t charge extra for all of that, so that has been a big expense for us,” she said.

Pigeon Hill Brewing Co. in Muskegon received a $10,000

MEDC grant that saved 23 jobs, owner Joel Kamp said.

“All of it went right to our employees,” Kamp said. “They were partially furloughed because there wasn’t 100% work at the time, but when they had to work, we paid them hazard pay based on the conditions.”

Kamp said the MEDC money was essential.

“Congress was debating on the stimulus package at the time and our employees were underemployed, trying to get unemployment, but it wasn’t really enough,” he said. “This grant was really helpful in being able to provide employees a bridge to be able to put food on their table.”

Kamp said Pigeon Hill Brewing has two facilities, a taproom and a production facility which was completed in 2019. The taproom recently reopened to 50% capacity, he said.

Kamp said he hopes business will pick up as vaccine distribution continues.

“We’ve seen a decent bounce back — not quite to where we were at because we’re only at 50% capacity — but we definitely sense that pent-up demand our customers are feeling.”

Denning also said he’s optimistic about the direction Osgood Brewing is heading.

“The last few weeks have been awesome,” he said. “I hope everyone continues to come out to eat at their local restaurants. If that’s the case, I am confident that it will stay this way.”

16

APR 5, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

COMMENT & OPINION

GUEST COLUMN Charles Owens

Keep Line 5 open, build the Great Lakes Tunnel A

s we have now passed the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s an understatement to say that Michigan small businesses have been hit hard. From long-term shutdowns to mandated capacity limits, small businesses have faced more setbacks than anyone could have imagined. Now that we can faintly see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s time to give small businesses hope, and ensure they have the resources they need to succeed. That’s why keeping Line 5 open is so important.

With the high level of uncertainty that still exists out there, the least the state can do is ensure access to reliable, affordable energy to keep small businesses running now and into the future. Michigan’s small businesses rely on the energy that Line 5 safely provides.

That energy heats their businesses, keeps their lights on and also is used in the manufacturing of thousands of items essential to operations across the state. That reliability is needed now more than ever.

The great thing is that there is a common-sense plan in place to ensure that this energy is available well into the future. The Great Lakes Tunnel project will move a small portion of Line 5 in the Mackinac Straits safely deep below the lakebed, ensuring the

energy we rely on and the environment are protected.

Unfortunately, a few outspoken politicians and political activists want to close down Line 5, without an alternate plan in place to deliver the energy the pipeline supplies. These moves are simply irresponsible and will hurt everyone in our state, including small and independent businesses. In the midst of a global pandemic, we need to be looking forward, not creating more problems.

The Great Lakes Tunnel project has the support of businesses, labor, local government leaders and Lansing lawmakers from both parties. Michigan’s small and independent businesses are among those supporters, with 73% of our members backing the Great Lakes Tunnel project. These businesses understand the need to both protect the Great Lakes and Michigan jobs, and to preserve a vital energy resource for the state. The Great Lakes Tunnel project accomplishes these goals.

Michigan winters offer another great reason to keep Line 5 open.

Michigan is one of the largest consumers of propane used for residential heating in the country.

Closing Line 5 would have an immediate, crippling effect on families and the economy as prices skyrocket. If the winter cold snaps have taught us anything, it’s that

we are very lucky to have such a reliable energy source like Line 5.

Building the Great Lakes Tunnel will make this safe, reliable pipeline even safer.

The pandemic has created real problems for real Michiganders. A Line 5 closure would be

GUEST COLUMN

and not sharing information that really is important to share.

It turns out that difficult truths, or what we perceive to be truths, can hurt someone’s feelings. Our propensity to withhold these truths keeps us from achieving more and, more importantly, it keeps us from helping others face truths that could help them grow.

And even though the truth can be very painful, I do believe in the old adage that the truth will set you free.

Many of us in West Michigan hold fast to the idea of speaking the truth in love. Doing both together is hard, but it is important because sharing difficult truths without love can be mean and loving someone (“being nice”) without truth can be a lie.

In our neck of the woods we tend to lean toward the love-without-truth side of things. In other areas of the country (Chicago and New York City come to mind), they lean toward speaking their truth without much love. They can be crass and careless but at least are willing to share a perspective that helps someone know where they stand, which can lead to their growth. But it can feel mean.

We are working to be leaders that will share the difficult truth while also doing it with love. We believe this is one of the leadership traits West Michigan can learn to do better than other areas of the country.

Maybe you’re not sold yet, so here are some reasons why we think this is so important: •It is wrong, even immoral, to not share information about something that is holding someone’s career back or, worse yet, might put their job in jeopardy.

•Organizations are much less effective when these difficult conversations don’t happen. As such, real value is left on the table when this isn’t done well.

•Giving honest feedback, both affirming and adjusting, is one of the best ways to help people grow, especially those who work for us.

•Not sharing difficult perceptions may seem like we’re protecting someone else’s feelings, but we’re convinced it’s the uncomfortable feelings that rise in us that we’re really avoiding. If someone knew of a potential issue you have, would you want them to share it with you? We suspect you would.

If you are convinced, you might wonder how this can be done well.

The simple method we teach is: •Humbly share your perception or concern, realizing there is a possibility that you could be wrong or that you are unaware of another very legitimate perspective.

•Seek to understand their perspective. This may take three seconds, three minutes or three conversations. They won’t be ready to fully understand your perspective until they feel you understand theirs. This willingness to deeply understand their viewpoint is an act of love.

•After they feel understood, you need to share your more-informed perspective with them. This may be unchanged from what you

Rodger Price

The problem with ‘West Michigan Nice’

I

f you know anything about our Leading by DESIGN team, you know that we are huge fans of West Michigan. We believe West Michigan should develop into the hotbed of the best leaders in the country. But we also believe we have some work to do before this will be true.

I remember meeting a man from Chicago many years ago who told me he couldn’t really trust people from West Michigan. I was surprised to hear him say that until he explained his perspective.

He said that people from West Michigan won’t tell you what they really think, but back in Chicago you knew where you stood with someone.

As I reflected on this, I had to admit that I not only understood his perspective, I even agreed with some of it. This is part of what many call “West Michigan Nice” and I love the intention behind it.

We try hard not to hurt someone’s feelings and we really want to be nice to others. The problem arises when we end up not being real

short-sighted and be an additional hit. Instead, it’s time to move forward with building the Great Lakes Tunnel.

Charles Owens is state director in Michigan for the National Federation of Independent Business.

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No clue how to help their managers, though. originally shared, or it may be completely different. This may take very little time, such as saying, “I’m sorry; I misunderstood what you were doing” or it may be a little more involved, but it will be well worth the time needed. When both perspectives are in the light, any surviving issues become right-sized. When issues lurk in the shadows, they usually seem much bigger than they really are. When you name the issue, you tame the issue.

•After both perspectives are understood, the issue will either be instantly solved (which is very common) or it will give you a good chance of solving it together.

•And finally, you must follow through on any actions that were adopted. Even if it’s only unilateral, you need to do your part.

All West Michigan leaders need to get better at this, including ourselves. And the best time to start practicing it is today.

Rodger Price is the founder and managing partner of Leading by DESIGN, an executive development firm in Grand Rapids.

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

APR 5, 2021

17

GUEST COLUMN David Van Andel

To defeat a foe like Parkinson’s, we must expose its secrets

L

ast year, the Parkinson’s and scientific communities were surprised to learn that at least three people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had exhibited Parkinson’s-like symptoms after infection.

This was a wake-up call to yet another possible nefarious side-effect of the virus. In a commentary examining the findings, Van Andel Institute’s Dr. Patrik Brundin, along with Dr. Avindra Nath of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and Dr. J. David Beckham of University of Colorado, said the cases suggest that COVID-19 may be part of a “perfect storm” for Parkinson’s disease.

