Change-Ups: County administrator announces retirement

Kent County Administrator/Controller Wayman P. Britt announced his intent to retire from the county effective July 2021. He has held top administrative positions with Kent County since March 2004 and was appointed to his current post in January 2018. Under Britt’s leadership, Kent County significantly modernized its IT infrastructure; funded a new Kent County Parks Office, a northern county service hub and a new fleet service facility; and led the county’s public health and economic relief response amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

ARCHITECTURE & ENGEINEERING

John Whitten, principal at Spark 43 Architects, has been selected to the Elevator Safety Board by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitten will represent architects and consulting engineers.

AWARDS

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport and now-retired Fire Chief Joseph Dancz received the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Working Group’s 2020 Outstanding Service Award.

BANKING

Matthew Kind joined Grandville-based Grand River Bank as vice president and commercial lender.

BUSINESS SERVICES

Adamy Valuation promoted Alexa Pontus and Jacob Helwick to manager and Kathryn Sinen and Nicholas Neuland to senior analyst.

JetCo Solutions hired Quinton Kichak as a sales assistant and Michelle Gauthier as a research assistant.

Rehmann announced the addition of Lisa Pohl as a principal in its advisory and tax services division at the firm’s Grand Rapids office.

X-Rite announced UK supermarket retailer Asda renewed its multi-year ColorCert contract for packaging quality control. Asda uses ColorCert to manage packaging color and consistency for 12,000 SKUs and multiple print suppliers.

CONSTRUCTION

EV Construction hired Noah Brown as a carpenter apprentice; Steve Mulholland joined its sitework division; Yesina Alvarez its Firestop team; Garret Veenstra as a general tradesman; Alex Kenney as interiors foreman; and Dave Jasper as a traveling field manager. Subsidiary EV Group hired Bree Bareman as an accounting manager.

EDUCATION

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointment of Joe Jones, president and CEO of the Grand Rapids Urban League and a commissioner for the city of Grand Rapids, to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and Oakland University Board of Trustees. 

Sacred Heart Academy ranked No. 17 among the nation’s top performing schools on the Classic Learning Test for the second consecutive year. Students who take the CLT10 in 10th grade are eligible for a $2,500 scholarship to a CLT partner college.

ENERGY

Jackson-based Consumers Energy has been named the best employer for women in the utility sector and tied for third-best employer in Michigan according to a new ranking from Forbes magazine of the best places in America for women to work.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Kalamazoo-based Arbor Financial Credit Union announced the hiring of Jim Edsall as a mortgage loan originator.

FOUNDATIONS

Julie Ridenour, president of the Steelcase Foundation since 2012, announced her intention to retire effective Dec. 31.

GOVERNMENT

Kent County launched its 2019-2023 Strategic Plan Performance Dashboard, which tracks progress made toward achieving the priorities and goals set forth in the county’s strategic plan. Details: accesskent.com/Publications/Dashboard/.

Sharla Seath joined the city of East Grand Rapids as finance director.

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe) bid farewell to Ed Pigeon, who has served as vice chairman for the last 12 years and was first elected as a council member 21 years ago. The Tribal Council welcomed new member Ben Brenner, who served as senior director of operations for the last three years; Phyllis Davis, Jeff Martin and Jodie Palmer are incumbents who recently won four-year terms. Palmer was chosen to serve as vice chair. Davis and Palmer were elected to four-year terms as representatives of the At-Large District, and Brenner and Martin will represent the Salem District.

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in Dowagiac announced the election of new Tribal Council members Brandon Rapp as a member-at-large and John Morseau as treasurer.

GRANTS

The Grand Rapids Public Museum announced that the Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded GRPM a $30,000 grant for its Magic Lantern Preservation and Access Project, which will ensure that 5,000 rare and significant historical images on glass slides are preserved and properly added into the museum’s collections, and make the artifacts accessible online.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

NuVescor Group announced the sale of Cheeze Kurls Inc., based in Grand Rapids, to Kilroy Partners, of Boca Raton, Fla.

HEALTH

Holland Hospital Family Medicine welcomed Daniel Maring, DO, and Emily Prevo, DO. Both physicians provide comprehensive outpatient care for patients of all ages at the Holland Hospital Family Medicine-Zeeland practice, 8300 Westpark Way.

INSURANCE

Wolverine Mutual Insurance Co. in Dowagiac announced the promotions of Ryan Anderson to vice president, research and development; Dustin Rohdy to vice president, information technology; Valerie Coates to director, human resources; Cameron Nix to director, corporate efficiency; and Becky Grabemeyer to chief financial officer. Sydney Storey was hired as director of brand strategy and Andrew Laing as director, agency relations.

LEGAL

Plunkett Cooney associate Michele Dunsky-Adams has been selected by her peers for inclusion in the inaugural edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2021.

Ret. Brigadier General Michael C.H. McDaniel, associate dean and professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, was inducted into the Michigan Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

MANUFACTURING

Burke E. Porter Machinery Co. expanded its field service team to locally support OEM and aftermarket customers in the greater Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, Texas areas. The primary focus areas for the Texas support team will be: PLC programming; machine troubleshooting and preventive maintenance; machine start-up; and onsite production support-end of line test equipment.

MEDIA

Grand Rapids Community Media Center announced its board of directors: Mel Atkins; Quinn Mathews; Regina Salmi; Juan Daniel Castro; Gabriella De La Vega; Shirley Griffin; Jane Hofmeyer; Jesse Holcomb; Edye Evans Hyde; Margie Zylstra; Sean Kenny; Jeannine Lemmon, president; Mark Smith, treasurer; Michael Van Denend, secretary; Jason Wheeler, vice president; and Linda Gellasch, executive director.

NONPROFITS

Kids’ Food Basket has received a $50,000 grant to help continue nourishing children and families in the four counties it serves (Kent, Muskegon, Ottawa and Allegan) from the Pella Corp.

RESTAURANTS

Smokey Bones promoted Skylar Smart to general manager at its Grand Rapids location.

TECHNOLOGY

Radley Corp. launched its ENDEAVOR platform to help clients achieve “lean” practices in their organizations while ensuring the ability to be agile within the ever-changing business environment.