Change-Ups: King is crowned MSU outstanding alumni

Change-Ups: King is crowned MSU outstanding alumni

Coleen King, president and founder of King Media, a full-service marketing, advertising, public relations and digital media agency founded in 1999, is the recipient of a 2020 Outstanding Alumni Award by the Michigan State University College of Communication Arts & Sciences. Each year, the college’s alumni board recognizes outstanding alumni and faculty for their achievements, service to the community and enduring impact on students. Only 223 individuals out of more than 56,000 of the most accomplished Communication Arts and Sciences alumni have received this award since its inception nearly 48 years ago. King Media has offices in East Lansing, Grand Rapids and St. Joseph.

ARTS

Katie Lawrence, a librarian at the Grandville Branch of Kent District Library, has been elected to the 2022 Newbery Award Selection Committee, which discusses books that have been published the previous year for kids age 0-14 and then votes for the Newbery Medal winner and honor titles. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

The Grand Rapids Public Museum and Grand Rapids Public Library announced they are actively collecting digital submissions of community stories, videos and photos related to COVID-19 to ensure the local pandemic experience is documented for future generations. Donors may indicate objects they are interested in giving to the Museum Collections in the online form at grpm.org/collections. To learn more about submitting stories to GRPL, go to grpl.org/covid-19-stories/.

AWARDS

The County Road Association of Michigan honored the Ottawa County Road Commission with two statewide IMPRESS Awards at CRA’s 2020 Highway Conference. OCRC received an IMPRESS Award in Communications for its “‘Countywide Road Millage’ Video” and an Award for Operations for its project, “‘The Undertaker’ Under-Guardrail Cleaner.”

EDUCATION

Calvin University has made hotel rooms at its Prince Conference Center available free of charge to first responders at the Grand Rapids Police Department and the Spectrum Health system.

Ferris State University Kendall College of Art and Design has canceled its May 2020 ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic and will instead host a virtual ceremony in May where students can submit photos of their work that would have been included in the ceremony. KCAD also will hold an exhibition showcasing the work of 2020 graduates in September at Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts and The Fed Galleries @ KCAD. The student exhibit would coincide with ArtPrize and the fall KCAD open house.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Grand Rapids-based Pasta Per Trio, the Michigan franchisee of Noodles & Company, recently announced its Noodles Family Meals initiative. For each family meal purchased, Noodles will donate a regular-sized bowl to a local health care worker.

Holland-based New Holland Spirits’ Rum Punch won best in class at the American Distilling Institute awards.

GRANTS

Care Resources PACE, Kent County’s only Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provider, has received almost $50,000 from The Michigan Health Endowment Fund to launch telehealth services for its vulnerable elderly program participants. Care Resources will use the funds to implement telehealth technology, which ensures greater protection against COVID-19 and provides an extension of essential all-inclusive care it already provides to its participants.

Howmet Aerospace Foundation has awarded $25,000 to United Way of the Lakeshore COVID Response Fund that will go toward: Every Woman’s Place – $5,000 for technology to work differently and cleaning supplies; Muskegon Rescue Mission – $5,000 for food and cleaning supplies; Head Start of Muskegon – $2,500 for diapers, wipes and young children’s products; Mission for Area People – $15,000 to support unemployed, rent assistance, transportation, food and more; LOVE Inc. – $5,000 for food, shelter, personal care items and masks; YMCA – $4,500 for veggie van to distribute healthy produce to seniors; Fruitport Christian Reformed – $1,000 food pantry and personal care items; Community Encompass – $10,000 for housing support for families; Catholic Charities – $5,000 for food pantry; Agewell Services – $5,000 for food for seniors, curbside distribution and Meals on Wheels; Salvation Army – $3,000 for meat for the food pantry; Child Care Center Supports – $5,000 to provide necessities to local daycares in operation.

Minnetonka, Minn.-based United Health Foundation has committed $250,000 to provide urgent assistance to Michigan residents experiencing food insecurity as they face hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic, which will go directly to the Food Bank Council of Michigan, the state’s unified food bank network, to support the purchase of wholesale food for emergency food boxes and distribution to those in need.

The SpartanNash Foundation announced trustees unanimously authorized a $250,000 grant to 19 state and local food bank partners in 16 states where the company operates 155 corporate-owned retail stores, four service centers and 18 wholesale, military and fresh produce distribution centers. The grant was made possible in part by a $125,000 matching contribution from the SpartanNash Corporation and contributions pledged to the SpartanNash Foundation by company associates. SpartanNash’s food bank grant partners are part of the Feeding America nonprofit nationwide network of more than 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs that feed more than 46 million people a year.

Chelsea-based United Methodist Retirement Communities Foundation has received a $50,000 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to support telehealth services that will benefit low-income, nursing home eligible older adults who participate in four of UMRC & Porter Hills’ PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) sites.

HEALTH

The Kent County Health Department has launched a web-based application for residents that is a secure, anonymous, web-based survey that will provide health officials with valuable data that could potentially identify future COVID-19 “hot spots” in Kent County. To complete the survey, residents will be asked to answer four personal identification questions. All data will be kept confidential and housed in a secure database. To complete the survey, go to keepmihealthy.org/ and click “Get Started!” To learn more, review the frequently asked questions document at https://keepmihealthy.org/faq.

LEISURE & RECREATION

The Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission and the Ottawa County Parks Foundation have reached an agreement with landowners to sell 87 acres of former gravel-mining land in Georgetown Township. The acquisition is key to a long-term plan to develop a major regional park — the Bend Area — in the county’s most populous local unit and adds natural and recreational land to the Grand River Greenway. The purchase is expected to be completed in late spring/early summer and is funded by a grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, the Ottawa County Parks millage, and $50,000 in funding from the Ottawa County Parks Foundation’s Grand River Greenway Campaign.

Tulip Time Festival announced the Tulip Time Run will switch to a virtual experience, and is held now through May 10. Runners can unite virtually and participate in the 5K or 10K as their schedule permits anytime. Registrants can run or walk around their neighborhood or on a treadmill. Details: tuliptime.com/run

MANUFACTURING

Perrigo Company plc will donate at least 500,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to local hospitals and first responders facing urgent shortages of this essential product.

MEDIA

Meredith TerHaar has joined 13 ON YOUR SIDE morning team to anchor the show with James Starks and meteorologist Laura Hartma.