Grand Rapids Business Journal 09.20.21

PROGRAM develops nonprofit executives.

PAGE 3

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 VOL. 39, NO. 19

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

MCDERMOTT IS Mailing house helps companies save money collects, MOVED TO SERVE KCI sorts and meters THIS WEEK

Guiding Light development director aims to help others who may be suffering in shame and silence like she was. Page 11

mail from businesses, and USPS gives it a discount on postage.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

Sector energized Employment in the green energy industry is recovering after a significant COVID-19 hit.

PAGE 3

Food for thought Food startups need more expert advice, training before matching with investors for a capital raise.

PAGE 3

CLEARER PICTURE? IRS provides clarity to guidelines of the Employee Retention Credit, which has proved to be a puzzling financial aid to employers and tax experts alike. Page 8

THE LISTS

The area’s top CPA firms Page 6 The area’s top SBA lenders Page 7

A 46-year-old local company is softening the blow of the recent postage rate hike for its hundreds of clients as it continues to procure and pass along lower prices from the U.S. Postal Service.

Kent Communications Inc. (KCI) was founded in 1975 by Phil Quist and Joyce Vugteveen as a printing and mailing company serving greater Grand Rapids.

Today, the company’s ownership has passed to Brian Quist, the son of Phil Quist and current company president, and KCI now offers design, print, mail and e-marketing services for organizations across Michigan from its location at 3901 E. Paris Ave. SE in Kentwood.

“One of the things that we do is we pick up mail from about 300 different organizations in the western/ mid-Michigan area, so from

President Brian Quist said KCI picks up mail from approximately 300 companies in Michigan.. Courtesy KIC

Muskegon to Lansing, and from Grand Rapids north to Fremont.

Every day, we pick up mail from either government, schools, companies (or) nonprofits, and we mix it all together, (sort it) and get postage discounts” after delivering it to the postal service, Brian Quist said.

USPS offers rebates for companies that pre-sort and meter mail at volume. KCI typically can save customers about 4 cents per envelope by serving as a go-between with its quality pick-up, sort and process services. The price of metered mail rose from 51 to 53 cents as of Aug. 29,

according to usps.com, but KCI customers only pay 49.4 cents, up from 46 cents prior to August, Quist said.

To prepare the mail for delivery to the postal service, KCI’s sorting operation is high-tech and has the look of something out of a movie.

Its facility contains a huge, automated mail sorting machine that has the capability to sort to 160 different ZIP codes at a rate of 10 per second, or 40,000 envelopes an hour. As the mail goes through the machine, it reads the address, takes a picture and turns that data into a unique barcode via optical character recognition.

“It looks at that address and then finds it — we have a database of all the addresses in the whole country — and then it sprays the barcode to direct it to that house.

At the same time, it’s checking if there’s a move update on file for that individual on the envelope, and if there is, we can print their new address and forward the mail to the new location,” Quist said.

The mail is then sorted into the appropriate trays according to location to pass off to USPS. He said today’s technology allows KCI and the post office to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Rockford puts emphasis on sustainable construction Builder also looks at projects in ‘holistic’ way for clients.

Paul R. Kopenkoskey

Special to the Business Journal

When it comes to Rockford Construction integrating sustainability into its building designs and developments, the tent poles of people, planet and profit are kept to the fore.

“That’s our triple bottom line,” said Jennifer Boezwinkle, executive vice president, construction for Rockford Construction. “That’s really the challenge our clients are facing. It’s really an approach that’s gaining more and more popularity

as we look at buildings’ impact not just on energy and the environment, but the people who live there and work there from a day-to-day standpoint. We are very much about the triple bottom line.”

Increasingly, builders must be on the vanguard of mining ways for Earth’s biosphere and human civilization to coexist without ravaging the environment, according to Boezwinkle. New construction and rebuilds that follow the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification developed by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council certainly are a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t stop there, since buildings will likely outlast the peoCONTINUED ON PAGE 15

Sustainable features at Grand Rapids Public Schools’ Southwest Community Campus include flooring made of recycled content, recycled countertops, low VOC paint and adhesive, and access to natural lighting. Courtesy Rockford Construction

GRBJ.COM Vol. 39, No. 19 $2.00 a copy. $59 a year © Entire contents copyright 2021 by Gemini Media. All rights reserved.

Inside Track ...... 11 Guest Columns.. 18 Student debt hype Change-Ups ..... 24

UNITED Federal Credit Union marks progress, reflects on past.

Calendar .......... 24 Public Record ... 25 Street Talk ...... 26

PAGE 5

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

3

New leadership program develops nonprofit executives Nonprofit LEAD 24/7 is a professional training cohort forged from Leading by Design curriculum.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

Most often, nonprofits’ budgets go mostly toward programming and overhead, and little is left for talent development. A new partnership in Ottawa County is trying to change that.

Patrick Cisler, executive director of Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance (LNA), a membership organization that serves 160 nonprofits in Ottawa County, teamed up with Rodger Price, founder and managing partner of Grand Rapids-based educational consulting firm Leading by Design (LBD), to launch a version of LBD’s LEAD 24/7 curriculum that is tailored to nonprofits.

Nonprofit LEAD 24/7 wrapped its first 12-month cohort of nine executive director participants in May, which included Barbara Lee VanHorssen, Momentum Center; Beth Larsen, Resilience; Craig Spoelhof, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holland; Darcy Fluharty, Children’s Advocacy Center; Deedre Vriesman, Resthaven; Drew Peirce, Good Samaritan Ministries; Josh Bytwerk, Love in Action of the

Patrick Cisler is shown facilitating a session of Nonprofit Next, one of Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance’s other programs. Courtesy Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance

Tri-Cities; Sarah Lewakowski, Mosaic Counseling; and Scott Rumpsa, Community Action House.

A second cohort launched this month.

Cisler’s organization is devoted to providing education, training and

consulting to its nonprofit partners — “helping them do their good work even better,” as he put it. About five or six years ago, LNA began brainstorming how to put on a low-cost professional development program for nonprofit executives who often

don’t get the support they need.

After exploring many options, three years ago Cisler began talks with Price and his team about doing a nonprofit-specific LEAD 24/7 program after Cisler himself went through a cohort with LBD.

Brandjectory adds The Knowledge Base Food startups needed more expert advice, training before matching with investors for a capital raise.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

A social platform founded last year to connect investors with food startups is leveling up its educational offerings.

Brandjectory — an online platform launched in May 2020 by industry veterans at Battle Creekbased food and beverage innovation and commercialization group JPG Resources, Lincolnshire, Illinois-based consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry advisory firm The Movitz Group, and Scottsdale, Arizona-based natural foods investment office The Litchfield Fund to connect early-stage CPG brands seeking to raise capital with investors — has expanded its offerings with the introduction of The Brandjectory Knowledge Base and several other new features.

The enhancements include articles by experts; more Brandjectory events, including signature brand/ investor meetups to help strengthen relationships between founders and investors; and diagnostic reviews of brand user profiles by the platform’s team of industry experts to help founders increase their effectiveness with targeted investors.

When Brandjectory launched, its purpose was to help brands

and investors connect easily, efficiently and purposefully. As the relationship-based platform has grown, it has expanded to educating and guiding brand founders to give them more control over their growth trajectory.

“As budding CPG brands utilized the platform, its founders required more support, education and guidance to effectively navigate the capital raise process, while investors sought brands that were ready to hit the ground running,” said Tom Malengo, Brandjectory co-founder and partner at The Litchfield Fund.

“This insight led us to create The Knowledge Base, a collection of hundreds of articles crafted from a unique CPG investor lens for founders to become investor-ready at their own pace. Primarily written by our team of industry experts, each piece of content sets founders up for success, with a distinct investor-forward viewpoint that better enables brands to make the most of every investor interaction. It includes everything from understanding investor expectations to negotiating a transaction successfully and preparing for post-deal responsibilities.”

Added Glenn Pappalardo, another Brandjectory co-founder and managing partner of JPG Resources: “The feedback we were getting from investors was, it’s great you’re building this platform. It’s great that we have an easier way to discover and connect with these brands. What would also be great is if, especially for those who are doing this for the first time, you could help them be even better prepared.

That would help them and us.”

The Knowledge Base is designed to help brand founders master the building blocks of being investor-ready and offers 10 master subjects and 65 need-to-know Pappalardo topics. In addition, the platform provides a menu of new features and services for brands and investors, including: • Investor-centric brand profile templates to clearly present what matters most to them, supported with context-specific guidance by field and easily updated in real time with brand news and achievements • Ability to be discovered by, and communicate with, investors • One-click investor request for product samples • Invitations to Brandjectory events, including signature brand/ investor meetups • Access to the Brandjectory brand founder and investor communities, including discussion groups • A full suite of best practice templates, such as business planning, investor pitching and more • Curated industry news and event notices • Access to webinars, blogs and podcasts • Opportunities to be highlighted in platform events, media assets and with Brandjectory media partners Brandjectory offers basic and premium plans. The basic plan ($179 per year) helps startups and emerging CPG brands build a

strong business foundation, prepare to raise capital and understand how investors review targets.

The premium plan ($379 per year) grants access to Brandjectory’s full suite of features and functions, including the entirety of the new Knowledge Base and exclusive founder and investor small group meetups, to supercharge and prepare founders who are ready to capital raise to actively promote their companies to investors.

“What we’ve tried to do is stratify The Knowledge Base, such that there are certain topics and levels of detail available to basic users that will help them on the journey to being ready to be a premium user,” Pappalardo said. “The big distinction there is when you go premium, you’re now fully visible to the investor community on Brandjectory. So, after getting back that investor feedback of, ‘Hey, it would be great if they’re super prepared,’ what we’re trying to do is help make sure that every brand that becomes visible has its best face showing.

We’re trying to give them, as basic users, enough guidance and knowledge to get them to that point, and then once they flip that switch and become premium, there is a whole other tier or realm of information and guidance that they can access.”

Today, Brandjectory hosts almost 200 brands across multiple CPG product types and 50 CPG investors across numerous classifications.

Among brands, 25% are beverages (including alcohol), 21% are snacks/treats/bars, 15% are cenCONTINUED ON PAGE 13

“Rodger was gracious enough to open up his playbook and say, ‘I’d be happy to do that,’” Cisler said.

“Certainly, it aligns missionally with him, and so he, again, opened up the curriculum for us, and then we as an organization raised the money to help subsidize the cost to be able to put nine executive directors through our first cohort. We were interrupted by the pandemic, but we just wrapped up our first cohort in May of 2021.”

The Nonprofit LEAD 24/7 cohort participants meet once a month for a year — in person, if possible, at a nonprofit or company that is a leader in its field — listening to facilitators including Cisler and Kurt Wassink, retired head of human resources for Gentex, on topics such as giving and receiving feedback, public speaking, healthy conflict resolution, building a solid team, casting vision, leading oneself, leading change and more.

As part of the program, participants break into small groups for discussion, then they also meet with an executive coach from Leading by Design to help them apply the concepts to their organization.

“They meet with (coaches) for about two hours in between sessions as another way to help process some of the content that they’re learning,” Cisler said. “I’ve done a lot of leadership development programs myself over the CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Clean energy sector surges But the industry has a lot to make up after initially losing more than 31,000 jobs to COVID-19.

Ehren Wynder

ewynder@grbj.com

More than 113,400 Michiganders worked in alternative energy at the end of 2020, according to a study released by the Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) and Clean Energy Trust.

The report comes as the U.S. Congress and the Biden administration are considering legislation to boost federal investments in clean energy and clean vehicles, and as the state continues to implement Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive action on climate.

“This industry is poised for growth like we’ve never seen before,” said Micaela Preskill, Midwest advocate for E2. “The economics are in our favor. Clean energy is now the cheapest energy in most parts of the world, and we’re seeing record investments in clean energy companies.”

Preskill added, for the industry to reach its full potential and curb the effects of climate change, the responsibility falls on lawmakers to pass the right policies. According CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

5

United Federal Credit Union marks progress, reflects on past Southwest Michigan financial institution welcomes 95-year-old co-founder for a tour to witness its recent growth.

Rachel Watson

rwatson@grbj.com

ue the legacy John and our other founding members began — showing respect and kindness toward others we encounter. That includes not only our members, but one another, no matter how busy we are,” he said.

While the values the credit union was founded on have remained the same, the number of members United serves has grown to more than 180,000.

“I’m very proud. I’m amazed by how much United has grown,” Conrad said. “I’m proud as can be to see what’s happening with credit unions all over the country. It does my heart good.”

As United continues looking toward the future and how to improve the service it provides members, Conrad offered a simple piece of advice to current employees and leaders.

“Treat people with respect. Be nice to them,” Conrad said. “And compliment people when they do their job right.”