It is, of course, unfortunate to discover that the virus at the heart of the pandemic may be linked in some way to Parkinson’s. More research is needed to truly understand the implications. But the news makes April, which is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, even more significant in its galvanizing effect on our collective efforts toward breakthroughs that could be life-changing for people with Parkinson’s.

For many of us, a link between a neurodegenerative disorder like Parkinson’s and a virus may be unexpected. Yet we are learning every day that Parkinson’s may have roots in many areas such as the digestive system, the immune

system, metabolism and inflammation.

For example, VAI scientists and collaborators have linked the appendix to Parkinson’s risk. We’ve pinpointed toxic bile acids as a possible indicator of Parkinson’s.

Our scientists, in collaboration with colleagues at other institutions, are exploring the role of aging in the disease’s onset. Another project will study the relationship between a Parkinson’s-related protein and the brain’s emotional regulator, to better understand psychiatric symptoms of the disease such as depression and anxiety. We also are investigating how infections and inflammation impact Parkinson’s risk.

This foundational work is vital as we search for potential therapies to slow or stop the disease’s progression. This is a feat not possible with current treatments.

Drug repurposing — or using a drug approved for one illness to treat another — also has shown promise for impeding Parkinson’s.

Diabetes, for example, takes advantage of similar pathways in the body that Parkinson’s uses to take root. Medications designed and approved to treat diabetes might therefore be useful in treating Parkinson’s.

VAI currently collaborates with the U.K.-based Cure Parkinson’s to fund clinical trials that research this exact question. Other drugs

currently being prioritized by this program, called the International Linked Clinical Trials initiative, include several diabetes drugs, an antidepressant and a type of cough medicine.

Through efforts like these, VAI is rooting out the mechanisms behind Parkinson’s so that we may defeat it. Sometimes, these diseases throw a curveball, such as in the cases of Parkinson’s symptoms in COVID-19 patients. That is the kind of foe we’re up against: one that we understand better than ever before, and one that still holds many mysteries waiting to be solved.

David Van Andel is chairman and CEO of Van Andel Institute.

GUEST COLUMN Kelley Freridge

Addressing academic and social-emotional learning loss this summer

I

wear three hats: I am a mother.

I am the chief marketing officer for the American Camp Association (ACA), a national nonprofit serving the 15,000 summer camps in the U.S., which normally serve 26 million campers each year. Finally, I am an elected trustee serving on the Rockford Public Schools Board of Education in Michigan. Together these hats inform how I think about the nature of how we will support academic and social-emotional learning recovery this summer.

Summer is just around the corner, with clear blue skies, the smell of freshly cut grass and the opportunity to set our kids up for academic success this fall. Many children have struggled academically this year. Unfortunately, some students are no longer on track to graduate on time because they have fallen deeply behind.

If you are a parent whose child is facing serious obstacles from a year of learning disruptions brought on by COVID-19, today is the day to reach out to your child’s teachers and work with your school district to determine what opportunities are available to you this summer to address this challenging reality.

Here in Rockford, we’re working hard to provide our families with opportunities to keep kids engaged in overcoming this year’s academic disruptions. For our DK-8 learners we’ll be offer-

ing more than 40 different book club options, over 30 online math tutoring groups and in-person intensive small-group targeted math and reading instruction. To add whimsey and fun to summer learning, we’re unveiling the Rockford Book Bus, bringing a mobile library of reading adventures to neighborhoods, cul-de-sacs and playgrounds across Rockford in a Magic School Bus-inspired experience. For 9-12-grade learners it’s about opportunities for academic credit recovery, SAT prep, and innovative electives to keep teens on track to graduate.

For parents of children who are on target academically, this summer should be all about summer camp. Camps are getting ready for the season by training and vaccinating staff while actively opening enrollment for this summer. These programs will provide campers with exceptional opportunities to develop and practice social-emotional learning skills.

The ACA has decades of camp research proving that the skills learned at camp support academic performance and are at the core of college and career readiness.

Our kids need camp experiences this summer to set them up for success this fall. After a long, difficult and often isolating year for our kids, this summer should be about time away from technology whenever possible mixed with a solid dose of sunshine.

GUEST COLUMN

fter interviewing leaders for my most recent book, one leader’s answer to the question, “How do you know people are telling you the truth?” has stayed with me, because it’s so simple.

This seems so simple, and yet, in my hours of conversations with leaders, people issues seem to occupy 70% or more of their time.

It also led me to another thought: Simple is rarely easy. That’s especially true when it involves things like trust, conflict, love, truth and teamwork.

As leaders, our ability to trust is the foundation of our relationship with our team and our ability

Scott Patchin

3 tips to building more trust in your team

A

Here are three key things I look for when choosing a camp for my child: An American Camp Association accredited camp. ACA is the only independent national accrediting body for the organized camp experience, and accreditation provides public evidence of a camp’s voluntary commitment to continuous improvement in health, safety and risk management. If your camp is not currently accredited, make sure to ask why. A camp could be in the process of becoming an ACA-accredited camp and eager to share their accreditation journey with parents. While accreditation is not required to run a camp in the state of Michigan, as a parent, I want to know that my camp has gone above and beyond to provide my child with a safe, high-quality camp experience.

A camp following CDC guidance and using ACA’s Field Guide for operating during the pandemic.

Ask to see a camp’s plan for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and implementation of ACA’s Field Guide in a camp’s policies, practices and procedures this summer.

The right fit. Every child is different, and there is a camp for just about every interest and need. Use ACA’s Find-A-Camp Tool (find. acacamps.org) to find the camp best suited for you and your child.

to stay focused on the bigger work that leaders do, rather than being consumed by the day-to-day business and doing the work you hired your team to do. Here are three tips to becoming a trust-building leader.

Know your own type: Are you a trust-giving or trust-building person?

Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rick Baker made a point during our interview that addresses a key piece of your self-awareness as a leader, because it impacts how you lead.

I feel like there’s a couple of ways that people approach others with re-

But don’t wait; parent demand is really high this year, so start the enrollment process now to ensure your child has a great experience at camp this summer.

When I talk to some of the camp directors from the more than 400 day and overnight camps in Michigan about last summer, they know what it looks like to run safe programs while mitigating risk. Jake Jacobs, executive director of Camp Henry, just north of Rockford, told me, “When we served kids last summer, it was clear that children were craving and needing a camp experience more than ever. With so many disruptions to their routines and so many options not available to kids, the opportunity to come to camp was cherished and provided a slice of normalcy that was incredibly valuable and important for campers and families.”

Looking ahead to this summer, Karin Denman the camp director at YMCA Camp Manitou-Lin, said, “In these first few months of 2021, parents keep telling me how excited their campers are to return to camp! We’re following the guidelines of the CDC, our local health department and the American Camp Association’s Field Guide.

We will have increased cleaning procedures, perform daily health checks, schedule small cohort activities and serve a reduced capacity overall. However, with fewer possible campers in light

of this reduced capacity, we are encouraging parents and guardians to reserve their camper’s spot now.”

As someone who sees the lasting benefits of camp firsthand every day, I can tell you it’s worth taking the initiative now to get your child enrolled in camp this summer. Dottie Myers-Hill, camp director at Van Buren Youth Camp, recently shared with me, “At VBYC we are so excited and ready to host a more traditional overnight summer camp in 2021. We ran a day camp in 2020, and it taught us how to ‘do camp’ safely during the pandemic. Children can adapt and play, make friends and engage in nature while wearing masks and social distancing. Camper enrollment is up for summer 2021, our percentage of new campers is up, and our imaginations are working nonstop to create a memorable and meaningful summer for all.”

