Change Ups: Symphony receives $10,000 NEA grant

Change Ups: Symphony receives $10,000 NEA grant

Jazz pianist Marcus Roberts and his trio appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphony for its 15th annual Symphony with Soul concert in February 2016.

The Grand Rapids Symphony received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for its 2017 Symphony with Soul concert. The 16th annual event will feature three-time Grammy Award-winning singer Lalah Hathaway on Feb. 18 at DeVos Performance Hall. Symphony with Soul’s goal is to welcome a broader audience into the community concert hall, both participating performers as well as patrons. The award is the Symphony’s third consecutive grant in six years through the NEA’s biennial Challenge America program.

ARTS

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park announced it received to its permanent collection the expansive print and drawing archives collection of American sculptor Beverly Pepper. Seven decades of contemporary sculptors, hundreds of drawings, prints, works on paper and notebooks are included.

AWARDS

General Manager for SMG at Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place Richard MacKeigan is the recipient of Venue Today magazine’s most prestigious award, the Hall of Headlines in the Bookings category. MacKeigan was nominated for bookings for breaking multiple venue records, including Garth Brooks’ record for most tickets sold for a single engagement, Paul McCartney’s record for gross ticket sales for a single event, and Kanye West, for bringing in one of the largest productions the venue has ever seen.

Michigan Office Solutions was named by the National Association for Business Resources as one of the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For in the country.

BUSINESS SERVICES

Rua Associates LLC announced the successful sale of Muskegon-based Westpack LLC to local packaging industry expert Rich Wilson.

EDUCATION

Davenport University received the following recognitions: Ranked No. 4 for its MBA with Health Care Management Concentration from the Top Masters in Health Care Administration; No. 6 ranking for its Best Online Bachelor Degrees in Health Informatics list produced by CollegeChoice.net; its College of Technology was ranked No. 5 on the 10 Best Deals for Online Programming Degrees list by GreatCollegeDeals.net; and Davenport’s Donald W. Maine College of Business finished 19th for Online Bachelor’s in Sport Management and 22nd for Online Bachelor’s in Finance through the 30 Best lists.

Kuyper College board of trustees, announced it appointed former Dordt College President Dr. Carl Zylstra as interim president of Kuyper.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

David Valk joined Chemical Bank Wealth Management Group as vice president, retirement plan services business development officer.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

New Holland Brewing in Holland announced it is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2017 with new additions to its year-round lineup. The company will expand distribution of its core beer lineup, while bringing fresh, new core items to market and continue to build on an already strong Dragon’s Milk Reserve program.

GRANTS

Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids is the recipient of a $1,288 grant from the ARGI Financial Group’s 100 percent employee-funded grant program.

The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts received a $28,000 grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs to provide operational support for visual arts education in Southwest Michigan. 

HEALTH

Health Intervention Services, also called HIS or His Clinic, announced its new name is Exalta Health. The new moniker more effectively represents the health care services the nonprofit provides to the uninsured and underserved. Exalta’s location is the same, but its address changed to 2060 S. Division Ave to make it easier to locate the building.

Michigan ENT and Allergy Specialists announced the addition of plastic surgeon Dr. Jason Stubbs, who will offer his services at its locations in Jenison, Grand Haven and Holland.

HUMAN SERVICES

Michael Lown was hired as the new chief financial officer for the Diocese of Grand Rapids.

INSURANCE

Farm Bureau Insurance announed the following new agents joined the company: Jason McLaren, of Kentwood, and Daniel John Page, of Jackson. Both work out of the Farm Bureau office at 3061 Macatawa Drive SW, Suite B, Grandville. Joseph Estrada, of Grand Ledge, also joined and works out of the Farm Bureau office at 2751 Alpine Ave. NW, Suite 7. They join a statewide force of nearly 450 Farm Bureau Insurance agents serving nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders.

LEISURE & RECREATION

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians' Four Winds Casinos in New Buffalo announced its Hard Rock Cafe Four Winds and Four Winds Casinos raised $36,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure through its Pinktober Sock-Hop Charity Gala, Friday Night Concert Series, merchandise sales and staff fundraisers.

MANUFACTURING

LG Chem in Holland announced it added 140 new jobs in 2016, resulting in a total of 450 team members to its workforce. New positions include technical operators, journeymen electricians and engineers.

Rockford-based Wolverine announced its Wolverine Crossbuck LX was named the 2016 Best of the Best hunting boot by Field & Stream magazine; and Gear Patrol also named the Wolverine Workshop Custom 1,000 Mile program as a 2016 GP100 Winner.

Smart Vision Lights in Muskegon, a designer and manufacturer of high-brightness LED lights for industrial applications, announced a partnership with JM Vistec System Pte. Ltd., a distributor of machine vision lighting in the Asia-Pacific region. The company will carry SVL LED lights and accessories.

NONPROFITS

Mel Trotter Ministries announced an estimated 250 people enjoyed a complete Christmas meal as part of MTM’s mission to demonstrate the compassion of Jesus Christ to the hungry, homeless and hurting. Gift bags to men and women included hats, gloves, hygiene and other items that were donated to the MTM, and children received a toy. More than 40 volunteers helped with the event.

REAL ESTATE

Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies in Holland announced it has merged with Summit Properties, a boutique brokerage firm specializing in the luxury, waterfront real estate market located on the north side of Holland.

Vision Real Estate Investment announced the promotion of Kyle Sischo to executive vice president and the addition of Rick Hapner as associate developer.

TECHNOLOGY

Holland-based SpinDance Inc. announced Tom Miller joined the organization as its first vice president of sales and marketing.