Conrad’s guidance resonated with members of Team United, including O’Rourke, who indicated those words are key to the foundation of all exceptional leadership.

“It was simple but powerful advice,” O’Rourke said. “John’s words

are something we can reflect on in our daily interaction with members, each other and the people in our community. It is also an important reminder that even though we’ve grown so much in 70 years, we come from humble beginnings built on timeless values.”

United Federal Credit Union consists of more than 180,000 member/owners worldwide and manages assets of over $3.7 billion.

Its corporate offices and main branch are in St. Joseph, with additional branches in Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio.

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We make it our business to help you with yours.

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United Federal Credit Union has been at the center of a whirlwind of progress over the past few years, but it also recently stopped to reflect on its roots.

The St. Joseph-based credit union founded in 1949 said it strives to deliver personalized, in-person service, balanced with an innovative digital experience to meet members’ growing expectations of what they need from their financial institution.

The credit union recently opened a new, approximately 80,000-square-foot headquarters in St. Joseph to grow its diverse workforce, expanded its branch footprint into new towns including South Bend, Indiana, and Springdale, Arkansas, bringing it up to 42 locations in six states, and it launched new remote banking services such as its Mya AI-chatbot and upgrades to its mobile app.

While United is looking to its future and its ability to help more members than ever before, the institution also is taking the time to reflect on the values it was built on and honor those who were pioneers in the credit union’s founding 72 years ago.

In July 2021, United welcomed one of its founding members to visit to the new St. Joseph headquarters. John Conrad, 95, saw firsthand how far the small credit union he helped launch has grown. Conrad was the first auditor for Nineteen Hundred Employee Credit Union, which would go on to become United Federal Credit Union. He also sat on the credit union’s board of directors, including serving time as board president.

Before he became a founding member of the credit union, Conrad was a World War II veteran who enrolled in a wounded veteran training program to learn accounting. He took those skills and landed a job in the payroll department for Whirlpool Corporation. While Conrad’s job made him a natural fit to help start the credit union, he said his real passion to help others in St. Joseph came after a bad experience at another financial institution.

“I needed a loan to get a furnace for the house I was building,” Conrad said. “I went to the bank after I had been working on the house, and I wasn’t dressed the best. I said, ‘I’d like a loan.’ (The banker) looked at my clothes and asked if I worked in a factory. I told him I worked in an office. He kept asking me questions, including who I worked for.

I ended up getting the loan, but the way I was treated convinced me we needed a better way to get loans.

The credit union did that for us, and I have been a member ever since.”

Conrad, along with seven others, officially founded Nineteen Hundred Employee Credit Union in 1949. At that time, it only served Whirlpool employees and had around 500 members. Instead of the expansive headquarters and

dozens of branches United operates out of today, credit union business was conducted out of a lockbox kept inside a Whirlpool building until its first freestanding branch opened in October 1963.

“We wanted to welcome people into the credit union and tell them what we could do for them — make them feel at ease,” Conrad recalled about the founding members’ motives.

It is a mindset United President and CEO Terry O’Rourke said is just as important to the institution today as it was in the late 1940s.

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

IRS provides guidance for Employee Retention Credit Passage of three major pieces of legislation over the last year required tax updates.

Danielle Nelson

dnelson@grbj.com

W E’R E B U I LT FO R T H I S .

A strong business stands the test of time.

Alberici is one such business that credits its success to rock-solid reliability, timely execution, and attention to detail. Those same values are what drew the construction company to Commerce Bank. The contractor relies on Commerce for everything from credit to treasury and investment management and, more recently, an electronic payment system.

It’s a financial relationship made stronger over time.

commercebank.com/BuiltForThis ©2021 Commerce Bancshares, Inc.

The Internal Revenue Service has provided clarity to the guidelines of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), which has proved to be a puzzling financial aid to employers and tax experts alike.

In August, the IRS provided additional guidance for the ERC for the third and fourth quarters of this year, which covers cash tips, eligible qualified wages, gross receipts and ownership wages.

However, there is uncertainty about whether the ERC will extend to the fourth quarter, which begins on Oct. 1 because of the infrastructure bill that is before the U.S. Congress. If the bill is signed into law before Sept. 30, the ERC effectively ends, and employers can no longer claim credit for the fourth quarter of 2021.

Nonetheless, the IRS has provided employers with new guidance for how they can claim credit for their 2020 and 2021 payrolls after a series of laws were passed, continually updating requirements to the ERC. Those laws include the CARES Act 2020, Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act 2021.

Under the new guidance, the IRS has included cash tips, which are mostly earned by employees in the restaurant industry, in its definition of qualified wages. Prior to the new guidance for qualified wages, Pete Isberg, vice president of government affairs for ADP in Grand Rapids, stated that qualified wages are Social Security wages (defined in IRC Section 3121(a) but without regard to the taxable wage limit).

“This definition is broad and includes most forms of compensation, including 401(k) contributions and other types of compensation that are excluded for federal income tax purposes,” he said. “It also includes any employer health plan expenses that are associated with such wages.”

In the 2020 CARES Act, employers could claim 50% of qualified wages paid, up to $10,000 per employee per quarter. However, when the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law, employers could claim a 70% credit for qualified wages paid, up to $10,000 per quarter, if they continued to be eligible because of either a decline in gross receipts or were subjected to a government shutdown in 2020.

The American Rescue Plan Act also extended those claim opportunities to the third and fourth quarters of this year.

According to an article written

by Amy Forester, partner and CPA for Plante Moran’s Kalamazoo’s office, and Donny Lucaj, principal and CPA for Plante Moran, the IRS created a safe harbor rule that employers can exclude amounts received from COVID-19 relief programs such as Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness, shuttered venue operator grants and restaurant revitalization grants in their

calculated gross receipts. They said, “The guidance implies that grants or loan forgiveness from any other program will continue to count as gross receipts for the ERC.” Forester In addition to the ERC eligibility based on gross receipts and governmental shutdown effects on businesses, Forester said when the American Rescue Plan was signed into law there were two more eligibility categories added for the third and fourth quarters of 2021. They are significantly distressed business and recovery startup business.

Another clarification was in reference to what is considered a small business and a large business.

The Consolidated Appropriations Acts deemed a small business as one that has up to 500 employees.

Prior to that legislation, a small business was considered one with 100 employees or less.

Derik Rynearson, a tax partner for Beene Gartner, said the guidance provides clarification on who is considered a full-time employee.

“The initial language in the statute referred to the Affordable Care Act rules, which were implemented in the Obama era, and that guidance was very complex in terms of how you count the number of fulltime employees you have,” he said.

“It required you to look at your full-time equivalent, which is essentially if you had a group of part-time employees who may work 20 hours per week (and) when you combine all of Rynearson those people, 20 of those employees might equate to five full-time employees based on the hours they worked. What this new guidance for the ERC provided was that you don’t look at those full-time equivalents, you only look at the people who are considered full-time employees. So that was helpful in how you count employees. They are individuals who work at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month under the ERC.” Duane Culver, a certified public accountant for Culver Group, said one of the biggest surprises was whether the owner’s wages qualified for the ERC. “In the law, it said the wages to a related person does not qualify for ERC,” he said.

“The big question was, ‘How do you define Culver who is ‘related?’

That was not clear, but the guidance provided some clarity. The owner is not necessarily considered related if he/she does not have other relatives (working there), but a person who is related such as an ancestor or diCONTINUED ON PAGE 16

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

THE LIST

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

7

Top Area SBA Lenders (RANKED BY DOLLAR AMOUNT FROM JANUARY 1, 2020 TO DECEMBER 1, 2020) SBA contact person(s) 1

Huntington National Bank Huntington Bancshares Inc. 40 Pearl St. NW Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 235-3593 f 428-4369 huntington.com

2

Live Oak Banking Company Live Oak Bancshares Inc. 1741 Tiburon Drive Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 p (910) 790-5867 f 218-7712 liveoakbank.com

David Lucht

3

Bank of George GBank Financial Holdings Inc. 9115 West Russell Road, Suite. 110 Las Vegas, Nevada 89148 p (702) 851-4200 bankofgeorge.com

4

Highpoint Community Bank HCB Financial Corp.

150 West Court St. Hastings 49058 p (269) 945-2401 f 945-9777 highpointcommunitybank.com

Benjamin VanDerWeide

Type of SBA certification*

Export Express, PLP, SBA Express

Number of 2020 Dollar amount of 2020 W. Mich.

SBA W. Mich. loans SBA loans

233

$34.87M

Certified Lenders Program

8

$10.33M

DND

Certified Lenders Program, SBA Express

1

$3.59M

DND

SBA Express

1

$3.07M

Additional members

Huntington Bank completed its merger with TCF and it has added five new board members. They are Richard H. King, Barbara L. McQuade, Roger J. Sit, Jeffrey L. Tate and Gary Torgow. They were all former directors of TCF.

Market president

Export Express, PLP, SBA Express

7

$1.79M

Certified Lenders Program

2

$1.72M

Horizon Bank added Mark Johnson as the new market president for the Holland area.

He has over 30 years of experience in the financial sector.

David Dams

PLP, SBA Express

3

$1.51M

New position

Scott Ellison

Export Express, PLP, SBA Express

6

$1.41M

Comerica Bank Comerica Inc. 99 Monroe Ave. NW Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 776-7890 f 451-9298 comerica.com

John Porterfield

Export Express, PLP, SBA Express

4

$1.36M

Union Bank 523 Ada Drive SE, Suite 102 Ada 49301 p (616) 682-0900 ubmich.com

DND

Certified Lenders Program

1

$1.23M

11

Capitol National Bank Capitol Bancorp Limited 200 Washington Square North Lansing 48933 p (517) 484-5080 f 374-2559 capitolnational.com

DND

SBA Express

3

$1.14M

12

Opportunity Resource Fund 330 Marshall St., Suite 105 Lansing 48912 p (517) 372-6001 oppfund.org

DND

Certified Lenders Program

6

$1.06M

13

United Midwest Savings Bank, National Association MSB Capital Corporation 101 S. Main St. De Graff, Ohio 43318 p (937) 585-5861 f 585-6603 umwsb.com

Fred Crispen Terry Crispen

Certified Lenders Program

5

$1.04M

14

First Financial Bank 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 700 Cincinnati, Ohio 45246 p (877) 322-9530 bankatfirst.com

DND

Certified Lenders Program

1

$958,200

15

West Shore Bank West Shore Bank Corporation 201 W. Loomis St. Ludington 49431 p (888) 295-4373 westshorebank.com

DND

SBA Express

2

$938,800

5

PNC Bank, National Association The PNC Financial Services Group 171 Monroe Ave. NW Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 771-9279 f 771-9258 pnc.com

6

LendingClub Bank, National Association LendingClub Corporation 2701 N. Thanksgiving Way, Suite 300 Lehi, Utah 84043 p (833) 536-3639 lendingclub.com

7

Old National Bank Old National Bancorp 5200 Cascade Road SE Grand Rapids 49506 p (616) 228-6000 oldnational.com

8

Horizon Bank Horizon Bancorp Inc. 250 Pearl St. NW Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 214-3748 horizonbank.com

9

10

Brian Janssen

DND

*PLP denotes Preferred Lenders Program, which enables the bank to lend directly to the borrower without SBA approval. CLP denotes Certified Lenders Program, which enables the bank to reduce the waiting period for SBA approval to three days. The Grand Rapids Business Journal's list of top Michigan Small Business Administration lenders, ranked by dollar amount from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 — Michigan SBA loans, is the most comprehensive available. Figures supplied by the U.S. SBA Detroit district office are for 7(a) guaranty approvals by holding company. DND = did not disclose

Comerica Bank selected Bob Buchanan to serve as its senior vice president and national practice leader for Business Transition Planning. He joined Comerica on July 12.

Moving headquarters

Union Bank is moving its corporate headquarters from Lake Odessa to Grand Rapids Township at 670 Cascade W. Pkwy. SE.

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

THE LIST

Top Area CPA Firms (RANKED BY 2020 WEST MICHIGAN BILLINGS)

Managing partner(s)

No. of staff/ No. of CPAs/ No. of partners in W. Mich.