This summer, I believe we should be providing our children with the opportunities they need to go back to school and thrive in the classroom this fall. Consider the options available through your school district and consider the opportunity that is summer camp.

Your kids will thank you.

gard to trust. The first is they are like my late grandfather. His approach was he didn’t trust anyone. They had to earn it. I am actually the opposite.

I think everyone starts with what I call your “trust account.” It’s like a bank account. With him, everyone’s bank account is sort of empty. The bigger your account got, the more he trusted you. I start everyone with a full trust account, but you only get a couple withdrawals. I don’t know if either one is right or wrong. I think it’s just people’s approach to how they trust people or not.

and who have the skills or capacity to do the work you have asked them to do. Jane Clark, president and CEO of the Michigan West Coast Chamber, shared this leadership insight: It is so much easier to manage and trust people who are a perfect fit for your culture and the work you need them to do.

If you’re struggling with your team, hiring poorly could be the root cause.

Hire for it Hire people who fit your management style and business culture,

Kelley Freridge is the chief marketing officer for the American Camp Association and an elected trustee serving on the Rockford Public Schools Board of Education.

Be trustworthy A quote I often refer to is: “We are what we repeatedly do.” — Will CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

PRE-SELL

Would you agree that most shopping starts online now? Americans spend approximately 2 ½ hours on our mobile devices doing non-voice activities each day. We check our phones 150 times per day. It’s like an “electronic leash”! As consumers, we are inspired and influenced by online images and social media to seek out products and services. Make your business available to thousands of qualified prospects by pre-selling them. One in five people who are exposed to online display ads conducted related internet searches. This means your online display ad will generate organic traffic to your website and follow your ideal prospect through the buying process for top of mind awareness. As a full-service media company, we can show you the best channels where your online ads can generate maximum results.

Adding digital marketing to your campaigns will increase your touch points and ROI. https://grbj.com/digital-studio/

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

APR 5, 2021

19

LETTER

Legislation would address opioid use treatment Editor: On March 9, Michigan United hosted “Overdose Crisis Listening Session and Artful Share-Out.” The event brought together multiple West Michigan organizations: Kalamazoo Open Doors, West Michigan YWCA, The Red Project and Sanford Recovery House. Unified HIV Health and Beyond, Public Health Awakened and other independent social workers also participated.

The panel featured a presentation on the war on drugs by Michigan United facilitator Cathy Phason that included her personal impact story and what inspired them to organize around addiction and

substance abuse disorders. Writer in recovery Alec Juarez read a memoir on addiction written after an overdose in February 2021. The Grand Rapids artist also shared a new collection of poems on sobriety and self-discovery including “Dialogues Between Pelican and Bear” and “Migration.” Lansing musician Madeline Smith performed her testimony through a live song “Venus Fly Trap.” Finally, the audience emailed, tweeted, and called their representatives to pass the MAT (Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment) Act. The United States is facing an overdose crisis. In 2020, at least 100,000 people died from preventable overdoses in the U.S. That’s a

First month of internet gaming and sports betting receipts near $90M CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

$14 million, and the internet sports betting taxes/payments were $142,240.

For internet gaming, the state receives 70% of the total tax from the commercial operators and 80% of the total payment from tribal operators. The tax and payment rate ranges from 20% to 28% based on yearly adjusted gross receipts.

For internet sports betting, commercial operators pay 70% of the 8.4% tax to the state and 30% to the city of Detroit. Tribal operators make an 8.4% payment to the state on adjusted gross sports betting receipts.

The three internet gaming operators that paid the most state taxes and made state payments in January were MGM Grand Detroit, $1,707,868.20; Bay Mills Indian Community, $1,032,542.27; and MotorCity Casino, $863,435.65.

The internet gaming operators that paid the most state taxes and made state payments in February included MGM Grand Detroit, $5,261,868.20; Bay Mills Indian Community, $2,892,794.53; and MotorCity Casino, $2,754,581.49.

The internet sports betting operators that did not pay any state taxes or any state payment in January included MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, Bay Mills Indian Community, Hannahville Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.

They all had negative adjusted gross internet sports betting receipts in January: MGM Grand Detroit, -$53,434.75; MotorCity Casino, -$5,679,061.41; Bay Mills Indian Community, -$1,186,886.61; Hannahville Indian Community, -$8,244.09; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, -$34,609.75; and Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, -$93,561.93.

The internet sport betting operators that did not pay any state taxes or any state payment in February were MotorCity Casino,

Greektown Casino, Bay Mills Indian Community, Hannahville Indian Community, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and Sault Ste. Marine Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

They all had negative adjusted gross internet sports betting receipts in February: MotorCity Casino, -$5,399,478.75; Greektown Casino, -$1,302,825.44; Bay Mills Indian Community, -$5,077,960.55; Hannahville Indian Community, -$277,365.94; Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, -$11,642.86; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, -$532,004.17; Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, -$444,032.27; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, -$126,779.15; Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, -$4,859.94 and Sault Ste. Marine Tribe of Chippewa Indians, -$63,169.51.

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians was the only operator to make payments to the state in January and February because its adjusted gross sports betting receipts were positive — $51,202.52 and $16,651.32 for January and February, respectively.

They paid $4,301.01 to the state in January and $1,398.71 in February.

Their internet gaming and internet sports betting platform is operated by William Hill US, a gaming and betting company.

“We are very proud that we are having a very positive impact in the first couple of months in the state,” said Ken Fuchs, president of digital for William Hill US. “We are the only operator to do that and that means we are paying taxes and contributing back to the state.

Michigan is a great state for sports betting. It is a big sports state. It has amazing local, college, pro teams with a lot of history and tradition. The fans are really engaged with their teams. They know their sports.”

40% increase, and the worst year in recorded history. The war on drugs created this crisis and pharmaceutical and insurance corporations have since amplified it to a catastrophe. The Mainstreaming Addiction Act of 2021, HR 1384, offers new hope. Scientific studies show that medication-assisted treatment is one of the most effective treatments for opioid use disorder and prevents overdose deaths.

But as of now, health care providers are required to seek a separate waiver to prescribe buprenorphine (a form of MAT) for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Blocking access to this treatment will cost lives and increase racial disparities in health care outcomes.

The MAT Act, which has bipartisan support in both the U.S. House and Senate, would eliminate the current cumbersome requirements for a separate waiver. To effectively respond to the urgency of the overdose epidemic, we need to eliminate barriers that prevent health care practitioners from providing evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders.

The legislation would eliminate the DATA 2000 Waiver requirement that discourages practitioners from integrating treatment in their practices and perpetuates stigma against patients who would benefit from buprenorphine treatment. If passed, it would provide health care workers and patients

with treatment options based on science, not stigma, and deliver pathways toward recovery, not criminalization.

An attending nurse on March 9 gave feedback after the event saying, “I showed up to learn and listen to better understand personal and lived experiences with addiction.

I have cared for clients who overdosed before, during and after. This session helped me be more sensitive to my clients and people struggling with addiction and know what the next steps are.”

Audrey Gerard Health care and West Michigan organizer Michigan United

3 tips to building more trust in your team CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Durant, The Story of Philosophy, 1926 If you want trust to permeate your team, you have to be an icon of trust. Having regular meetings, showing up to meetings on time, developing a deep knowledge of your people, following through on commitments, supporting your team in tough situations and delegating important work are all trust-building activities. Do you do

them? If you’re a 6 (in your team’s eyes) on the trust scale, you can’t expect them to be 10s.

Trust is an accelerator for work getting done. During the recent (and ongoing) pandemic, I witnessed a leader going down with the coronavirus and his message to his team was simple: “I trust you, so go make decisions and run the business.” Not surprisingly, the organization exceeded its plan that quarter.

