Spring Lake Rotary Bulletin

March 15 meeting, SLCC.

Prior to the presentation by Hadley Streng, the new President of the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation,( our speaker for this weeks program), David Rhem introduced additional sponsors for the Snow Jam.   Present as our luncheon guests were Mike Wheeler of the Oakes Agency, and representatives of Alpine Rental, that provided equipment and tent facilities.   Dave Rhem stated that Alpine Rental has helped with Snow Jam for several years, and provided excellent service. 

We also were introduced to Grace Nass, SL Rotary Student of the Month.  She is an Honor Student, Athlete (lacrosse) and volunteer for many student organizations that provide relief to flood victims and people needing help from natural disasters.  Grace was accompanied by her parents and is planning on continuing her higher education at either Loyola Univ in Chicago, or Marquette Univ. in Milwaukee.  She is an outstanding academic achiever and on the way to a very interesting future.   Her mother also inquired of what is the mission of Rotary, and she was given the invitation to visit again as our luncheon guest, to learn more about Rotary and our club in particular. 

A special group of young people, and their mentor attended to receive our congratulations as being the best swim team and individual competitors that has ever represented Spring Lake Schools.   Rob Peel is the Coach (who also attended Spring Lake Schools and was a swimming champion in his time) and he introduced his son Cam, and 4 other young men.  The team swam to 5 individual State of Michigan championships, and finished in the top 5 of swim teams in the State.  Several Division 3 state records were set by these swimmers, along with 2 overall record times for all Divisions!   As pointed out by the Coach, the records were earned because the swimmers who comprise the Team swam 9 times each week with 109 swim days of practice.  Also, even though Spring Lake is challenged to fill all the swim competition categories comprising a Meet, the swimmers won the championship in 5 of 11 events.  The best accomplishment for the long term as noted by Coach Peel, was that the overall average grade point for the winning swimmers was 3.88…best in the State!

The next business matter  was the induction of the newest Rotary member in the World, Dr. Joy Jackson.  Joy is a vet at the vet clinic for animals originated by member Jim Moore (who was also in attendance).  Joy was sponsored by member Doug Heins, and has resided with her family in Spring Lake for the past five years.  Please feel free to introduce yourself to Joy, and your pets will also enjoy attention from her.

Many can recall the time when Hadley’s grandfather s and dad operated their business’ in Grand Haven (Baas Big Store and Bisacki Salvage of SL).   Hadley graduated from GH HS and obtained her undergraduate degree from Miami of Ohio.  She became interested in non-profit involvement in communities when participating in the newly formed Youth Advisory Council of the GHACF.  Her original effort was to secure funding for a matching grant from the WK Kellogg Foundation to help defray the cost of having a YAC at the foundation in Grand Haven.  Today it has 10 members from local schools who continue the participation of young people in grants by the GHACF.

Her career was shaped by working with a major accounting firm, and national non-profit organization.  After marrying one of the many Streng family members from Grand Haven, she and her family were looking for an opportunity to return to the Grand Haven area.   When Holly Johnson decided to move to the directorship of the Frey Foundation in Grand Rapids, the GHACF began a search for a new Exec. Dir, and Hadley decided to apply for the position, with she and her husband committing to return to Grand Haven if she was successful.  Hadley picked up experience with co-venturing efforts of Health Care organizations, which helped hone her skills in problem solving, leadership, negotiations, and visioning.

As mentioned by Hadley, setting, and following but remaining flexible, in Strategic Planning for an organization is one of her skills.  That quality was recognized by the Board of Trustees of the GHACF, and she came on Board as the new President and Exec. Director at the end of 2018.  She is tasked with implementing the Strategic Plan of the GHACF, as spelled out in its annual report.  The plan basically involves growing the assets of the GHACF beyond its current $129 Million aggregation of funds, managing the funds from an investment perspective, and then seeking and delivering Grants for the focus of the GHACF.  The areas of emphasis that the donors and Board have identified include the Arts, Environment, Education, Economy, Health and Human Services.  These are broad categories but reflect an effort by the GHACF to enhance the quality of life for everyone in the area served by the GHACF. 

The ability to focus on the needs in the Tri-Cities requires gathering reliable data from many sources, which is why the Youth Advisory Council provides important input to the very diverse Board (intentionally so) of the GHACF.   Subjects such as community Diversity opportunities and needs, Inclusive collaboration, Childhood Issues (health, abuse, care, counseling, education and opportunities), Affordable Housing for working people and mature folks,  Training to develop Skills, and planning that encourages investment are all topics being examined by Staff and volunteers.  GHACF is also part of a network of Community Foundations that share data and information.  While the Tri-Cities is noted for its friendly and well maintained communities, it only exists as a small part of a much larger State and Country.  Decisions elsewhere can impact the Tri-Cities Area, and one of the goals is to be aware of the events that can be managed at the local level to help provide a healthy and vibrant area for work and living. 

Hadley did not have a clear picture of what new tax laws might do to encourage or discourage charitable giving.  She did mention that Required Minimum Distributions from an IRA can be structured to prevent adverse tax consequences, and to enhance giving opportunities.  A clearer picture should emerge in 2019 as charities report the experiences they have with levels of donations, whether up or down.

Finally, the summary of the benefits of the GHACF were discussed.  Rob Peel gave an example of a local lady who had established a Donor Advised Fund that had seen her fund double in value, while disbursing many millions of dollars, by good investment choices at the GHACF.   There are almost 700 different funds under the umbrella of the GHACF, some general use, some donor advised, some field of interest, but all helping improve the quality of life in the Tri-Cities.  Spring Lake Rotary has a Donor Advised Fund that directs the income to various worthy programs and facilities in the Spring Lake and Ferrysburg area.

Thanks for the intro to Hadley, and her report.  Welcome home to her, and we will be seeing more of her efforts in the coming years!

Your Scribe,  Tom Boven

Ps.   This lucky guy, without any encouragement to Hadley, had his name drawn by her as the weekly raffle winner!!  O Joyful DayJ_