2020 % Clients 2019 businesses/ W. Mich. billings individuals Areas of specialization

Increased revenue Memberships

1

BDO USA, LLP 200 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 300 Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 774-7000 f 776-3680 bdo.com

Katie Ferris Kevin Muntter

463 124 20

$49.32M $48.21M

DND DND

Accounting and auditing; federal, state and international tax compliance and consulting; litigation and forensic investigations; technology advisory; private client tax services; transaction advisory

AICPA, MICPA, PCAOB, ESOP, Center for Audit Quality

2

Crowe LLP 55 Campau Ave. NW, Suite 500 Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 774-0774 f 752-4226 crowe.com

Rhonda Huismann

224 76 21

$46.64M $44.27M

97% 3%

Audit, tax, advisory services, consulting and technology

AICPA, MACPA, Center for Audit Quality, PCAOB, CFMA, Econ Club, Grand Rapids Chamber and ACG of West Michigan

3

Plante & Moran PLLC 634 Front Ave. NW, Suite 400 Grand Rapids 49504 p (616) 774-8221 f 774-0702 plantemoran.com

Jason Marvin

190 83 23

$37.54M $36.57M

82% 18%

Audit and tax services, wealth management AICPA, MICPA, MIR, and investment consulting, business valuations SECPS, PCPS and forensic services, global business strategy, operational process improvement

4

Rehmann, LLC 2330 East Paris Ave. SE Grand Rapids 49546 p (616) 975-4100 f 975-4400 rehmann.com

John Pridnia John Skukalek

150 40 20

$36.38M $37.83M

56% 44%

Tax-managed investments, financial and estate American Institute of planning, advanced design 401(k) plans, CPAs, Michigan nonqualified deferred comp. plans Association of Certified Public Accountants, AICPA's Private Companies Practice Section, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Financial Planning Association

5

Beene Garter LLP 56 Grandville Ave. SW, Suite 100 Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 235-5200 f 235-5285 beenegarter.com

Thomas Rosenbach

110 60 17

$19.37M $16.88M

DND DND

Tax, audit, accounting outsourcing services, AICPA, MICPA, ACFE, payroll services, Sage Intacct software, Moore North America, business consulting, retirement plan services Moore Global Network Limited

Rick Chrisman

116 39 9

$18.5M $15.5M

87% 13%

Audit, accounting, tax, advisory, business valuation, managed IT services and wealth management

AICPA, MICPA, AGN, GR Chamber of Commerce, Local First

David Echelbarger

43 20 4

$6.26M $5.92M

92% 8%

Tax preparation and consulting, audits/ reviews/compilations, business valuations, QuickBooks consulting, Microsoft Dynamics 365 cloud software solutions

AICPA, MICPA, Financial Consulting Group, Velosio Grand Rapids, BDO Alliance USA

22 9 2

$3M $2.69M

70% 30%

Family business planning, fraud prevention, AICPA, MICPA, ASWA, strategic planning, estate planning, succession CPAFMA, IMA planning

6

Hungerford Nichols CPAs + Advisors 2910 Lucerne Drive SE Grand Rapids 49546 p (616) 949-3200 f 949-7720 hungerfordnichols.com

7

EHTC (Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm & Co. P.C.) 2301 East Paris Ave. SE Grand Rapids 49546 p (616) 575-3482 f 575-3481 ehtc.com

8

Baker Holtz 161 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 200 Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 458-1835 f 458-1895 bakerholtz.com

Ryan Holtz

Nienhuis Financial Group LLC 3460 Wilson Ave. SW Grandville 49418 p (616) 532-8861 f 532-4552 nfgllc.com

Robert Oostendorp

36 8 1

$3M $2.5M

DND 20%

Accounting and bookkeeping, business management, tax management, business strategy and consulting

AICPA, MACPA

10

Pennell CPA 5005 Cascade Road SE, Suite A Grand Rapids 49546 p (616) 285-7050 f 285-7150 pennellcpa.com

Fred Pennell R. Thomas Renner

19 8 2

$2.42M $2.19M

70% 30%

Business tax planning and preparation; individual, trust and estate tax planning and preparation; compiled financial statements; accounting and payroll services; family and business office services

AICPA, MICPA, Grand Rapids Chamber, FHBA, ABA

11

Kaptein, Dykstra & Co. PC 4095 Chicago Drive SW, Suite 101 Grandville 49418 p (616) 530-8712 f 530-0907 kdccpa.com

Randall Dykstra

15 8 4

$2.11M $2M

60% 40%

Tax preparation, audits, small business AICPA, MICPA, NACVA accounting, business valuation, estate planning

12

Stonehenge Consulting PLC 2464 Byron Station Drive SW Byron Center 49315 p (616) 891-1147 f 891-1167 stonehengeplc.com

Casey Young Lisa Wisniewski

17 7 2

$1.93M $1.8M

70% 30%

Construction, manufacturing, franchise ownership, family-owned business, private practice firms, property mgt./RE investment

13

Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC 2311 E. Beltline Ave. SE, Suite 200 Grand Rapids 49546 p (616) 942-6440 f 942-6095 ahpplc.com

Stephen Miller

15 9 2

$1.7M DND

85% 15%

Closely held businesses, financial institutions, AICPA, MICPA, PCAOB, colleges/universities, insurance companies, Allinial Global, GRACC nonprofits

14

Culver CPA Group 1419 Coit Ave. NE Grand Rapids 49505 p (616) 456-6464 f 456-6442 culvercpagroup.com

Duane Culver

22 6 1

$1.39M $1.38M

40% 60%

Real estate, restaurants, small business, startups, service businesses

15

Morgan & Associates PC 1787 Grand Ridge Court NE, Suite 200 Grand Rapids 49525 p (616) 776-6457 f 776-6439 morganscpas.com

William Morgan

6 2 1

$890,000 $875,000

40% 60%

Accounting, tax, business valuations, payroll, AICPA, MICPA, NASD, bookkeeping, financial negotiations and AHACPA, NACVA, GR litigation support Chamber

16

Dan Carter Advisors CPA PLC 396 Pettis Ave. SE, Suite 200 Ada 49301 p (616) 818-1976 f 588-6308 dancarteradvisors.com

Daniel Carter

5 3 1

$582,000 $500,000

80% 20%

Tax compliance and planning, ownership consulting, real estate, small businesses, nonprofits

17

DeHoek & Co. PLLC 2025 East Beltline SE, Suite 204 Grand Rapids 49546 p (616) 456-5530 f 336-9850 dehoekpllc.com

Daniel DeHoek

4 3 1

$400,000 $400,000

70% 30%

Professional firms, insurance agencies, real AICPA, MICPA, CFPB estate, small business and nonprofit organizations; business valuation and financial planning

BDO USA’s revenue surpassed $2 billion for the 12-month period that ended in April, which is a year-overyear increase of 10.9%.

New CEO

Crowe has named Marker Baer its CEO. He succeeds Jim Powers who served two terms as the CEO.

Promotion

Rehmann has promoted Amy Nguyen to assurance-in charge, Michael Levitt to assurance manager and Paul Gregg to advisory and tax manager at its Grand Rapids office.

Elected shareholders

Hungerford Nichols CPAs + Advisors has elected Tessa Keena and Steven Triezenberg to shareholder positions.

AICPA, MACPA, Associated Builders & Contractors Inc., Construction Financial Management Association, National Association of Women in Construction

AICPA, MICPA, RPOA, MRA

AICPA, MICPA, MBBA, Ada Business Association, RPOA

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.

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

9

Top Area CPA Firms (RANKED BY 2020 WEST MICHIGAN BILLINGS)

Managing partner(s)

No. of staff/ No. of CPAs/ No. of partners in W. Mich.

Board of Trustees 2020 % Clients 2019 businesses/ W. Mich. billings individuals Areas of specialization

Memberships

Bredeweg & Zylstra PLC 4665 Broadmoor Ave. SE, Suite 210 Grand Rapids 49512 p (616) 698-2000 f 698-0756 bzcpas.com

David Zylstra

26 12 2

DND DND

70% 30%

Business and individual tax services, audits, AICPA, MICPA reviews, compilations, estate, investment and retirement planning, accounting and payroll services

Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries 38 Commerce Ave. SW, Suite 600 Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 336-7900 deloitte.com/us

Tina Wheeler

134 33 10

DND DND

DND DND

Audit, consulting, tax and advisory services

Michael Rybicki

12 4 2

DND DND

60% 40%

Audit/review services for nonprofit AICPA, MICPA organizations and mortgage lenders, tax planning and consulting for small businesses, development of profitability improvement strategies for dentists, doctors and other professional services businesses

Joe Dierks

DND DND DND

DND DND

DND DND

Financial planning, risk management, annuities, DND business and estate planning, long-term care, disability income insurance

The CPA Group PC 4267 Canal Ave. SW Grandville 49418 p (616) 538-0460 f 538-0215 thecpagroup.com

Dennis Bergsma

33 16 7

DND $3.5M

35% 65%

Tax preparation for businesses and individuals, AICPA, MICPA, Michigan tax planning, accounting and bookkeeping Restaurant Association, services, business valuations, 401(k) audits, NACVA, IBA preparations, compilations, reviews, audits

Vander Ploeg, Bergakker & Associates PC 4145 Embassy Drive SE Grand Rapids 49546 p (616) 957-0691 f 957-1199 vbacpas.com

Steven Johnson

18 8 4

DND DND

DND 35%

Construction, manufacturing, professional AICPA, MICPA service corporations, nonprofit organizations, real estate

Goodlander, Swett & Rybicki CPAs 4462 Plainfield Ave. NE Grand Rapids 49525 p (616) 361-1896 f 361-0276 gsrcpas.com Northwestern Mutual - West Michigan 55 Campau Ave. NW, Suite 400 Grand Rapids 49503 p (616) 774-2031 f 774-0338 nm.com

DND

Northwestern Mutual appointed David P. Hollander to serve on its board of trustees.

He was the head of global insurance at EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young LLP.

Merger

Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC (AHP) merged with Flint-based Fromholz, Paauwe & Baker P.C. AHP now has 10 offices in Michigan.

ListStore

@ GRBJ.com

The Grand Rapids Business Journal list of top area CPA firms, ranked by 2020 West Michigan billings, is the most comprehensive available. The list is based on responses to Business Journal surveys. The Business Journal defines "West Michigan" as Allegan, Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties. The Business Journal surveyed 114 companies; 23 returned surveys and 23 are listed. To be considered for future lists, email dnelson@grbj.com. DND = Did not disclose

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

The Book of Lists and other lists are also available.

YOUR PASSION YOUR PURPOSE We are the momentum behind what’s possible.

We focus on the business of business — allowing you to focus on what makes you extraordinary.

Contact a Rehmann Advisor today and put our experience to work for you. Visit rehmann.com or call 616.975.4100.

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INSIDE TRACK

Homeless summer moves McDermott

rwatson@grbj.com

W

hen Starla McDermott as newly divorced, working and saving up to rent an apartment, she and her three young children had nowhere to go, so for an entire summer, they lived in a tent on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Indiana.

On her ex-husband’s days with the children, she slept behind a church and showered at friends’ homes before going to work.

During her days with her kids, she strove to make the “camping” situation feel like a fun summer activity instead of their only option.

McDermott looks back on that period in the 1990s and realizes there were organizations and social service programs that likely could have assisted her with housing, but a) she didn’t know about them, and b) she was so ashamed of her financial straits and frightened about losing custody that she kept her homelessness a secret from everyone in her life.

“At night, sometimes I would cry when (the children) didn’t see it, but I was so busy, and I was just doing the best that I could,” she said.

Now, as development director at Grand Rapids-based Guiding Light — a job that involves sharing success stories of clients and fundraising for the nonprofit that serves men experiencing homelessness and addiction — her personal mission is to make sure others know they don’t have to suffer in shame and silence, and that help is available to anyone who asks.

“I felt shame because I thought I was doing something wrong, and I did not want my ex-husband to know because I was afraid he’d take my kids away,” McDermott said. “So, I did not tell anybody. The only reason I started talking about it was (because) one of the gentlemen who was a client at Guiding Light flat-out asked me one time if I fully understood what it was like to be homeless. I could have just said, ‘Yeah,’ but I decided to sit down and listen to his story, and that’s when I first came to ever share that I actually had been homeless.”

The journey to where McDermott is today, working a job she loves and doesn’t plan to leave anytime soon, was not easy. After a stint as a preschool teacher when her daughter was little, she spent 17 years in corporate sales and marketing, excelling in the work but feeling unfulfilled.

After her ex-husband retired from the Navy, he got a job in northern Indiana, which is what first brought her to the Midwest.

Long after they divorced, she continued working in sales in the natural food industry, rising through the ranks from sales rep to territory manager for Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Her final sales job brought her in 2007 to Grand Rapids, a city she promptly fell in love with. But she was exhausted by the stress of sales and the constant travel across the Midwest, so she sought advice from a career counselor about changing fields.

“I averaged about 40,000 miles a year on my car,” McDermott said.

“I was gone two, three nights a week and also was a single mom, which was pretty rough, and I just got tired of it.”

In 2010, she took an aptitude assessment, and she and the career counselor agreed that her heart was in helping those less fortunate than herself in the Grand Rapids community. As a result, she decided to quit her job, go back to school and take a couple of classes in nonprofits from Grand Rapids Community College.