Trust: Go build more!

Scott Patchin is a Certified EOS Implementer and author of the newly released book, “Truth at the Heart: How honesty, trust, and teamwork can transform your business.” A special feature of the book is insights into leadership from a diverse group of six experienced leaders. The book is available at Amazon.com.

Rhoades McKee welcomes

Katie Hogan Aguilar to the team.

Estate Planning & Administration Elder Law & Medicaid Planning Cottage Succession Planning Special Needs Planning rhoadesmckee.com

20

APR 5, 2021

ACCOUNTING

Pennell CPA hired staff accountants Haris Delkic, Alissa Molina and Danielle Nauta.

ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING

Progressive AE hired industry expert Tim Bradshaw as municipal practice leader.

ARTS

Hope College in Holland’s production of Larissa FastHorse’s “The Thanksgiving Play” was selected for presentation during the recent Region 3 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

The Grand Rapids Public Library will honor its sesquicentennial in 2021. Since 1871, the library has provided the city with outstanding service, innovative programs and expansive collections. It will be a yearlong celebration, culminating in a birthday celebration on Dec. 21, 2021.

BUSINESS SERVICES

Applied Imaging acquired Lasers Resource, a Grand Rapids-based managed print services specialist. All Lasers Resource locations will now operate under the Applied Imaging brand and their customers have access to Applied Imaging’s array of products and services.

Muskegon-based Geerpres recently

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL introduced its UVairo UV-C Air Sanitizer, which provides an active layer of protection and confidence against airborne viruses to ensure people are safe indoors and in shared spaces such as a doctor’s office, daycare facility, restaurant or manufacturing facility.

2/90 Sign Systems named Chris Douma president.

The Grand Rapids Chamber welcomed Emily Smith to its talent development team in the newly created role of inclusion manager. She is responsible for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion events, and programming including the Institute for Healing Racism, OutPro, and the Diversity & Talent Series and Summit.

EDUCATION

Davenport University named Amy Mansfield dean of the Donald W. Maine College of Business and Mansfield the College of Technology. She will be responsible for providing leadership for Davenport’s business and technology programs, including degrees such as accounting,

Burger King taps Fragel as HR director Grand Rapids resident Deb Fragel has been appointed director of human resources for 26 West Michigan-area Burger King restaurants recently acquired by Factorial Restaurant Holdings LLC. Fragel will be responsible for leading the direction of human resources, including culture, change management, and recruiting and hiring for Factorial Holdings’ 26 Burger King locations. She will help ramp up hiring more than 150 employees at all levels this spring at all 26 restaurants in West Michigan. Fragel was formerly with Illuminate-HC/ SKLD and was the manager of HR compliance and employee relations.

APR 5-24 Lakeshore Museum Center Quilt Exhibit.

Displaying the work of the late Rosie Lee Wilkins in Who is Rosie Lee Wilkins: Piecing Together Her History. Cost: free/ members and those living in the area, $5/non-Muskegon County residents.

Information/registration: (231) 722-0278 or lakeshoremuseum.org.

APR 5-JUN 6 Krasl Art Center New Exhibitions. Boom Bloom, featuring Nikki Renee Anderson and Renee Robbins in KAC’s main gallery, and The Undetectable Presence: a Selection of Sculpture by Mike Slaski in the artlab. Cost: free and open to public.

707 Lake Blvd., St. Joseph. Information/ registration: (269) 983-0271 or krasl.org.

APR 6 Inno-Versity Webinar. Topic: Three Pillars That Should Be The Foundation of Your Learning Objectives. 1-2 p.m.

Information/registration: bit.ly/31eX74g.

APR 6 Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce New Member Breakfast.

7:30-9 a.m., YoChef’s Café, 34 44th St. SE, Kentwood. Cost: free, limited 20.

Information/registration: (616) 531-5990 or bob@southkent.org.

Meeting. Topic: Maximizing Your Money Mindset, by Tara Jones-Williamson, founder, Your Pretty Pennies, followed by a self-selected breakout session with fierce females in finance. 10:30 a.m.noon. Cost: $15/members, $25/nonmembers. Information/registration: bit.ly/ MaximizeMoneyMindset.

APR 13 Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce Zoom Meeting. Topic: The Secret Sauce of Employee Retention, by Ed Amaya, president, Kenowa Industries, and Brett VanderKamp, CEO, New Holland Brewing Company. 10-10:45 a.m.

Cost: free/members, $20/nonmembers.

Information/registration: (616) 928-9101 or Colleen@westcoastchamber.org.

APR 13-MAY 25 Builders Exchange of Michigan Course.

Focus: Print Reading and Specifications: Navigating Through a Complete Set of Commercial Construction Documents.

5:30-8 p.m., RVC Office Conference Room, 678 Front Ave. NW, Suite 212. Cost: $375/ person. Information/registration: (616) 949-8650, Courtney@grbx.com, or home. grbx.com/event/spring-print-reading.

APR 8 Meeting Professionals International Michigan Chapter Global Meetings Industry Day Virtual Meeting. 9:30 a.m.2 p.m. Registration: bit.ly/2021IndustryDay.

APR 14 The Institute for Supply Management Greater Grand Rapids Webinar. Topic: When Supplier Selection Is Influenced

By Pressures Within Your Organization.

1-2 p.m. Cost: free/members, students, $35/nonmembers. Information/registration: ismggr.org.

APR 12 Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce Government Matters Zoom Meeting with Elected Officials. 8-9 a.m.

Information/registration: (616) 531-5990 or michelle@southkent.org.

APR 15 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Business Exchange Via Zoom. 10:30 a.m.noon. Cost: $15/members, $25/nonmembers. Information/registration: bit.ly/GR BusinessExchange.

APR 13 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Leadership Forum Zoom

APR 15 World Affairs Council of Western Michigan KDL Community Resilience

marketing, computer science and cyber defense.

Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes announced the addition board member Pamela S. Ries, senior vice president and chief human resources officer of Spectrum Health System.

ENVIRONMENTAL

ASTI Environmental has been selected to provide as-needed professional environmental services to the city of Grand Rapids. The contract includes lead paint inspection, risk assessment and clearance examinations of lead paint, house dust and soil.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Kalamazoo-based Imperial Beverage celebrated 20 years of supplying tens of thousands of retailers throughout the state with beer, wine and spirits made in Michigan, across the country and around the world.

GOVERNMENT

Curt A. Reppuhn has been appointed to serve as the city of Grand Rapids’ deputy comptroller.

State Sen. Roger Victory announced he will chair the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and serve as assistant majority whip for the 101st Legislature.

The city of East Grand Rapids selected Shea Charles as city manager.

Charles previously served as Howell’s city manager for 15 years.

HEALTH

Gage Cannabis Co. opened its sixth provisioning at 3075 South Peregrine Road Fox in Grand Rapids, adjacent to Celebration Cinema North.

Holland Home’s dementia coalition team is the recipient of LeadingAge Michigan’s 2020 Leading-Edge Care and Services Award and Rob Fox, director of nurs-

CHANGE-UPS & CALENDAR

ing at Breton Woods, was awarded the LeadingAge Michigan Shining Star Award.

Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital celebrated 10 years of its iconic blue building being a world-renowned landmark on the Medical Mile. The 14-story, $286 million hospital opened on Jan. 11, 2011, with the help of more than $103 million in contributions from more than 6,000 donors. It is one of just 220 children’s hospitals in the country.

Spectrum Health bid adieu to board members Richard M. (Dick) DeVos Jr., The Windquest Group, past chair of the board and a board member since 2010; Michelle L. Van Dyke, Heart of West Michigan United Way, a board member since 2011; and Mehmood A. Khan, Life Biosciences Inc., a board member since 2017. Joining the board are Doug DeVos, Amway board of directors, and Philomena V. Mantella, Grand Valley State University.

HOSPITALITY

Janet Korn, executive vice president at Experience Grand Rapids, was elected 2021 president of the Michigan Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus.

Lisa Mize, interim executive director of The Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention and Visitor Bureau, has been appointed to lead the CVB as executive director.

LEGAL

Dykema announced Len Wolfe started his three-year term as chairman and chief executive officer of the firm. Wolfe succeeds Peter M. Kellett, who served as chairman and chief executive officer since 2012.

Judge Jon Hulsing of the Ottawa County Circuit Court has been elected vice-chairperson to the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission.

MANUFACTURING

Dynamic Conveyor Corp. celebrated 30 years of conveyor manufacturing. The

Series. Topic: Toward a Newly Vital Midwest, by John Austin, director, Michigan Economic Center. 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Cost: free. Information/registration: world michigan.org/kdl2021.

Policy Tap Via Zoom. Mingle with elected officials across the political spectrum over drinks. 4:30-6 p.m. Cost: free/members, $25/nonmembers. Information/registration: bit.ly/PolicyOnTap.

APR 16 Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce 3rd Fridays Networking Luncheon Via Zoom. Includes breakout rooms, showcase presentations and a $25 drawing. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Cost: $10/ members, $5/showcase presentations.

Information/registration: (616) 531-5990 or bob@southkent.org.

APR 22 Grand Rapids Public Schools Foundation Mask*Quer*Aid. A virtual masked gala in support of GRPSF. 6-7 p.m. Information/ registration: grpsf.org.

APR 16-17 LowellArts Youth Theater presents “The Trial of Goldilocks.” April 16, 7 p.m., April 17, 11 a.m., and 2:30 p.m. and April 18, Lowell Performing Arts Center/Lowell High School, 11700 Vergennes, Lowell. Cost: $5/ in-person or live stream. Information/registration: (616) 897-8545 or lowellartsmi. org/trial-ofgoldilocks.

APR 19 World Affairs Council of Western Michigan KDL Community Resilience Series. Topic: Empowered People = Community Resilience, by Tarah Carnahan (Treetops Collective), Willie Patterson III (LINC Up) and Carlos Sanchez (Latino Business Center). 6:307:30 p.m. Cost: free. Information/registration: worldmichigan.org/kdl2021.

APR 20 Disability Advocates of Kent County 3rd Annual Absolutely Accessible Kent Technical Virtual Workshop. Speakers include award-winning architect and advocate Karen Braitmayer and Rosemarie Rossetti, founder, Universal Design Living Laboratory in Columbus, Ohio. 9-11:30 a.m. Cost: $35. Information/ registration: bit.ly/ 30xTdDt. APR 22 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce

APR 22 Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce Network Live Zoom Happy Hour. 4-4:45 p.m. Registration: (616) 3929720 or keegan@westcoastchamber.org.

APR 26 Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce Virtual Meeting with Congressman Fred Upton. An opportunity to discuss issues that affect business.

9-9:45 a.m. Cost: free/members, $30/ nonmembers. Information/registration: (616) 928-9101 or Colleen@westcoast chamber.org.

APR 26 World Affairs Council of Western Michigan KDL Community Resilience Series. Topic: Responsive Government = Community Resilience, by Nicole Hofert (city planner, Wyoming), Stephen Kepley (mayor, Kentwood) and Melinda Ysasi (Grand Rapids 2nd Ward commissioner). 6:30-7:30 p.m. Cost: free. Information/ registration: worldmichigan.org/kdl2021.

APR 27 Family Business Alliance Seminar. Topic: Avoiding an Entitlement Mentality. 810 a.m., GVSU L. William Seidman Center, 50 Front Ave. SW. Cost: $25-$100.

Information/registration: members.fbagr. org/events APR 27 GVSU Family Owned Business Institute NextGen Series. Topic: Avoiding An En-

company has grown to become a leader in the design and building of innovative conveyor solutions to the parts manufacturing, packaging and food processing industries.

MetaOps was featured on Manufacturing Technology Insights Magazine’s Top Ten list in its cover story, “Top-Tier Interim OpEx Talent Where and When Needed.”

NONPROFITS

Dégagé Ministries announced longtime executive director Marge Palmerlee retired and Thelma Ensink succeeded her in the same role.

West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology welcomed to its board: president: Tim Williams, Meijer; Michelle Meulendyk-Yost, Amway; Omar Hall; and Gilda Gely, Davenport University.

WMCAT also celebrated longtime board member Garrick Rochow in his career milestone of succeeding Patti Poppe as president and CEO at CMS Energy and Consumers Energy in December 2020. He has been on the WMCAT Rochow board since 2015.

West Michigan Partnership for Children announced its acceptance of the Ready

by Five Early Childhood Millage funds, which will be used to introduce a new trauma-informed parent engagement program and six new job roles.

CHANGE-UPS POLICY: The Business Journal welcomes submissions to the Change-Ups section. Send announcements concerning personnel changes, new businesses, changes of address etc. to Change-Ups Editor, Grand Rapids Business Journal, 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 331, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 or email bjchangeups@grbj.com.

titlement Mentality, by Kimberly A. Eddleston, Schulze Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, D’AmoreMcKim School of Business, Northeastern University. 8-10 a.m., GVSU LV Eberhard Center, 301 W. Fulton St. Cost: $100/ in-person, $25/virtual, free/members an underwriter registration. Information/registration: bit.ly/3rdwatt.

APR 27 Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce Zoom Meeting. Topic: Inclusive Leadership, by Darryl Shelton, experienced facilitator and teacher with expertise in sales, leadership training, high-level creative thinking and curriculum development. 10-11 a.m. Cost: free/ members, $30/nonmembers. Information/ registration: Colleen@westcoastchamber. org.

APR 27 Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce Business Leaders Meeting.

8-9 a.m., Marge’s Donut Den, 1751 28th St. SW, Wyoming. Information/registration: (616) 261-4500 or d.kuba@instantcashmi. com.

CALENDAR POLICY: The Business Journal welcomes submissions to the calendar section. Send items to Calendar Editor, Grand Rapids Business Journal, 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 331, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 or email bjcal endar@grbj.com. Submissions must be received at least three weeks prior to the event.

The Business Journal calendar posted on the publication’s website (grbj.com) includes listings for events extended beyond those printed in the weekly publication that are limited by space restrictions.