During that time, she was looking for internships and landed one at the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC), helping to organize the 2011 Grand River Water Festival for a $500 stipend, at the age of 41. From there, she was hired as a part-time events coordinator at WMEAC. Needing a higher-paying, fulltime job, McDermott went on to work a one-year contract as a field organizer at a sub-nonprofit of the League of Conservation Voters — Moms Clean Air Force — which was established to raise awareness among mothers about pollution in diverse, low-income neighborhoods.

That contract was up in late 2012, and from there, she did independent consulting on event planning,

STARLA MCDERMOTT Organization: Guiding Light Position: Development Director Age: 51 Birthplace: Clearlake, California Residence: Grand Rapids Family: Three children: Lindsey, Chase and Samuel Community/Business Involvement: Former volunteer and board member for Zonta International, Grand Rapids chapter, until it disbanded two years ago.

Biggest Career Break: Went back to school in her 40s and did an internship at West Michigan Environmental Action Council that opened doors for her to build a career in the nonprofit sector.

11

Starla McDermott applied for the Guiding Light job three times before she was finally hired. Courtesy Betsy Michelle Photography

Guiding Light development director aims to help others who may be suffering in shame and silence like she was.

Rachel Watson

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

fund development, community engagement, project management and websites for nonprofits and a few for-profit organizations. In 2013, she went to work as development manager for special events at Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes, raising over $250,000 in revenue during her one-year, eightmonth stint there.

McDermott felt the pull in 2015 to apply for a development coordinator role at Guiding Light not once, not twice, but three times.

The third time was the charm, after Guiding Light’s first two choices for the role didn’t make it past their 90-day trial runs.

In February 2016, she started her position at Guiding Light as development coordinator, and after only a year, was promoted to development director.

“I don’t fully actually know (why I kept applying),” McDermott said. “I was scared to death, for one thing. I don’t know why I kept doing it, but it had all the pieces that I knew I could do well in the job description, and I said, ‘I can do this job. This is exactly what I need and want, full time.’ I enjoyed my work as an events coordinator, but I wanted to do a lot more, not just plan events, and all the little pieces, e-blasts and writing — I love to write; that’s one of my favorite hobbies — I mean, I applied for a whole bunch of other stuff, too, during that year, but (Guiding Light) scared me, and it was also exactly what I knew I would be really good at.”

Along the way, as she interviewed the men in the programs to

tell their stories to donors and the community, she realized that besides the skills required for the job lining up with what she likes to do, the mission of Guiding Light and its ability to make a real difference for people experiencing homelessness is really what drew her in.

“We’re not a revolving door; this is long-term help that is sustainable,” McDermott said. “And when someone has gone through recovery and gotten back to work, they’re giving back to the community. Most all these men do some sort of volunteering; they volunteer with the men who are in the program to show an example, but they’re also spending money, they’re buying groceries — so they’re giving back to the community instead of getting handouts. So really, it’s a hand up versus a handout.”

Recently, Guiding Light started a podcast that allows men to tell their own stories, whether about the road to finishing their high school degree, getting into stable housing, finding long-term work, rebuilding their family lives or being baptized as new Christian believers.

When McDermott reflects on the reasons she believes she is called to this work, it all comes back to two words: shame and compassion. She said she held onto shame for far too long, and she is thankful that the men at Guiding Light, as they go through the programming, are encouraged to let go of that feeling.

“Me being able to work through that shame has helped me be able to help these men tell their story

better, so that I can portray that to a donor. Sometimes, donors don’t fully understand why someone can’t just get a job. There are always reasons in the background.

You don’t know what happened in their life, just like anybody would not know what happened to me.

Because I know that there’s a backstory to pretty much every single person in this world, I’m able to portray the stories of these men better,” she said.

“This is not just a job to me. … I do not see myself going anywhere anytime soon because I love what I do.”

Although she is very comfortable with the work she is doing at Guiding Light, McDermott said she is also pursuing a side project that will help women in the community who may be going through what she went through. She is looking to buy multi-unit housing on her own that would be affordable for single mother tenants — perhaps with the support of another nonprofit that has helping women as a mission.

“It could be that one step that they need as they work on finishing school or going to school or getting a better paying job that they can take care of themselves and not be homeless, but also (would be) a way to educate them and empower them,” she said.

“No one was there to empower me. And I think that for so many people, to empower them helps them make that one drastic change that they may need. … My goal is to start small and succeed at it first, then take the next step.”

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

13

State expands PFAS testing beyond drinking water Now scientists can look at surface water, groundwater, wastewater and soil.

McKoy Scribner

Capital News Service

LANSING — The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is expanding its testing capacity for monitoring a family of so-called “forever chemicals” called PFAS. For several years, the department’s laboratory in Lansing has been able to check only drinking water for PFAS contamination.

With new equipment, testing in the lab now can expand to include surface water, groundwater, wastewater and soil.

Researchers say exposure to high levels of PFAS may harm human and animal immune systems, including possibly reducing antibody responses to vaccines and reducing resistance to infectious diseases.

“Because COVID-19 is a new public health concern, there is still much we don’t know. More research is needed to understand how PFAS exposure may affect illness from COVID-19,” the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said.

In addition, the agency says high PFAS exposure levels may be linked to increased cholesterol levels, changes in liver enzymes, increased risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women, slightly lower infant birth weights and increased risk of testicular or kidney cancer.

Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy communications officer Scott Dean said the new testing will make it easier for the state to monitor where PFAS are in Michigan.

“It’s something that we’ve been doing for quite some time, but often we’ve had to rely on certified private laboratories to do the testing since the testing for PFAS is very complicated, very sophisticated testing,” Dean said.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a collection of manufactured chemical compounds that have been widely used in a number of consumer and commercial products.

They’re especially known for being used in water-resistant substances and in firefighting foam to extinguish petroleum-type fires.

Even after decades of use, they do not break down easily in the environment, scientists say. The chemicals have been linked to cancer and developmental problems.

Dean said expanding testing capacity gives Michigan the opportunity to become a leader in PFAS action response.

“And by having this equipment in-state, it’s going to allow us to keep up the work we’ve been doing for a number of years now to address PFAS contamination,” he said. That allows for more testing in-state and should provide faster results and the ability to test for more chemicals, Dean said.

Tests using the new equipment should start in 2022 after proper training and protocols are in place, he said.

Brandjectory adds The Knowledge Base CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

ter store packaged goods, 14% are dairy/frozen and 13% are nutrition/personal care/pet care. The vast majority leverage trending attributes and claims, including vegan, allergen-friendly, low/no sugar, high/good source of protein, woman/student/minority owned, grainand hormone-free, and many more.

Among investors, 46% self-classify as traditional private equity/ venture capital, 40% are angel investors or family offices, and 14% are strategics or other types.

On Aug. 30, Brandjectory celebrated the launch of its enhanced features and offerings by hosting a digital meetup open to all members.

In October, there will be additional virtual events for premium plan members and basic plan holders to give both groups a level of exposure to investors. Following this, regular meetups will be held throughout the year.

“What we continue to be pleasantly surprised by is the support and enthusiasm of both communities, investors and brands, for the idea of what we’re trying to do, and in particular, how that shows through when we do our events,” Pappalardo said.

“I’m always enthused and take satisfaction from both the attendance levels that we get for our events and the fact that we get repeat attendees (among) both brand and investors. Investors don’t like to waste time. So, when you have prominent investors in the food and beverage space coming back time and again to join the event, they wouldn’t do that if they didn’t see something there, if it wasn’t fulfilling a need for them as well. We have a core of probably 15 investors who have made almost every event that we’ve done so far, and I’d say about half the brands each time or maybe more are repeat attendees. … That tells us we’re on the right course.”

Michael Movitz, Brandjectory co-founder and managing partner of The Movitz Group, said the Brandjectory team recognizes the importance of live dialogue and connecting face to face.

“Brandjectory’s events and functionality make this easy for brands and investors, while at the same time Brandjectory’s technology also enables interaction and efficient communication between meetings,” he said.

More information about Brandjectory is at brandjectorynow.com.

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GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

MTM_2021_SOH_GRBJ_Ad.pdf

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9/13/21

1:40 PM

Mel Trotter Ministries presents C

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Thursday, September 30, 2021 • 6:30 p.m.

Featuring Paula Jauch

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Join us virtually for a night to remember at our annual Season of Hope event on Thursday, September 30, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. The evening will include current updates from Mel Trotter Ministries and be highlighted with stories about survival, resilience, and hope. Local award-winning author and speaker, Paula Jauch, will share her journey from trauma survivor to helping others heal from their own trauma and brokenness. You will also hear several of our guests share their stories of endurance and healing, and see each of these experiences are connected through the hope that often comes after a season of despair. We celebrate that hope!

Sponsorship opportunities available.

Register for sponsorship and tickets at meltrotter.org/seasonofhope.

A link will be emailed to you the week of the event in order to watch online

Paula Jauch is an international speaker, award-winning and best-selling author, and podcaster. She has a heart for the hurting. The words she shares are written from a place of brokenness and healing. She addresses these topics in her book Cross Addicted: Breaking Free from Family Trauma and Addiction. She offers a hopeful path to recovery for those who are hurting and traumatized. Her passion and heart’s desire are to see lives healed and restored to their true identity.

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

15

Rockford puts emphasis on sustainability for clients CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ple who constructed them, she said.

“Long before environmental concerns were really an issue and things like LEED became the norm, we have long understood from a development and construction standpoint that’s a very short window of time, that a project can be in development for six months to a year and can be under construction for a year to two years, but that building lives on, potentially for decades,” said Boezwinkle. “And it impacts the people who work there, patients from hospitals and students from schools and certainly the organizations who run those buildings.”

Boezwinkle said sustainability is one of several “layers” its staff takes into consideration when starting a construction project.

Another is looking at a project in a “holistic” way.

“The holistic approach is kind of in our DNA and is the direction we see clients heading into the future,” said Boezwinkle.

“Our holistic approach has been in place long before sustainability became a thing; sustainability adds another layer of consideration, but it is another layer. So, trying to look at those buildings holistically has been our approach and we really are seeing more and more clients head in that direction as we talk about sustainability with everything happening now in terms of health concerns, healthy buildings, buildings that are not just healthy for the planet, healthier for people who live on the planet, but healthier for the people who actually inhabit those buildings.”

“Really the first cost is such a small piece of the pie over the life cycle of the building.”

Jennifer Boezwinkle Another aspect to Rockford Construction’s holistic business model includes the sustainability of the materials used, its construction process and finally, energy consumption. This may involve educating clients to take the long view on costs rather than initially focusing solely on initial costs.

“Really the first cost is such a small piece of the pie over the life cycle of the building,” said Boezwinkle. “We start to analyze what has a higher first cost, but what will save energy over time?

Obviously, that’s going to benefit the clients from a financial standpoint, but also from a planet standpoint — from energy consumption — because we know buildings really take up a substantial amount of energy use on a global scale.”

In some ways, designing buildings to corral energy costs is not the biggest challenge for construction companies like Rockford Construction, according to Boezwinkle. It’s the materials used.

And make no mistake, added Boezwinkle, the times are changing.

“The challenge has been on what we consider to be sustainable materials, whether those are recyclable materials, whether they are

pre-consumer content, or post-materials content,” she said. “Fifteen years ago, there were a few companies doing it. They had some sources for that recyclable material and the energy that went into re-creating it, but those recyclable materials were not as efficient as they are today.

“And because of consumer demand for that type of sustainable content and renewable sources like bamboo and those sorts of things, that really has become ubiquitous now. So that has driven the price down, whether it’s driven (by the desire) to watch the environment

flourish or a desire to meet the demands of clients, people want to see those materials in their buildings. That really has become cost-effective.”

Rockford Construction practiced what it preaches when it moved to its current LEED Platinum corporate offices in Grand Rapids. The company utilized an intentional and collaborative design and construction process to meet its own goals and objectives related to honor its triple bottom line: people, planet and profit.

“We were able to work with the

existing structure to extend the life of this building in a financially economical way,” said Boezwinkle, adding 40% of Rockford’s projects nationwide are new construction and 60% reconstruction. “Renovation is something people continue to look at as both cost effective and sustainable, but sometimes you just can’t achieve that.”

Globally, buildings use roughly 40% of energy consumption and draw 25% of the planet’s fresh water supply, according to Boezwinkle. In the United States, commercial and residential dwellings in 2019 ac-

counted for 13% of greenhouse gas emissions, arising primarily from fossil fuels burned for heat, the use of certain products that contain greenhouse gases and the handling of waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Fundamentally, that’s where we stand in understanding the building is there consuming energy and emitting gases for decades after we’ve left, so what can we do during the design and construction processes to support our clients to really moving the needle on all of that?” said Boezwinkle.

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

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Program develops nonprofit executives CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

years, and one of the nuances of this program, where it separates itself, is in processing what you’re learning, just really trying to make leadership principles stick. … It’s not like going to a leadership conference where you may learn some great things and then you forget them two weeks later.”