PUBLIC RECORD MORTGAGES

Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds LESPERANCE, Kevin M. et al, Northpointe Bank, Cascade Twp., $430,000 FLIESTRA, Bryan C. et al, Fifth Third Bank, Cascade Twp., $565,400 ESSENBURG CAR WASH OF RIVERTOWN LLC, Old National Bank, Grandville, $10,000,000 ULLERY, Nicholas, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Gaines Twp., $332,549 WINSTANLEY, Douglas et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411401101049, $692,900 LAUVER, Justin E. et al, Private Mortgage Wholesale Inc., Caledonia, $352,240 KARRIP, James G., Ruoff Mortgage Co., Ada Twp., $417,000 SPRINGER, Ronald et al, United Bank, Parcel: 411428354013, $430,000 COTE, Brian K. et al, Quicken Loans, Parcel: 411414400016, $746,000 SWAN RESIDENTIAL LLC, Huntington National Bank, Byron Twp., $6,600,000 DEANE, Patrick et al, Benchmark Mortgage, East Grand Rapids, $392,250 SATTERTHWAITE, John et al, Titan Mutual Lending, Parcel: 411910252009, $364,000 CF OWL GRR LLC, Goldman Sachs Bank, Walker, $27,428,109 JENSEN, Mary A. et al, West Michigan Community Bank, Parcel: 411431205028, $335,000 WINFIELD, Jonathan et al, Inlanta Mortgage, Walker, $351,920 RIVER CITY PROPERTIES LLC, Adventure Credit Union, Parcel: 411323226009, $944,800 LAN et al, Old National Bank, East Grand Rapids, $650,000 SHAH, Inderjit S., Highpoint Community Bank, Parcel: 411917452017, $510,000 MERHI, Farah et al, Cardinal Financial Co., Cascade Twp., $370,405 STREIT, Timothy A. et al, United Bank, Parcel: 411414227047, $479,000 PORTO, Felipe et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Byron Twp., $608,000 MOLL, John P. et al, Hall Financial Group, Ada Twp., $447,500 ISAACS, James R. et al, PNC Bank, Cascade Twp., $1,032,000 LAIRD, Peter W. et al, JPMorgan Chase Bank, East Grand Rapids, $741,850 WHYTE, Jennifer A., Dart Bank, Ada Twp., $372,000 BENGSTON, Bradley et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411810177001, $500,000 LETTINGA, Austin et al, Northern Mortgage Services, Gaines Twp., $362,050 MONTGOMERY, Jacob et al, Quicken Loans, Algoma Twp., $311,250 SCACE, Kyle et al, Navy Federal Credit Union, Rockford, $352,374 ROBINSON & ROSEWOOD LLC, Grand River Bank, East Grand Rapids, $945,000 RENNER, Steven et al, Quicken Loans, Cascade Twp., $439,500 SOVERINSKY, Gerald et al, MiMutual Mortgage, Ada Twp., $364,000

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL PUTTERMAN, Rand et al, New American Funding, Plainfield Twp., $371,800 4601 LAKE MICHIGAN DRIVE LLC, Fifth Third Bank, Walker, $408,030 BOND, Christopher R. et al, Fifth Third Bank, Parcel: 411508276003, $500,000 CLEMENT, Kyle J. et al, Greenstone Farm Credit Services, Parcel: 412301430011, $540,000 EVANS, Ilea et al, United Bank, Parcel: 412116402003, $426,000 HORRIGAN, Daniel C., Grand River Bank, Tyrone Twp., $368,550 GOLDSHOLL, Stacy W., PNC Bank, Byron Twp., $484,500 CENTER AT 1530 MADISON L3C, IFF, Parcel: 411806256009, $750,000 CHUNG, Daniel J., Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411426277002, $504,000 VERMAAS, Tony et al, TCF National Bank, Gaines Twp., $1,216,000 CHENOWETH, Mitchell L. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Sparta, $347,000 GERARD, Matthew L. et al, MSU Federal Credit Union, East Grand Rapids, $424,000 WIERTZMAN, Ryan et al, 1st Rate Home Mortgage, Rockford, $336,744 H2O LAND INVESTMENTS LLC, Economic Development Foundation, Gaines Twp., $933,000 SHTEYNVIL, Mikhail, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cannon Twp., $399,900 MCVAY, Amanda et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, East Grand Rapids, $599,900 STOUT, Michael et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cannon Twp., $510,400 GERVILLE-REACHE, Quan et al, Macatawa Bank, Cascade Twp., $370,000 GRANDVIEW APTS DIVIDEND HOUSING ASSOCIATION LLC, Prudential Huntoon Paige Associates, Parcel: 411322451042, $12,913,600 HALLAND HOMES LLC, Macatawa Bank, Cascade Twp., $665,250 EL2 DEVELOPMENT LLC, Macatawa Bank, Wyoming, $335,000 MITA, Tuhin et al, ChoiceOne Bank, Wyoming, $357,000 WALIGORA, Matthew, BM Real Estate Services, Grattan Twp., $510,400 CASE, Sonia et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Byron Twp., $464,000 WESLOW, Patrick A. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cascade Twp., $545,800 PUNCHES, Jason R. et al, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Parcel: 411427405007, $592,800 IVENS, Connor et al, United Wholesale Mortgage, Cannon Twp., $490,500 LAMBERTON PARTNERS LLC, CBRE Capital Markets, Grand Rapids City, $8,350,000 ROOKER, Carlton R. et al, American Advisors Group, Ada Twp., $402,000 BURKHOLDER, Patrick et al, Northern Mortgage Services, Courtland Twp., $363,100 HARING, Adam D. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Algoma Twp., $430,500 SWEETCHINMUSIC LLC, Dart Bank, Solon Twp., $1,245,000 SCP GW GRAND RAPIDS LLC, TowneBank, Wyoming, $1,186,250 MILLER, Craig M. et al, West Michigan

Credit Union, Byron Twp., $320,000 KAROLLE, Michael R., Quicken Loans, Parcel: 411803227011, $404,000 RAY, Christopher M. et al, Michael C. Ray, Ada Twp., $375,000 HOEKSTRA, Joel P. et al, Dart Bank, Plainfield Twp., $338,300 FULLER, Marcus et al, First United Credit Union, East Grand Rapids, $420,000 TRIBLO, John et al, Huntington National Bank, Rockford, $420,000 VOLK, Paul et al, Consumers Credit Union, Cannon Twp., $508,000 BELANGER, John et al, New Day Financial, East Grand Rapids, $624,997 KROSS, Kevin J. et al, Huntington National Bank, Byron Twp., $927,500 WRIGHT, Gerald P. Jr. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Ada Twp., $340,000 WRIGHT, Gerald P. Jr. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Ada Twp., $510,000 PIMM, Jake et al, Neighborhood Loans, East Grand Rapids, $387,000 GREAT LAKES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS LLC, ChoiceOne Bank, Sparta, $350,000 BOYNTON, Adam et al, Quicken Loans, Parcel: 411036136100, $493,300 JTB HOMES LLC, TCF National Bank, Byron Twp., $12,000,000 WEISENBURGER, John Jr. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Plainfield Twp., $382,000 CHAPIN, Cortney A., Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411402177015, $342,000 LEE, Thomas, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411430381049, $373,820 DUPUIS, Pascale et al, Mercantile Bank, Ada Twp., $452,800 FERRIS, Scot D. et al, First United Credit Union, Ada Twp., $510,400 CROW, Clinton C., BOKF et al, Parcel: 411426252036, $393,920 VIDRO, Ann et al, ChoiceOne Bank, Parcel: 411413101023, $507,000 STUEVER, Lucas et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cannon Twp., $338,000 YANG TRUST, Blueleaf Lending LLC, Cascade Twp., $492,000 HOWARD, David J. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Oakfield Twp., $334,900 WINN, Clare et al, Mercantile Bank, Cannon Twp., $334,000 MERTIGAN, Taleen A., Academy Mortgage Corp., Algoma Twp., $342,000 BALON, Chad E. et al, Newrez LLC, Parcel: 411433454019, $360,000 DUFFY, Karen et al, BM Real Estate Services, Parcel: 411810176002, $352,000 SPALDING, Michael et al, BM Real Estate Services, Sparta, $389,215 MALSON, Marissa L., ChoiceOne Bank, Cascade Twp., $405,000 BRUNETZ, Robert et al, Primelending, Cannon Twp., $510,400 HART, David K. et al, Fifth Third Bank, Algoma Twp., $383,798 BOLBOLAN, Shahla, Wells Fargo Bank, Plainfield Twp., $510,400 SMART, Jennifer L. et al, Grand River Bank, Ada Twp., $408,000 SAUNDERS, Laruen, Quicken Loans, Parcel: 411431201004, $355,775 KEANE, Scott et al, Old National Bank,

Cannon Twp., $1,050,000 BARKER, Andy et al, Benchmark Mortgage, Bowne Twp., $376,000 BRAINS VENTURES LLC, ChoiceOne Bank, Parcel: 411402302011, $1,233,292 CAUGHRAN, Jamie L., TCF National Bank, Cascade Twp., $328,000 EAGLE CREEK HOMES LLC, Macatawa Bank, Cannon Twp., $475,409 BOOT, Nathan A. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cascade Twp., $328,800 LITTLE, Jonathan A. et al, Heartland Home Mortgage, Byron Twp., $510,000 FREDERICKSON, Ryan S., Lake Michigan Credit Union, Caledonia, $432,000 BARTHOLOMEW, Erin M., Lake Michigan Credit Union, Byron Twp., $341,070 VICKERY, Jessica et al, Greenstone Farm Credit Services, Spencer Twp., $604,384 WEAVER, Cortney L. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Byron Twp., $356,807 SPEER, John et al, BNC National Bank, East Grand Rapids, $850,038 RDG WALKER LLC, Mercantile Bank, Parcel: 411303600015, $4,266,762 VALENTINE, James V. et al, Home Point Financial Corp., East Grand Rapids, $415,061 SMITH, Jeffrey D. et al, Quicken Loans, Caledonia, $367,875 FINN, Charles et al, BNC National Bank, Parcel: 411902327010, $510,400 AITKEN, James et al, MSU Federal Credit Union, Cascade Twp., $380,000 CASTEN, Christopher J. et al, Independent Bank, Cascade Twp., $798,767 BARTLETT, Wayne D. et al, United Bank, Parcel: 412318202055, $411,200 DEVOE, Alexander F. et al, Highpoint Community Bank, Parcel: 412322401011, $506,000 ZELINSKY TRUST, AmeriSave Mortgage Corp., Parcel: 411431207021, $368,300 HARRISON, Christopher et al, Guaranteed Rate Affinity, Caledonia, $403,750 RODE, Brian et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cannon Twp., $756,500 BROWN, John M. et al, TCF National Bank, East Grand Rapids, $420,000 KINGMA, Jason E. et al, Quicken Loans, Walker, $340,650 OSLON, Derek et al, Dart Bank, Cascade Twp., $510,400 THRALL, Nicholas T. et al, Finance of America Mortgage, Byron Twp., $422,066 ARMSTRONG, Christopher et al, United Wholesale Mortgage, Parcel: 411411327027, $321,292 TALBOT, Daniel et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411425102003, $510,300 LYTLE, Adam et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cascade Twp., $590,000 ANDERSON, Jenny K. et al, Dart Bank, Plainfield Twp., $340,750 LAW BUILDING LLC, First Community Bank, Parcel: 411325229013, $1,400,000 BLOCK, Brandi R. et al, Inlanta Mortgage, Parcel: 411401231014, $338,000 MILLER, Steven, Finance of America, Ada Twp., $380,000 WILTZER, Kate et al, Neighborhood Loans, Ada Twp., $385,000 MORRISON TRUST, Lake Michigan Credit

APR 5, 2021

21

Union, East Grand Rapids, $577,000 PHEBUS TRUST, Mercantile Bank, Cannon Twp., $403,274 MAHAR, Jason et al, TCF National Bank, Plainfield Twp., $697,000 FIFIELD, Kevin et al, Fifth Third Bank, Gaines Twp., $510,000 PICKERING, David et al, First Heritage Financial LLC, Lowell, $359,900 HALASZ, Terezia, Neighborhood Loans, Cascade Twp., $372,000 BINA, David, Primelending, Oakfield Twp., $411,350 2000 43RD ST. LLC, Huntington National Bank, Parcel: 411821451012, $1,858,185 28 STORAGE LLC, United Bank, Parcel: 411810451022, $505,000 HARMS, Christopher J. et al, Macatawa Bank, Caledonia, $401,500 MILLER, Grant J. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Byron Twp., $479,241 EAGLE CREEK HOMES LLC, Macatawa Bank, Byron Twp., $406,712 COLE, James Jr. et al, Ruoff Mortgage Co., Kentwood, $340,100 SCHOON, Christopher J. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411425151002, $391,500 GEYER, Brandon et al, Guaranteed Rate, Parcel: 411432434009, $470,580 CARRIAGE WAY MHP LLC, ChoiceOne Bank, Plainfield Twp., $700,000 HEIMAN, Mitch, Northpointe Bank, Ada Twp., $1,575,000 SHANNON, Thomas P. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Byron Twp., $1,250,000 RENNAKER, Andrew S. et al, Morgan Stanley Private Bank, Parcel: 411411226024, $525,000 KUMAR, Dheeraj et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411411202051, $436,500 MEDEMA, Brent, Grand River Bank, Cascade Twp., $510,000 HUNTER, Susan L., TCF National Bank, Parcel: 411309326021, $460,000 COLLER, Christopher et al, Mercantile Bank, Byron Twp., $414,197 RICHTSMEIER, Anthony J. Jr. et al, Compass Mortgage, Parcel: 411905227019, $480,000 ARNHART, Larry et al, Macatawa Bank, Parcel: 411412403005, $425,000 TOBIAS, Jeffrey, Ruoff Mortgage Co., Courtland Twp., $416,000 BUTGEREIT, Bradley B. et al, West Michigan Community Bank, Byron Twp., $439,000 JTB HOMES LLC, Mercantile Bank, Plainfield Twp., $606,400 JUDGE, Bryan S., Macatawa Bank, Ada Twp., $510,000 AV WOLF PROPERTIES LLC, ChoiceOne Bank, Cannon Twp., $360,385 KILEY TRUST, TCF National Bank, East Grand Rapids, $337,000 GAGNON, Gregory et al, Inlanta Mortgage, Parcel: 411412402013, $356,000

PUBLIC RECORD AVAILABLE ONLINE: For the full version of this week’s Public Record, visit the Grand Rapids Business Journal’s website at grbj.com.

Doctors stress vaccines, tout collaboration at virtual health care summit CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

ence in how the vaccines tested against the strain that came out of China respond to the variants from the UK, Brazil and South Africa, but fortunately the vaccines showed positive results as far as decreasing hospital admissions.

“Although they may contract a very mild case of COVID — and it is very mild — they do not require hospitalization, and they for the most part remain quite healthy,” Grifka said.

Biersack said understanding the data behind COVID-19 still is an incredible logistical issue.

Some literature indicates the South Africa and Brazil variants may have a higher mortality rate, but not enough evidence has surfaced yet for it to be definitive.

Increases in hospitalization are still occurring, however. Dr. Joshua Kooistra, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Spectrum Health West Michigan, agreed there is a trend toward younger people being admitted to hospitals because of COVID-19.

At Spectrum Health, the aver-

age age of COVID-19 admissions in November and December of last year was 65 years old, but in the past couple of weeks, the average age was 53, Kooistra said.

“I think that’s multifactorial,” Kooistra said. “It may be due to the variants, but also the effectiveness of vaccinating our older population, and we’re seeing great results from that. The only demographic we’re not seeing an increase of positivity or hospitalizations in the state is in the 70 and above age group.”

Biersack said once individuals are fully vaccinated, they can gather indoors and can gather with another family member who is vaccinated and has kids who are low risk, but it still is important at this point to follow CDC guidelines and mask indoors with people who are higher risk.

Even with the benefits of the vaccines, there still is some public hesitancy about getting vaccinated, whether because of trepidation or political conviction. Grifka said the general trend of distrust toward vaccines poses concerns for health professionals about fi-

nally kicking COVID-19.