Cisler said the first cohort of participants found the most value in content related to team development, such as hiring, firing, onboarding, training and managing conflict.

“It’s not like going to a leadership conference where you may learn some great things and then you forget them two weeks later.”

Patrick Cisler

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“Nonprofits particularly have a challenge leaning into conflict,” Cisler said. “We as humans generally have an issue with that, I don’t think it matters what industry you are in, but in West Michigan, we particularly struggle with it, with the whole ‘West Michigan nice’ thing. We don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, and then there’s an added layer on it when it comes to nonprofits, because most folks that are in nonprofits, they’re very kindhearted. … They generally would rather avoid dealing with difficult topics than addressing them. This program went a long way to helping our participants do that much better in their organizations.”

Many participants identified with the curriculum’s emphasis on being yourself and using your innate strengths as you lead, which can help avoid burnout.

A bonus element that emerged organically, Cisler said, was the fact that the participants formed deep relationships and were able to lean on each other to navigate the pandemic.

Recognizing that nonprofits are funded heavily by donations, which in turn, often are earmarked for programming and services, not professional development, Cisler and his team at LNA raised funds for the program to subsidize it for participants, who then were responsible for $2,500 of the approximately $10,000 per person price tag LBD normally costs. Cisler said some participants were able to get additional support from community foundations to defray the cost even further.

“Nonprofit executives and nonprofit staff in general very rarely have the opportunity to focus on professional development, whether it’s cost-prohibitive or just an accessibility issue, there’s just not a lot of leadership development opportunities in West Michigan,” he said. “We wanted to give a very enriching experience to some of our best local nonprofit leaders, knowing that most of them had never had that opportunity before.”

Cisler said LNA and LBD will continue to evaluate and improve the program for future cohorts.

One goal for next year’s group is to incorporate more of a diversity, equity and inclusion lens into the curriculum, including adding more diverse instructors and facilitators.

Nonprofit LEAD 24/7 also likely will be adding cohorts for emerging leaders below the executive level, Cisler said, and in the future, he hopes to be able to offer the program to organizations outside of Ottawa County, as well. Leading by Design already has an international presence, so he thinks geographical expansion would be a natural next step for the nonprofit training program.

More information about Nonprofit LEAD 24/7 can be obtained by contacting Cisler at patrick@ lakeshorenonprofits.org.

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IRS provides guidance for retention credit CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

rect lineal descendant or a sibling. A spouse is not considered related.”

Related individuals would be considered a child, descendants, siblings, step-brothers/sisters, ancestors, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, step-parents and in-laws.

“You could have the owner of the company, and their spouse can be working there, they can be both getting salaries and neither one would be considered related,” he said. “But, if they have a child, that child would be a relative of the owner and he or she would be deemed to have the same ownership that his or her parents have of the company (due to the attribution rules.) Now you have a relative, and even though the owner is not paying wages to the child, the owner/parent wages does not qualify and neither does the child’s moth-

er because she is related to the child.

“She is a spouse to the owner, but because she is the child’s parent, she is related, and her wages wouldn’t qualify even if the child doesn’t work in the company or isn’t even of age. It just changes the whole dynamic. For the owner to not be related, he would have to have no relatives. He must not have any living ancestors, no siblings and no descendants. If so, then the owner would not be considered related to the spouse. It is really odd.”

Even though there are some complexities to the ERC guidance, there is a lot more clarity regarding cash tips, eligible qualified wages, gross receipts and ownership wages. However, there is still some uncertainty for the fourth quarter of this year as to when the infrastructure bill is signed into law, before or after Sept. 30.

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

COMMENT & OPINION

GUEST COLUMN Lou Glazer

Don’t believe the student loan crisis hype

T

ype “student loan crisis” into the Google search engine and you get 58 million results. Over and over and over again, we are told that today’s college students, particularly those who pursue a four-year degree, are saddled with debt so large that they are more likely to be paupers than prosperous.

So as conventional wisdom goes, high school graduates (except for our own kids, of course) are better off forgoing a four-year degree and learning a trade at a community college or in an apprenticeship program.

There is one problem with this oft-told story: It is simply not accurate. America does not have a student loan crisis. And that’s not to mention that the behind-in-payment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree is substantially lower than for those who have an associate degree or no degree, including those with non-degree credentials.| Compelling evidence of the absence of a student loan crisis comes from The Federal Reserve’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2020.

An entire chapter of the report is devoted to student loans.

The Fed’s key findings: • The share of adults who were behind on their payments is much lower when accounting for all borrowers, including those who had completely repaid that debt.

Among those who have ever incurred debt for their education, 9% were behind on their payments at the time of the survey, 42% had outstanding debt and

were current on their payments, and 49% had completely paid off their loans.

The median amount of education debt in 2020 among those with any outstanding debt for their own education was between $20,000 and $24,999.

• Among those with outstanding debt from their own education, 18% were behind on their payments. Those who did not complete a degree were the most likely to be behind. Thirty-one percent of adults who had education loans outstanding and who had less than an associate degree reported being behind. This compares to 22% of borrowers with an associate degree. The delinquency rate was even lower among borrowers with a bachelor’s degree (9%) or graduate degree (8%).

• Repayment status also differed by the type of institution attended. More than one-fourth of borrowers who attended for-profit institutions were behind on student loan payments, versus 10% who attended public institutions and 5% who attended private notfor-profit institutions.

It is accurate that for student loan borrowers under 40, first-generation students and Blacks and Hispanics have higher shares of adults behind on their payments: 16% for first-generation students vs. 4% for non-first generation students; 23% for Blacks and 20% for Hispanics, compared to 4% for Asians and 6% for whites.

The most important finding may well be the self-reported well-being of 18-39-year-olds by education attainment and student loans status:

• Of those who never took out a student loan, 93% of those with a bachelor’s degree or more say that they are doing at least OK financially, compared to 74% of those with some college or a technical or associate degree.

• Of those who have paid off their student loan, 92% of those with a bachelor’s degree or more say that they are doing at least OK

financially, compared to 65% of those with some college or a technical or associate degree.

• Of those 18-39 still paying off a student loan, 80% with a bachelor’s degree or more say they are doing at least OK financially, compared to 52% of those with some college or a technical or associate degree.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

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GUEST COLUMN Doug DeVos

A question for Constitution Day C

onstitution Day is an overlooked holiday. Yet Sept. 17 should not go unnoticed.

The foundational principle of our governing charter is at risk of being forgotten. Recalling it is essential to our national future.

With the distance of 234 years, it’s easy to forget the revolutionary nature of the Constitution. Like every country, America’s founders asked themselves a simple question: Where does power come from?

Yet unlike every country, they gave a radical answer. It is the Constitution’s first three words: “We the people.”

This principle turned history on its head. It recognized the truth that you and I and all our fellow citizens are the ultimate authority. The Constitution set forth a powerful standard for Americans to meet.

From the moment those words were written, it was obvious: America fell short. Our country has allowed terrible wrongs to exist, most notably slavery. Such injustices made “we the people” more hope than fact. They concentrated power in

the hands of a few, despite the moral mandate to empower the many.

Previous generations strived to uphold that promise. The abolitionists helped end slavery after the Civil War, the suffragettes won the right to vote for women, the civil rights movement moved us closer to equal protection under the law, and so many others have written the story of American empowerment. With each barrier that was broken, the country moved closer to “we the people.”

But somewhere along the way, progress stalled, and even reversed.

Not in every respect. The quest to empower all our fellow citizens is alive and well in movements for equality under the law, criminal justice reform, a better education system, and economic opportunity for all, among others. Yet in other ways, the recent trend has been to disempower people. Power is being taken from the many and given to a select few.

This trend takes many forms, and it defies a simplistic left-versus-right framework.

To start, our elected officials have asserted control over ever more of daily life.

Across both parties, there is a growing sense that nothing is beyond the government’s purview — that all questions can be resolved by federal legislation and executive orders handed down from on high.

Elected officials also have delegated their power to the judicial branch.

Rather than take hard votes on tough issues, they’ve asked the Supreme Court to decide some of the most divisive and consequential issues. Yet the American people gave lawmakers the power to legislate, and by giving that power away to unelected judges, we the people are less able to hold our leaders accountable and shift the policies that govern our lives.

Finally, our elected officials have created a government insulated from the people’s control.

It’s called the “administrative state,” and it’s so large, even Washington, D.C. doesn’t know how many departments, agencies and commissions it has created. This vast bureaucracy has

authority to control the economy and even create federal crimes — 300,000 and counting. Yet no American ever voted for it, and none of us can vote against it. Do we really want power to reside with the unelected and unaccountable?

All three problems are getting harder to ignore. Americans of all political stripes are wondering why so much power has been granted to so few people, with so few limitations on how they can wield it, and so few consequences when they overstep their bounds.

There’s no better day to think about these challenges than Constitution Day. And there’s no better time to ask the question that animates that document: Where does power come from?

The answer is “we the people” — all of us, not merely some of us. It’s as radical now as it was on Sept. 17, 1787. And it’s just as important to return and keep that power where it belongs.

Doug DeVos is co-chairman of Amway and chairman of the National Constitution Center.

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SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Clean energy sector surges after taking employment hit CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

to the analysis, policies that move Michigan toward its goal of decarbonization by 2050 would help create tens of thousands of new jobs for decades as Michigan moves beyond the immediate recovery.

“We have a blueprint in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better plan and a step in the right direction with the senate’s passing of the infrastructure bill. Creating jobs and helping our economy and environment shouldn’t be a partisan issue, and Midwest Congress

members from both sides of the aisle will be key to implementing the Build Back Better plan.”

Like most other sectors of the economy, clean energy was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn in 2020.

According to this year’s Clean Jobs Midwest report, 2020 was the first year-to-year decline since E2 and Clean Energy Trust began tracking Michigan clean energy jobs in 2016.

At one point, more than 31,000 Michigan clean energy workers had filed for unemployment, but the sector surged back 20.4% in the

second half of the year to recover about two-thirds of the jobs initially lost. The final 2020 job numbers represent a 9.5% drop in Michigan’s clean energy workforce from 2019, or 11,900 jobs.

Last year’s job losses were a dramatic change of pace for the industry. In the three years leading up to 2020, for example, clean energy jobs grew almost three times as fast as overall statewide employment.

According to the analysis, energy efficiency jobs saw the biggest drop with Michigan’s largest clean energy employer now employing

74,242. The sector lost 11,081 jobs, declining about 13% over the year as workers were prevented from entering homes and offices because of the pandemic lockdowns.

Other clean energy sectors also saw significant declines in 2020, including renewable energy (5.9%), grid and storage (8.1%), and clean fuels (4.1%).

“There is some good news,” said Ian Adams, managing director at Clean Energy Trust. “The industry is rebounding and grew faster than the overall economy in the second half of the year. A few other bright spots:

wind energy, those jobs grew by 4% last year, despite the downturn, and now employ almost 40,000 people in the Midwest, and advanced transportation jobs grew in every state in the region, driven by growth of hybrids and electric vehicles.”

Clean energy jobs in Michigan rebounded quicker than the overall workforce in the state, according to the analysis. Michigan can take advantage of the sector’s high job growth potential by enacting policies that support renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicles, the report stated.

The EV and hybrid electric vehicle industries now employ about 24,268 Michiganders as an increasing number of automakers announced shifts to producing 100% zero-emission vehicles.

“Energy is an economic engine in my district, with clean energy jobs supporting thousands of families. These jobs were growing three times faster than the overall economy leading up to the pandemic and have recovered more quickly.”

Rep. Aric Nesbitt

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Renewable energy now employs 10,767 Michiganders, including 4,967 in wind and 4,555 in solar.

Additionally, grid and storage employ 3,579 Michiganders, and clean fuels employs 600. Small businesses drive Michigan’s clean energy sector — in 2020, 77.9% of Michigan’s clean energy businesses employed fewer than 20 people, according to the report. Clean energy employed workers in all 83 counties and all 14 congressional districts in Michigan.

“Energy is an economic engine in my district, with clean energy jobs supporting thousands of families,” said Aric Nesbitt, Michigan Senate president pro-tempore of the 26th District. “These jobs were growing three times faster than the overall economy leading up to the pandemic and have recovered more quickly. Long-term, sustainable jobs — that can’t be outsourced — will create a strong future for Michigan and our communities.”

Nationwide, clean energy employment finished 2020 down about 307,000 jobs from 2019’s high of nearly 3.4 million, recovering about 300,000 jobs nationally from June to December — a rate faster than nationwide employment growth during that period.

Methodology The analysis is based on preliminary employment data collected and analyzed by BW Research Partnership for the 2021 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER).

The USEER analyzes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages to track employment across many energy production, transmission and distribution subsectors. In addition, the 2021 USEER relies on a unique supplemental survey of 35,000 business representatives across the U.S.

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

21

LETTER

It’s time to protect tax dollars and whistleblowers Editor: At first glance, the recent Senate passage of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package warrants applause, and it does. But with trillions of taxpayer dollars likely to flow out of Washington for federal infrastructure projects, we need government witnesses of waste, fraud, corruption and mismanagement to be able to signal problems as soon as possible without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, the system to protect those whistleblowers is not working, and until it does — we can’t expect those individuals to put their livelihoods on the line to protect tax dollars.

The United States doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to protecting and uplifting whistleblowers, despite their bravery and the crucial role whistleblowers play in any modern democracy.

Local whistleblowers — ordinary

folks with an extraordinary level of bravery and integrity — have made a significant difference in the lives of Michiganders. Years ago, LeeAnne Walters and Marc Edwards, a mother and a scientist, respectively, unveiled the extent of contamination of Flint water. Out of concern and care for their fellow citizens, they uncovered evidence that the city had permitted dangerous levels of lead and other toxic substances to contaminate drinking water for more than a year. Their actions

forced then-Gov. Rick Snyder to finally deal with the problem.

But their heroic actions were not taken without risk. Those who are brave enough to come forward and report wrongdoing are still routinely attacked by both politicians and the media, demoted or fired, or subjected to intimidation or investigation. Telling the truth, an act that should be normal in any government run by and for people, often endangers those committed to holding it accountable.

To preserve the sanctity of local and national governments, the federal government must address these injustices against those who speak the truth and strengthen its whistleblower protections to ensure a functioning democracy for generations to come.

Congress can make significant progress in this mission by passing the Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act, which would increase whistleblower protections and better ensure that those com-

mitted to holding government officials accountable can do so without losing their jobs.

I encourage Rep. Peter Meijer to show his support for whistleblowers by cosponsoring this legislation. In doing so, he can ensure that those who are committed to unveiling wrongdoing through whistleblowing are better supported and protected in the future.

Don’t believe the student loan crisis hype CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

When asked about changes they would make to earlier education decisions, only 5% of those with a bachelor’s degree or more said they would not attend college or get less education and 35% said they would have completed more education. This compares to 65% of those with an associate degree who said they would have completed more education and 71% of those with some college or technical degree. So large majorities of those who attended college but without a bachelor’s degree say they did not get enough education.

They also don’t believe the oft-told story that pursuing more education is no longer worthwhile.

All of this adds up quite conclusively to there is no student loan crisis. Nine percent behind on student loans does not add up to a student loan crisis. A typical loan of $20,000 to $24,999 does not add up to a student loan crisis.

Even more clearly, we do not have a student loan crisis among recent college graduates with a four-year degree or more. The report shows delinquency rates for those with a bachelor’s degree or more are far lower than for those with an associate degree or less.

And well-being rates are significantly higher for those with a bachelor’s degree compared to those with an associate degree or less for both those who have paid off their student loans and those still with debt.

Lou Glazer is president of Michigan Future Inc.

Grand Rapids, it’s time to celebrate our ROA (Return of ArtPrize).

With eager anticipation, we’re delighted to welcome artists and art lovers from our local community and all over the world back to the heart of Grand Rapids for ArtPrize 2021.

We know that we will be dazzled, enlightened and sometimes provoked by the creativity that will grace our city in the coming weeks. But most importantly, we will experience it together as a community – something we all need. So, thank you, ArtPrize artists, event organizers and sponsors, for making this year’s ArtPrize one to celebrate.

To the Grand Rapids community, it is an honor and privilege to serve you.

25 Ottawa Avenue SW, Suite 110, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 616.888.3210 greenleaftrust.com

Marta Johnson Grand Rapids

22

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

KCI keeps costs down CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

able to track each mail piece as it moves through the delivery process.

“When we hand our mail to the post office these days, we also hand them a digital file telling them every mail piece and where it’s going and what kind of a barcode it has on it, so they can see right into the system as to how the mail is traveling,” Quist said, noting that even as recently as 10 years ago, this was all done via printed paperwork.

The postal service then checks the mail by scanning the pallets and gives KCI a score each month.

If the score were to fall below a certain quality threshold, KCI would then take a penalty.

“But we don’t have that problem,” Quist said.

KCI’s customers for metered letters include insurance companies, health care systems, small businesses and government entities, metering pieces such as bills, assessment notices and service notifications.

In addition to metered mail, KCI also is a printer that prints and mails advertising and direct mail for clients, including fundraising pieces and booklets for nonprofits, political candidate fliers and ballots during election years, coupon mailers, and so on.

KCI has about 65 employees who are drivers, mail processors, designers, project managers and administrative workers — many of whom have had to upskill over the years as the business has become more automated.

During the pandemic, KCI did

some hiring, due to the influx of orders that happened when companies laid off or furloughed internal workers who had been in charge of producing mailings for their business. KCI was classified as an essential employer, and so it was all-hands-on-deck.

Up through July, KCI’s revenue was up over the same period last year, although because it’s an off year for elections, it may end up evening out by year’s end, Quist said.

He said KCI continues to add to its technology, including recently installing a printer that can do full color variable envelopes to print messaging on the outside of envelopes, coloring on the fly at the same time as the addresses are printed. KCI also recently installed a new inserting machine that can track the mail and do multiple inserts into the same envelope by reading a barcode.

Quist said he hopes companies that aren’t aware of KCI’s services will give them consideration in light of the USPS rate hike.

“If people are paying retail postage, and they don’t know that there’s a consolidator around that can save them on postage, people might be interested in that, because it’s kind of a strange business, and a lot of people don’t know we even exist,” he said. “Although, you may start noticing us if you’re in the Grand Rapids area — people probably recognize our vehicles on the road, because we have about 12 delivery/pickup mail vehicles.”

More information about KCI is at kentcommunications.com.

08 OF 11

YOU CAN’T GET SOBER WITHOUT GOD.

Missions intersect for Rev. Tim Wilson When Tim Wilson enrolled in Hope College, he began as a double major in political science and history with his eyes set on law school.

But a bleeding ulcer in his junior year nearly ended his life – and prompted a reevaluation of college and career. Tim admits to falling in love with the community surrounding him and the pastor who walked alongside him. At that moment, Tim made a commitment, noting “whatever this guy is doing, I want to give my life to that.”

So the Hudsonville native added a religion major to his education portfolio and began reading the Bible, which became “profoundly interesting” to Tim. “These ancient stories communicated some deep things I never knew were there,” he recalled. After graduation, it was only natural that he “crossed the street” to attend the Western Theological Seminary.

Unlike many of his colleagues, Tim said his was a “slow discernment” to professional ministry he was still trying to figure out while in the seminary. On the one hand, he knew he wanted to walk beside people in their stages of pain, grief and loss. On the other, he was terrified of public speaking after having outgrown a childhood stutter.

Tim preached at a few churches before receiving “a new sense of call and a confidence in that call” to share God’s word through the Bible and its ancient stories. He was drawn to the ministry, beginning his work at a small church in Zeeland.

“I was meeting with him regularly at Guiding Light, and all of a sudden, these guys from the program started coming to our church. I had gotten to know the guys at 255 South Division, and they were really good men who had made some mistakes.

“I sat with a young mother as she said goodbye to her husband,” Tim recalled. “As a pastor, I was trying to think of something profound and important to say. When I saw her child’s tricycle sitting in the hospice room – I lost it. Those early days of ministry woke me to the fact this work is far bigger than the degree, which gives you access to people you don’t necessarily deserve.

“A year to the day after my first encounter with this man, we were doing vacation Bible school again, and I see him and his wife in the back of the church. They are volunteering, and this man is clean and sober – and leading a dance line with kids. What a difference our God makes in a year!”

“That kind of positional authority gives you access into some of the most intimate personal spaces where no one else is allowed. I realized I was taking a space that should have belonged to a friend or parent or spouse.

I resolved that if I was going to be allowed in, I would have to be present for this person.”

That commitment continued as the now Rev. Wilson transitioned to his second church, South Harbor Church in Byron Center. It was coming out of a dunk tank during vacation Bible school that his path first crossed with Guiding Light.

“I was soaking wet, and a man came up to me and said, ‘I can’t stop drinking; I’m drunk right now and my wife is looking at us,’” Rev. Wilson remembered. “Sure enough, he was – and she was. She was embarrassed.

I followed up on that conversation and learned that they had spent more than $100,000 on rehab in the past – and nothing had worked. His wife was done.

“He had a good career and was pretty high up in his company. All that was on the line. We did a miniintervention and told him he was going to lose his family and his job if something didn’t change. We told him about the good people of Guiding Light and, after detox, he agreed to go.”

Guiding Light Recovery offers an intensive drug and alcohol recovery program designed to give men structure and opportunity to engage in change.

Known on the streets as “no-joke recovery,” the program combines evidence-based practices, lifecoaching, therapy, support groups, spiritual direction and resources to equip men to build a life worth staying sober for. Thanks to the generosity of donors, Guiding Light offers the program free of charge to men struggling with addiction.

“This man did a lot of hiding early on,” Rev. Wilson recalled. “He was afraid that one of the volunteers or donors would recognize him. But he continued to meet with the staff and work the program, and something finally broke in him – recovery finally began to make sense.

Rev. Wilson found he was getting more calls from people seeking help – a woman who said her boyfriend had a problem with drugs, another who said her husband couldn’t stop drinking. He again turned to Guiding Light, often calling on one of its board members for support – and the answer was always yes, of course, immediately.

After three such calls in a week, Rev. Wilson turned to that board member, puzzled, and said: “I don’t know what I’m doing. I have gone my whole professional life without doing interventions, and here we are doing three in little more than a week. All of these guys have dropped everything when I called to help out – to sit with us in homes or churches. This is just so weird.

“The board member turned to me and said, ‘Well, what did you expect? I’ve been praying that God would send us alcoholics.’”

Rev. Wilson joined the board of Guiding Light four years ago, drawn to the mission and the opportunity to serve. He values his fellow board members, noting they are “doing something for free because they love God and they love people.” And he values the approach Guiding Light takes in its Recovery program.

“Guiding Light has put its faith before its strategies,” Rev. Wilson noted. “A lot of centers will hire really brilliant people and have a great program. Guiding Light has prioritized faith and spiritual discipline, bringing in local churches for support.

“I don’t think you can get sober without God. I don’t think you can get sober without faith. Guiding Light may not be really shiny on the outside, but that is part of how it works. God works through the ugliness and the messiness and the weakness of the situation.

‘‘

Everyone working in the program has a deep love of God and a deep belief that sobriety is possible – but you can’t do it without God.

Through the guiding light of God’s Spirit, Guiding Light partners with individuals to fulfill their God-given potential through rescue, recovery and re-engagement in the community.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE AT GuidingLightWorks.org/Give

”

24

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

ARCHITECTURE & ENGINEERING Lansing-based The American Council of Engineering Companies/Michigan announced St. Joseph resident Christopher Cook, Abonmarche consultant, as its 2021-2022 president and Jeffrey Schumaker, Fishbeck, as a member of its 2021-2022 board of directors.

ARTS

LuLu

Kent District Library hired LuLu Brown as the regional manager II at the Cascade Township and Caledonia Township branches.

The Board of Library Commissioners of the Grand Rapids Public Library appointed Sheila García Mazari as a commissioner, replacing Kent Sparks, who resigned from the board. Garcia Mazari will fill the seat until a commissioner is publicly elected in the 2024 election.

New Holland Brewing awarded Masters Medal New Holland Brewing, a top-50 craft brewery, recently received a Masters Medal from The Spirits Business in the American Whisky Masters Competition for its Beer Barrel Bourbon, which is aged in new American oak barrels before finishing in the brewery’s Dragon’s Milk barrels. The Dragon’s Milk barrels provide a softer, more rounded flavor with notes of vanilla and smooth dark malts. Launched in 2008, the Global Spirits Masters rates and rewards excellence in spirits production from retailers, brands, distillers and blenders around the world. accounting policy and strategy for the bank, as well as increasing efficiencies through accounting workflows.

EDUCATION

AWARDS

Elizabeth Black joined St. Stephen School in East Grand Rapids as principal. She was unanimously recommended from the school’s search committee, made up of teachers, parents, parishioners and the school board.

BANKING

Terra Luckett has been appointed executive director of the Children’s After School Achievement program at Holland-based Hope College. Luckett succeeds Fonda Green, who retired this spring after 38 years at the college.

The World Affairs Council of Western Michigan announced its Vandenberg Prize was awarded to Gen. James N. Mattis, who served as the 26th Secretary of the Defense (2017-18).

Arbor Financial Credit Union hired Mike Griffin as a commercial loan officer.