“It’s a dangerous trend,” Grifka said. “Probably most of us have never seen a patient with polio.

Due to vaccines, it’s been completely eliminated from the whole world. I think it’s important to educate the community that this vaccine, although the time period from the initial trial to administration was shorter than ever, it’s not because we cut short the science. It’s because we were making the vaccine as we were testing it.

So once the approval came in, we had a million doses ready to be administered, as opposed to making it and then a lag before we started to administer it.”

With regard to hesitancy among women wanting to get pregnant or who are considering that possibility later on, Kooistra said the vaccine still is strongly encouraged, noting women who contracted COVID-19 have worse birth outcomes.

Johnston said the biggest concern among chamber members was, of course, getting their employees vaccinated. Kooistra said supply is going to be the con-

straining factor, even as eligibility to all age groups opens up.

“Our three health systems are always on call with the state of Michigan talking about supply that is available,” Kooistra said.

“Unfortunately, the supply that we require to meet our demand still is not there,” Kooistra said. “I would say our efforts around the West Michigan Vaccination Clinic, which could potentially vaccinate over 20,000 people a day, is limited because of the supply.”

Kooistra remained hopeful the three vaccine manufacturers will increase their supply, but the state told Spectrum Health it still will be constrained for the next few weeks.

Kooistra said the best way for employers to get their workers scheduled is via vaccinatewestmichigan.com or spectrumhealth. org/wmvaccineclinic. Any retail pharmacy will have online vaccination scheduling as well.

Johnston said one positive to arise from the pandemic was the collaboration among health systems, municipalities and other organizations to face COVID-19

together.

Biersack agreed, saying there is more of a community focus that has arisen because of COVID-19, with a greater focus on breaking down population data, so health systems can better service their communities in the future.

Grifka added the pandemic accelerated many new technologies, telehealth being the most apparent. While individuals still will need to go to the hospital for the best care, the addition of telemedicine means providers are able to reach more patients at their convenience.

Additionally, more consciousness around masks and hand washing has led to fewer cases of influenza this year, with just over 1,800 cases in the whole country according to the CDC, whereas an average flu season sees about 3,800 deaths.

“There may be some long-term effects that are very positive for the community,” Grifka said, “because these are keeping people out of the hospital, out of the doctors’ offices and back at work and with their families.”

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Schools are breathing easier Mall madness.

O

ver 100,000 Fellowes AeraMax Air Purifiers are now in U.S. schools, according to Holland-based Trendway.

Fellowes Contract Interiors and Trendway on March 29 announced that over 100,000 Fellowes AeraMax Air Purifiers units have been sold in schools across 32 states since the onset of the pandemic. Fellowes AeraMax Air Purifiers have shown a 99.99% airborne reduction of a coronavirus surrogate within 60 minutes of operation. The purifiers are available through Trendway’s network of more than 350 dealer partners across the United States and Canada.

The units were demonstrated through independent laboratory testing to be effective in reducing aerosolized airborne concentration of human coronavirus 229E in a test chamber, reaching 99.99% airborne reduction within one hour of operation. The coronavirus 229E was used as a surrogate to Sars-CoV-2 by the testing lab Shanghai WEIPU Chemical Technology Service Company. Fellowes AeraMax Air Purifiers also have been proven to remove 99.9% of the H1N1 virus within 35 minutes of operation, as certified by Airmid Health Group Limited in Dublin.

“As the national conversation builds around the need to improve indoor air quality as part of reopening plans, we understand

BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF

that teachers and parents are concerned about the health of their students,” said Mark Rhoades, president, Fellowes Contract Interiors. “Fellowes continues to see an increase in localized air purification demand as educators and facilities managers understand the scientific evidence around coronaviruses’ airborne transmission and work to create safer indoor environments in school.”

The latest CDC guidance for school reopenings offers more detail about the role of air ventilation, filtration and purification as a COVID-19 prevention strategy. Air cleaners, such as Fellowes AeraMax Air Purifiers with True HEPA filtration, complement HVAC systems by optimizing local indoor air quality and providing an extra layer of virus protection. The AeraMax air purification solution helps achieve scientists’ recommended goal of four to six air changes per hour (ACH), meaning the air is refreshed every 10-15 minutes.

“COVID-19 has been a wakeup call (about) the importance of indoor air quality. School administrations are listening and responding to teachers, staff and parents who are well-studied on the issue of coronaviruses’ airborne spread and the role of filtration and purification as a mitigation strategy,” said Rob Day, executive vice president of customer experience,

Fellowes Contract Interiors. “Government funding programs, such as CARES and the newly passed American Rescue Plan Act, have enabled schools to invest in commercial air purification.”

Trendway said Fellowes commercial-grade AeraMax Pro air purifiers perform quietly and offer proprietary smart technology features and easy installation. The air purifiers’ technologies include EnviroSmart and PureView. EnviroSmart utilizes multiple sensors to monitor contaminants and room occupancy. It adjusts automatically to provide maximum protection, expanding the life of machines and filters. PureView makes the invisible visible with real-time screen updates on air quality and machine performance.

“Before the pandemic, there was a real separation of purification and ventilation; however, now localized air purification solutions are being recognized as a necessary component of a ventilation strategy,” said Mike Booth, global market director of air treatment, Fellowes Brands. “We’re learning that many schools see Fellowes AeraMax Pro air purifiers as a cost-efficient solution versus the time and expense required to overhaul HVAC systems.”

Schools in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Virginia, California and Indiana are using the products.

“Our experience with the Fellowes AeraMax Pro product line has been wonderful. Our teachers, students and administrators can see the air being cleaned with the Fellowes PureView technology, which provides a feeling of safety, and the units turn off, saving energy when our classrooms are empty,” said Jeff Kutch, director of facilities, facilities administration at Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana.

Beyond the classroom, schools are installing Fellowes air purifiers in other shared spaces such as resource rooms, libraries, locker rooms, nurses’ offices, conference spaces and media centers.

Trendway sales reps engage with facilities managers to determine air purification needs throughout buildings. Schools can have Fellowes AeraMax Pro air purifiers delivered in less than two weeks.

STAYING HOME For “staycationers” wanting to get out of the house during spring break, Woodland Mall has several opportunities for everyone to safely enjoy time off from school and work.

Woodland Mall will host a Small Business Expo in its Von Maur wing from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday, April 10, where business owners will set up booths to showcase their products and engage with the community. Guests will have the opportunity to learn more about these small businesses and support them.

“For those families who still aren’t comfortable traveling, Woodland Mall is the perfect spring break destination,” said Woodland

APR 5, 2021

23

Mall Marketing Director Cecily McCabe. “From shopping to games and other creative opportunities, we are eager to help families enjoy a safe and fun staycation experience.”

Shoppers also will be able to enjoy visiting for longer periods of time when the mall returns to normal operating hours on April 5: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon-6 p.m., Sunday.

With the weather warming up, Zumiez will offer 25% off pads with any skateboard purchase over spring break so shoppers can enjoy designing their new boards now and have something to look forward to later.

For teens hoping to line up their summer jobs, apparel stores Altar’d State, H&M, The Buckle and Banana Republic are looking to hire.

Families looking for fun can visit the Funshop Arcade in the Macy’s wing and browse the games and toys at Toysmark and Barnes & Noble.

“Choosing to spend spring break at the mall also benefits the retailers and restaurants and their employees who are still trying to recover from the pandemic,” McCabe said. “Visiting the mall is a great way to give our local economy a boost.”

Even after spring break, guests will continue to see new developments at the mall. Backstage

by Macy’s will celebrate its grand opening as a stand-alone business on the department store’s recently renovated second floor on Saturday, April 17. The shop offers men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, accessories and more at affordable prices.

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