Greg Wierenga joined Consumers Credit Union as a mortgage loan officer out of its Cascade office.

Jeffrey Lumpp, Hylant Group in Grand Rapids, joined Lake Odessa-based Union Bank’s board of directors.

Kalamazoo-based First National Bank of Michigan appointed Bill Manns, president and CEO of Bronson Healthcare, to its board of directors and compensation committee.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Peggy Bodinaku, a 20-year financial industry veteran, has been promoted to chief marketing officer at Amerifirst Home Mortgage.

The Mortgage Bankers Association announced Mark Jones, co-founder of Amerifirst Home Mortgage, has been nominated to serve as MBA’s vice chairman for the 2022 membership year. He is expected to be installed at the association’s 108th Annual Convention in San Diego in October.

GRANTS

Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur-Lab is the recipient of a two-year, $250,000 grant from the Michigan Veterans Trust Fund that will provide startup education and support for veteran entrepreneurs in West Michigan, as well as the greater Detroit region, central southern Michigan, Muskegon and the Upper Peninsula.

HEALTH

Emmanuel Hospice’s newest board members are Thomas W. Czerney and Micah N. Foster.

Health Pointe in Grand Haven has been branded Spectrum Health Grand Haven Center.

Holland Home announced Carolyn Flietstra, executive vice president, Home and Community Flietstra Based Services, has been inducted into the Michigan Homecare and Hospice Association Hall of Fame.

Northpointe Bank announced Nathan Smith joined the company as senior vice president and chief accounting officer.

Smith is responsible for overseeing the

FOUNDATIONS

The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation recently celebrated its 50th year of service.

Holland Hospital announced its new specialty care practice and welcomed pulmonary and sleep medicine

SEP 20-MID JAN Grand Rapids Public Museum Exhibition. Bats: Masters of the Night.

Exhibit explains bats are actually gentle, helpful little animals. Hands-on display showcases evening activities of bats, such as echolocation (sonar ability), pollination, diet and flight. Registration/ information: grpm.org/Bats.

network. 3:30-5:30 p.m., Holland Civic Center Place, 150 W. 8th St., Holland.

Cost: $40/members, $55/nonmembers.

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

packet pickup, 7 a.m., Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Registration/ information: runsignup.com/Race/MI/ GrandRapids/FordRunway5k.

SEPT 21 Builders Exchange of Michigan 25th 100 Target Shootout. Break clays for a good cause. 11 a.m., Caledonia Sportsman Club, 10721 Coldwater Ave. SE, Alto. Registration/information: (616) 949-8650 or courtney@grbx.com.

SEP 21 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce The After Hours Chamber. Connecting businesses and creative talent. 5:307 p.m., Grand Rapids Chamber patio.

Cost: free/members, $25/nonmembers.

Registration/information: grandrapids.org/ event/business-and-the-arts-after-hours.

SEP 21 The Right Place/Feyen Zylstra/The Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center – West In-Person Workshop.

Topic is Guiding Small and Midsized Manufacturers By Creating Sustainable Change By Learning About Industry 4.0 Technologies. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Feyen Zylstra Industrial Tech Center, 3085 Walkent Drive, Walker. Cost: $150/ person. Registration/Information: feyenzylstra.com/industry-4-0-workshop.

SEP 21 Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce Power Happy Hour. Grab your business cards and expand your

SEP 23 Ronald McDonald House of Western Michigan Red Shoe Gala fundraiser.

Cocktail reception, dinner and live auction. 6 p.m. Cost: $150. JW Marriott, 235 Louis St. NW, Grand Rapids. Registration/ information: bit.ly/2021RedShoe.

SEP 23 Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women Zoom Meeting. Topic is Financial Planning for Solopreneurs: Setting Yourself Up to be Successful, by financial success coach Tara Jones-Williamson.

Noon- 1 p.m., Zoom link sent by 11 a.m. day of event. Cost: free. Registration/information: growbusiness.org.

SEP 24 Multi-Chamber of Commerce Blind Business Date. Meet members from other local chambers over lunch. Noon-1 p.m., Hudsonville Winery, 3768 Chicago Drive, Hudsonville. Cost: $15. Registration/ information: bob@southkent.org.

SEP 25 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Virtual Town Hall. Topic is Child Care Licensing: Steps To Increase From Family to Group Licensing. 9-10:30 a.m. Cost: free. Registration/information: grandrapids.org/event/child-care-licensing-town-hall.

SEP 25 Runway 5K Event. Charity partner: Family Hope Foundation. Registration/

SEP 25-26 Susa Mast ALS Foundation PedALS Bike Ride And Walk. Options include a 25- or 50-mile road ride, 25-mile gravel ride, a 10-20 mile mountain ride, or a 10-mile ride. Runners and walkers can sign up for a 5K or 1-mile walk. Registration/ information: pedalsforals.com.

SEP 27 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Breakfast With Legislators. Establish relationships with key decision makers and voice opinions on issues moving forward in Lansing. 7:30-9:30 a.m., Grand Rapids Chamber, 250 Monroe Ave. NW, Suite 150. Cost: $25/members, $35/nonmembers. Registration/information: grandrapids.org/event/breakfast-with-legislators-4.

SEP 27 Grand Rapids Public Museum GR Stories Series: Polish Halls In Grand Rapids. A free program to learn more about the rich history of Polish halls in Grand Rapids. 6 p.m., The Guest House, 634 Stocking Ave. NW. Food available and provided by Polish Girl Catering. Drinks may be purchased from Blue Dog Tavern and brought to The Guest House. Open to all ages. Registration/information: grpm.org.

SEP 28 Wyoming Business Leaders Meeting.

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

CHANGE-UPS & CALENDAR

specialist Dale Coller, DO, to the lakeshore. The specialty practice is designed to help people breathe better and rest easier.

HOSPITALITY

The Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has been named the Best Beach Town in the Midwest by Midwest Living magazine

LEGAL

Plachta, Murphy & Associates expanded its current veterans disability practice group with the addition of Mark Northrup, a 14-year commissioned officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Varnum welcomed seven law school students to the firm’s 2021 summer associate program: Amy Baddley, Vanderbilt University Law School; Conor Boland, University of Notre Dame Law School; Alexander Bourdeau, University of Notre Dame Law; William Frush Jr., University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; Michael McFerran, University of Michigan Law School; Elizabeth Rasch, University of Michigan Law School; and Aaron Roberson Jr., University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

LEISURE & RECREATION

The Lowell YMCA announced the investment of local employer Litehouse Inc. toward naming the future Litehouse Family YMCA at the former Impact Church. Key supporters and local employers’ contributions have resulted in more than $400,000 raised, with less than $200,000 remaining in the capital campaign to begin building renovations and preparation for critical member service.

LOGISTICS

Reefer Service Inc. of Hudsonville for the second time has been named Carrier Transicold’s 2020 dealers of the year for North America.

The Allendale/West Grand Rapids KOA is now a KOA Holiday, one of more than 525 open-to-the-public KOA campgrounds in the U.S. and Canada, and one of three descriptive brands created to help campers select the right campground for their camping needs.

SEP 29 Family Business Alliance Comprehensive Strategic Planning For Transition Workshop. Members only.

Experts offer insights into NextGen planning in the three critical spheres: family, business and ownership. 8-10 a.m., Cascade Hills Country Club, 3725 Cascade Road. SE. Registration/information: bit.ly/StrategticWorkshop.

SEP 29 Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce 32nd Annual ATHENA Awards Celebration. 3:30-5:30 p.m., JW Marriott Grand Rapids. Cost: $80 members, $110 nonmembers; corporate table, $1,000/members, $1,250/nonmembers.

Registration/information: grandrapids. org/event/athena-awards.

SEP 29 Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce/Greater Muskegon Economic Development Let’s Talk Business Seminar. Topic is Supplier Diversity. 8-9:30 a.m., Muskegon Innovation Hub / GVSU, 200 Viridian Drive, Muskegon. Cost: free.

Registration/information: muskegon.org/ events-programs.

SEP 30 The Grand Rapids Public Museum/ Grand Rapids Community College’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lecture. Topic is Understanding Different Kinds of Minds and Sensory Needs, by Dr. Temple Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism as a child and has since become a spokesperson for the autistic community and sensory integration therapy.

Book signing follows; masks must be

MANUFACTURING

Flow-Rite for the fifth straight year has been named as one of West Michigan’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the National Association for Business Resources.

NONPROFITS

Allies in Action announced the appointment of the following to its first board of directors: Nathan Beene, Building Bridges Professional Services; Greg May, Nexus Technology Services & X(US) Hosting; Tom Cizauskas, Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority; Sarah Chartier, Spectrum Health; Kavy Lenon, Meijer; Jason Cole, Michigan Minority Contractors Association; and Elizabeth Bovard Strong, Builders Exchange of Michigan.

Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore announced the addition of five board members: Emma Baranowski, AUVESY Inc.; Megan Smith Jovanovic, Lavender Legal Services; Mary Nader, Ascension Health; Ana Ramirez-Saenz, La Fuente Consulting LLC; and Kevin Yeomans, Allendale Charter Township.

Jody Newman and Laura Moody have opened a shelter for injured, neglected and stray cats called Second Chance Cats of West Michigan.

The Salvation Army Western Michigan and Northern Indiana Division announced the hiring of Jason Boeve as its Turning Point Programs director.

Turning Point is a licensed and accredited specialized treatment center with a focus on treating alcohol, prescription or illicit drug misuse and co-occurring disorders.

West Michigan-based DO MORE GOOD announced the addition of Delaney Mullennix as director of partnerships.

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.

worn. 7 p.m., Fountain Street Church.

Registration/information: grpm.org.

SEP 30 Grand Rapids Young Professionals Annual Virtual Gala. Time TBD. Registration/information: gryp.org.

OCT 4 Family Business Alliance Board of Directors Workshop. Members only.

Practical ideas from attorneys and family business owners for building or utilizing a board. 3:30-6 p.m., Warner Norcross + Judd Grand Rapids office, 150 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 1500. Registration/information: bit.ly/ BoardDirectorsWorkshop.

OCT 6 Builders Exchange of Michigan Webinar. Topic is Planroom Training For Interior Contractors. 3-4 p.m. Cost: free.

Registration/information: (616) 9498650 or courtney@grbx.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.

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

PUBLIC RECORD MORTGAGES

Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds REAME, Brandon J. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411432483014, $322,700 HASKELL, Joshua G. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Caledonia, $345,000 KIRK, Matthew et al, Neighborhood Loans, East Grand Rapids, $800,000 DEARS, Natalie N. et al, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Byron Twp., $368,000 GRUBBS, Jeremy, Inlanta Mortgage, Ada Twp., $349,500 PATOK, Jason T. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Gaines Twp., $435,006 T BOSGRAAF HOMES LLC, Mercantile Bank, Railside, $942,926 T BOSGRAAF HOME LLC, Horizon Bank, Cascade Twp., $781,600 495 PETTIS LLC, Mercantile Bank, Ada Twp., $1,275,000 CD HOLDINGS LLC, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411418383001, $3,309,334 SWAN RESIDENTIAL LLC, Southern Michigan Bank & Trust, Kentwood, $18,750,000 LOWELL RETAIL MANAGEMENT LLC, Lake Trust Credit Union, Lowell, $1,656,551 PORTFOLIO2 LLC et al, Huntington National Bank, Cascade Twp., $8,563,919 HSP PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT LLC, Fifth Third Bank, Parcel: 411414301047, $1,960,000 LAMBERT TOWER LLC, Sturgis Bank & Trust, Parcel: 411325435008, $1,755,000 HEETHUIS, Brian B. et al, Independent Bank, Parcel: 411203330012, $365,000 BEVERSLUIS, Gabriel D. et al, Quicken Loans, Parcel: 411412451001, $451,200 HERTZ, Todd H. et al, Home Point Financial Corp., Ada Twp., $367,000 BINNS, Samantha R., Northern Mortgage Services, Cannon Twp., $368,600 DIEL, Chris et al, Old National Bank, Cannon Twp., $389,500 SIRIPONG, Arida et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Ada Twp., $629,000 MARTELL, Jorge E. et al, Quicken Loans, Ada Twp., $359,000 COVELL, Roy D. et al, HUD, Nelson Twp., $409,500 MENKE, David R. et al, Huntington National Bank, Cannon Twp., $360,000 MORENO-RIANO, Gerson et al, Fifth Third Bank, Cannon Twp., $379,905 DAVIS, Scott et al, Neighborhood Loans, Caledonia, $375,250 SURPRISE, William et al, Quicken Loans, Plainfield Twp., $491,000 TURNER, Katherine et al, Consumers Credit Union, Cascade Twp., $359,100 BUCK, Jared et al, Neighborhood Loans, Kentwood, $384,750 BARKER, Lee R. et al, Heartland Home Mortgage, Cascade Twp., $450,000 HOEFER TRUST, Stifel Bank & Trust, East Grand Rapids, $1,000,000 FALLON, Michael W. et al, Huntington National Bank, Cascade Twp., $426,750 RACHOR TRUST, Independent Bank, Ada Twp., $2,625,000 FALLON, Gregory, Better Mortgage Corp., Ada Twp., $379,045 BARTLETT, Adam et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Caledonia, $371,925 CHURCH, Michael et al, Cason Home Loans, Cannon Twp., $529,150 HILLMAN, Neal D. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Cannon Twp., $502,855 NEWBERRY, Kay L. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Caledonia, $470,000 HYDE, Ronald A., Huntington National Bank, Cascade Twp., $638,500 PAASCH, Jonathan et al, Neighborhood Loans, East Grand Rapids, $375,700 SOLT, Kevin et al, Independent Bank, East Grand Rapids, $490,000 WEER, Todd, United Home Loans, Parcel: 411934201034, $595,000 GUNDARAPU, Srilatha et al, Quicken Loans, Byron Twp., $364,000 JOHNSON, Mark et al, Greenstone Farm Credit Services, Cannon Twp., $622,250 ERHORN, Abby et al, Old National Bank, Parcel: 411322377003, $497,200 KLOOSTERMAN, Daniel et al, Huntington National Bank, Byron Twp., $424,100 HOLSTEGE, Kyle S. et al, Success Mortgage Partners, Bowne Twp., $356,250 EDEMA TRUST, Old National Bank, Gaines Twp., $530,200 BRANT, Brian et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Byron Twp., $350,000 CLOW, Michael et al, Neighborhood Loans, Gaines Twp., $532,000 SUTPHEN, Jason E. et al, Old National Bank, Cascade Twp., $400,000 ANDERSON, Bo et al, Fifth Third Bank, Gaines Twp., $510,000 MURPHY, Alisa M., Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411431135014, $522,000 RBA HOLDINGS LLC, Fifth Third Bank, Parcel: 411709354058, $560,000 BD INLAND LLC, Dutch Master Capital Corp., Caledonia, $1,000,000 HOKSERGEN, Alden J. et al, US Bank, Parcel: 411427227004, $405,000 WISNIEWSKI, Justin A. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411431135014, $522,500

HASKEL, Michael, Hometown Lenders, Parcel: 410721301001, $410,875 10195 BERGIN LLC, Mercantile Bank, Parcel: 411430428014, $1,000,000 RIVER CITY HOLDING CO. LLC, United Bank, Parcel: 411430182014, $731,250 BREITHART, Kelsey M. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411804276028, $517,750 ESTELLE, Daniel et al, Neighborhood Loans, Parcel: 412104476033, $500,000 MESAROS, Daniel A. et al, Independent Bank, Parcel: 411507476005, $435,000 TROMBKA, Joseph A. II et al, United Wholesale Mortgage, Parcel: 411324453044, $545,000 LAMM, Adam et al, Independent Bank, Parcel: 412122360008, $463,000 DEVON, Wesley S. et al, Comerica Bank, Parcel: 411433176029, $900,000 NAGHER, Abigail, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411433427003, $960,000 PETERSEN, Aaron D. et al, Northpointe Bank, Parcel: 411426252028, $400,000 ROSLONIEC, Mayal, Mercantile Bank, Parcel: 411025460016, $388,175 CRAMER, Kirk W. Jr. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 412114177037, $475,000 KOOISTRA, Matthew A., Randy King, Parcel: 411536427003, $450,000 BARTNIK, Catherine et al, Bank of America, Cascade Twp., $526,500 DAVIS, Yelena P., Dart Bank, Parcel: 410613378010, $457,000 BRICKNER, Matthew et al, Consumers Credit Union, Parcel: 411403453017, $529,200 MARSH, Nathan, Quicken Loans, Parcel: 410934300058, $418,440 LEVACK, James F. II et al, Mercantile Bank, Parcel: 412317299104, $356,250 BUSH, Nathaniel et al, Grand River Bank, Parcel: 411414227037, $548,250 FERWERDA, Benjamin D. et al, CIBC Bank, Parcel: 41141140202031, $1,262,637 ZOERHOF, Austin L. et al, Old National Bank, Parcel: 411131451005, $488,000 LINDALE, Adam J. et al, United Bank, Caledonia, $465,000 PETROWSKI, Michael et al, Finance of America Mortgage, Parcel: 412114151020, $355,000 SINGH, Malook, Quontic Bank, Parcel: 411411202079, $360,000 HOUGHTON, Adam et al, Envoy Mortgage, Parcel: 412017400035, $350,000 PRESTON, Glenn D. et al, American Advisors Group, Parcel: 411807453026, $376,500 HARTIGAN, Brian, Mercantile Bank, Parcel: 411425353009, $490,500 GALLAS, Andrew J. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 412308427031, $620,000 HAGG, Randall et al, Quicken Loans, Parcel: 412310277005, $497,634 WEST, Scott A. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411623100043, $548,000 SMEESTER, Charles G. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 411902327026, $622,000 KOHL, Stuart et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Parcel: 412004177013, $362,700 DURAN, Jasmine et al, Hometown Lenders, Parcel: 411032478001, $2,201,286 MCADEN, Bryan C. et al, Semper Home Loans, Parcel: 412131400011, $360,000 DEOLIVEIR, Rui et al, Mercantile Bank, Parcel: 411517427010, $404,000 KOPP, Ronald L. et al, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Parcel: 412103315003, $350,400

CO-PARTNERSHIPS FILED

Co-partnerships filed with the Kent County Clerk SHAVER BROTHERS COMICS & COLLECTIBLES, 4005 W. River NE, Comstock Park, Chad Shaver, David Shaver SHAVER’S ON THE PARK, 3917 Leland NE, Comstock Park, Chad M. Shaver, David M. Shaver SKETH.CO, 920 Ardmore SE, Jerome Dennison, Kimo Denny VANILLICO, 920 Ardmore SE, Jerome Dennison, Kimo Denny

ASSUMED NAMES FILED

Assumed names filed with the Kent County Clerk BUDGET TOWING, 4056 Stafford SW, Jim Gepford CRM CLEANING, 88 Parkbrook SE, Cassandra R. Miller DETAILED CLEANING CO., 2940 44th St. SW, Grandville, Lisa K. Petree EFFORTLESS SHED, 2463 Bowenton Place SW, Wyoming, Wesley Laney ELEGANCE BY ELLEN, 1051 60th St. SE, Ellen M. VanArtsen FORTUNA CONSTRUCTION, 4030 Egypt Valley NE, Ada, John Fortuna GERRIT’S RV SERVICE & CAMPER RENTALS, 1052 Amber Ridge SW, Byron Center, Gerrit Sterk

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.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

25

CREATING A BETTER TOMORROW. TOGETHER.

SAVE THE DATE! National Philanthropy Day® Thursday, November 18, 2021 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM

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CLASSICAL JAZZ NPR Blue Lake Public Radio has been providing Classical Music, Jazz, and NPR News programs to the people of West Michigan since 1982. It is on the air for you every day... even all through the pandemic. Your support remains essential to continue this service. Please take a moment today to make a contribution online at: bluelake.org/pledge, or call 800-889-9258, or text BlueLakeRadio to 44321

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26

GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Mixed messages on the economy Natural reaction.

R

ising unemployment? Check.

A plethora of job openings?

Check. Automobile production slowing? Check. New car sales rising? Check. The tightest housing market in years? Check.

Homes being sold in the shortest amount of time in a decade or more? Check.

It’s no wonder HR departments are so worried about the mental health of their employees.

Throw in the still-heated debate over COVID-19 vaccinations (required or not?), and you’ve got a formula for most of the population not knowing which way is up.

Now, one of West Michigan’s important economic sectors is weighing in with more negative news — sort of.

Although still positive, the recovery for the West Michigan industrial economy has slowed considerably in recent weeks, according to Brian G. Long, director of supply management research in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.

Long said the slowdown is expected at this stage of an economic recovery because of pent-up demand.

Long said the worldwide chip shortage is hampering auto pro-

BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF

duction for almost every nameplate in the world. Dealer lots are predominately empty, and Long said it may be 2022 before supply catches up with demand.

Highlights from Long’s economic report: • New orders, the index of business improvement, came in at +14 — typical of the recovery from most recessions once the initial pent-up demand has been satisfied.

• The ongoing chip shortage has washed backward into the automotive supply chain, causing slowdowns or temporary stoppages in production. The production index tapered to +11.

• Staffing continues to be a major problem for many firms, even though some have raised their starting wage and offered signing bonuses. Many economists are concerned about a wage-price spiral.

• Despite the COVID delta variant, the JPM international survey posted at 54.1, only a little below the all-time high of 56 set in May. The supply chains of the world continue to show no sign of returning to normal.

• The employment index remained positive at +19, but would be stronger if there were people to hire. With some of the generous

unemployment benefits coming offline, there is speculation that the employment situation will improve in coming months.

The Institute for Supply Management survey is a monthly survey of business conditions that includes 45 purchasing managers in the greater Grand Rapids area and 25 in Kalamazoo. The respondents are from the region’s major industrial manufacturers, distributors and industrial service organizations. It is patterned after a nationwide survey conducted by the Institute for Supply Management.

Each month, the respondents are asked to rate eight factors as “same,” “up” or “down.”

The Michigan Manufacturers Association recently sent a message to President Joe Biden in regard to his proposed mandate that employers require their employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or be tested weekly. That message? Butt out.

MMA has long been a proponent of the COVID-19 vaccination and has endeavored to educate its workforce on the potential benefits of having the shot administered.

Politicizing the action, however, is not on MMA’s agenda.

STREET TALK

“While details of the President’s proposal have not been released, MMA has long fought for — and will continue to fight for — the right of employers to maintain control over decisions that impact their business,” said John J. Walsh, president and CEO of MMA. “Broad stroke employment mandates fail to recognize the unique nuances of each workplace, workforce and community.

Flexibility to implement suitable workplace safety policies is critical to employee safety, talent recruitment and retention, and the ability to compete in a global economy.

Rather than having the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) impose workplace safety rules regarding the vaccination, Walsh argued individual programs, such as incentives, should be the way to go.

“MMA has also had a strong position of support for vaccination as the best method to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Voluntary incentive programs to promote vaccination make sense,” he said. “However, government mandates that place enormous costs and logistical burdens on employers while they struggle with fragile supply chains and talent shortages could be devastating to our burgeoning economic recovery. In short, government using employers as a pawn is an improper exercise of authority.

Providing incentives is the logical and most successful approach to dealing with the pandemic.”

Residents are asking the city of Grand Rapids to follow through on its pesticide-free parks commitment.

One hundred and fifty individuals and counting have signed a petition created by a Grand Rapids resident to ask the city to recommit to natural lawn care at its parks.

The city announced in April 2021 it would stop using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers at the Sixth Street and Canal parks to protect the Grand River. In August, the city reversed the decision.

Grand Rapids resident Natalie Hockamier said she was disheartened by the reversal.

“Many cities across the country have improved health outcomes for their residents, pets and wildlife by successfully adopting organic practices in their parks. Grand Rapids deserves no less,” she said.

Hockamier, a member of the Sierra Club Greater Grand Rapids grassroots movement Growing Green, started a Change.org petition in August to encourage the city to reinstate its commitment to natural management of Sixth Street and Canal parks. Last fall, the nonprofit sustainable landscaping initiative Midwest Grows Green (MGG) conducted soil tests and compiled a three-year natural lawn care management plan for the city.

“Transitioning turfgrass away from chemicals usually takes three to five years for optimal results,” said MGG’s Ryan Anderson. “Implementation of our three-year plan just started this April. By discontinuing this project just a couple months into management, the city gave our plan no chance to succeed.”

Hockamier and Growing Green Grand Rapids said they believe Grand Rapids residents and businesses want safe and healthy parks.

Those interested can sign the petition at bit.ly/GRpetition21.

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No matter what stage your business is in, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is here to help you succeed. By connecting you to the resources your business needs, granting access to necessary capital and introducing you to the right partners, the MEDC helps your business reach new potential.

VARNUM COMMITS TO GRAND RAPIDS

Varnum’s 10-year lease renewal in downtown Grand Rapids signals a bright future for office space. “Varnum has made a longterm commitment to downtown Grand Rapids, and it’s a great sign that companies are coming back to the office,” said David Wiener, senior vice president at Colliers. “The office market struggled through COVID-19 as our downtown office buildings sat empty, and we look forward to restored activity in the coming months.”

At Colliers, we accelerate success.

Grand Rapids | Holland | Lansing | Traverse City | +1 616 774 3500 | wwwcolliers.com/westmichigan