Mazda Great Lakes Alumni

(Updated Sunday, February 18, 2007 05:33 PM )

Additions or corrections? Please send a note to: Doug Wenzel

2004 News

December 2004 News   

• Erv Lichterman has moved!  The new address is 5193 Kaufman Greens Lane, Wyoming, MI  49509 and the phone number is (616) 531-3363.
• Robin Tjalsma has a new e-mail address!  robin.728@comcast.net
• Mike Bronson (former MGL employee) lost his 17-year old son, Nick, in a car accident the weekend of 12/11. Nick was a junior at Grandville High School.  If you know Mike, I'm sure he'd appreciate your support right now.  His address is 3700 Shoshone Grandville, MI 49418.

October 2004 News   

• Gail Kober's Father passed away on Oct. 30, in Columbus, Ohio.
• Gerontology Network of Grand Rapids honored Peter Cook with the Spirit of Aging Award for being an outstanding individual in the community who has a zest for life and who has given so much to the community. Gerontology Network serves older adults, making their senior years ones that are filled with independence and health.
• Doug Dykstra, Terry Robrahn, Larry Gray and Jim Buffington, now work for Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Farmers/Foremost has decided to outsource most of the IT staff to CSC, effective 10/01/2004.  John Cordes still works for Farmers/Formost.
• Dave Seeber's Father, a long time resident at Porter Hills, died on October 17. He was 94 years old.  Dave's Mom survives.
• Hal Paulsen has a new e-mail address:  hhp1@netzero.com  The Where are they now? page has also been updated
• Judy Bell-LaValley's Dad died suddenly over the weekend of October 16, while visiting in Grand Rapids. He was only 70.  
• JoAnn (Burnham) Jordan survived yet another Hurricane!  (This time it was Hurricane Jeanne, last time it was Charlie!)   "Although where I live was ordered to evacuate, I chose to remain here along with 12 other neighbors at a "safe condo" up the street. It certainly was a long night with no lights or air and lots and lots of hurricane noise. We could hear the metal carports ripping apart our cars outside, but couldn't see anything and couldn't go outside. Fortunately, I was able to get to my house in the morning. Some of my neighbors were inside moving my sofas, beds, etc to get away from the dripping ceilings. Monday they cut out the wet carpeting and padding for me and moved the furniture that couldn't be saved outside. The weeks afterwards have been even harder than that night. We were without power for 8 days this time but because I got all the wet stuff out, I have no mold like so many other people. The temp was in the 90s and more of the condos had to be entirely evacuated and are being gutted. I'm very lucky that I can live in my place, even though the smell of cement floors and the unraveling popcorn ceilings along with my furniture piled everywhere are making my spirits skitzo. My adjuster can't be here until the third week of November and the bank on the ocean where I work in the winter months is being gutted, so I flew up to MN to see Amy and the babies last week, then to New Orleans for a River Boat Cruise this weekend with 14 friends from Grand Rapids, then to San Francisco to Catherine's. It will be another 3 to 4 months before I'm back together and probably December or January before the bank is open. I feel like I am a true pioneer. What did those poor, unsuspecting Indians do when these things hit without any warning? This neat and tidy little town of Vero Beach is a real mess, but the election WILL go on and so will life for all of us. I understand September was a beautiful month in Michigan. Unfortunately, Minneapolis was cold, wet, and dark last week, but the trees were still a wonderful sight to see...also the delicious Mid-West apples! Hope you're all well. Miss you. Jo Burnham"

September 2004 News   

• Carolyn Ford and Ken VanDorp were married on September 18!  Check out a few of their wedding photos on the Pictures page.
• Kelly DeSaint and family moved back to the Grand Rapids area at the end of July and they're now back on-line.  You can reach her at Adakats@comcast.net
• William (Bill) Whitney passed away this past week. He was an instructor at Import Motors many years ago. Thank-you Connie Ellinger for letting us know.
• Mike Poort's daughter Leah is a Davenport student and works part time in the HR Department (this update is through Judy Kidder, who also works at Davenport).  Mike and his wife Claire have a new address:  3022 Summercrest Ct., Hudsonville, 49426. Mike is currently working at Pridgeon & Clay, while he waits to be called back to Rapistan.
• News from JoAnn (Burnham) Jordan in Florida on 9/21...  "I evacuated to Susie's in Orlando (which had been devastated by "Charlie" -- I cried when I saw the area two weeks after it hit there.) I returned home and was out of power for 11 days...no air in 90 degrees, no phones, no traffic lights, ice, water, food, curfew at 6:00 pm, pitch black at 7:30 pm, and of course a ban on booze!  I live just west of the Indian River Intercoastal and Grove Isle, and our area got really hammered. Three of the buildings housing around 35-45 people each were condemned and everyone has had to move out due to bad damage to roofs, ceilings falling down, terrible mold forming all over the buildings and furnishings. I was very lucky. The force of the wind and rain got into my Florida room and I had to pull back the carpeting and rip out the padding to let the cement dry along with the carpet. I have wonderful neighbors and they helped move my furniture etc. The American Castastrophe Co. has promised to come with big machines to dry out the exterior walls. In the meantime I'm changing my dehumidifier twice a day and it just keeps filling. We got 7 more inches of rain last night and today from "Ivan" and everyone seems to be having their roofs leak again. The whole city looks like a war zone and I spent most of the days trying to find gas, ice, water and would pick up Army meals from the National Guard. I had free soup and salads etc. at strange churches, and found myself volunteering at trucks that were giving away various things. Harris Bank, where I work, is right on the Ocean and was pretty well messed up. It will be at least another month before we can open again. There is so much curbside debris...trees, branches, palms, mattresses, carport metal, you can hardly drive down the streets all over the city. Things are getting back to somewhat normal, but emotionally we're all kind of messed up. So many people I know have been hit really hard. The gift shop of one of my girlfriend's was flooded and she just may hang up the towel and retire. The tragic stories you hear are just that. Disabled old ladies living in a car somewhere as their house was destroyed and the shelters are all full. The hurricane hovered over Vero for approximately 12 hours. My Mom was in a boarded home where she lives and they had generators, nurses, etc. She did OK until they lost the lights. Needless to say, she doesn't do well in the dark!  It certainly has been an experience that I have stored away in the back of my memory. When the lights came on around 6:30 pm last Wednesday, we were all sitting around drinking and laughing. I had left only one light connected to the circuit breaker, which was the porch light. We all just looked at it, grew silent, got tearing eyed and started screaming like the NFL football players after making a touchdown. Anyone who says there is no God should have been there."
• On September 5th, Holly (Hansen) McGavin and Jason had their first baby---a Gorgeous little girl named Ashley Grace!
• Janet Davis (Korcal) and her husband Lonnie have moved and their new address has been updated on the Where are they now?  page. 
• Jerry Field has formed a new company (in partnership with the company he was with since 2001, Quality Air of Midland).  The name of the new company is Pure Indoor Environments. They offer the residential and light commercial markets indoor air quality services and products, including air quality testing and analysis, and air purification products and installed systems. Their company is quite unique in that they are housed on Davenport University's campus in downtown GR, and they are employing 5 Davenport University business and marketing students as paid interns. If anyone in the MGL family is in need of their products or services (or knows of some individual or company with IAQ issues), Jerry would appreciate hearing from them.  His information is as follows:  Pure Indoor Environments, 435 E. Fulton St., Suite B Grand Rapids, MI 49503 direct (616)742.1722, fax (616)742.1721 cell (616)450.0096 and e-mail: jfield@pureindoor.us
• Gaul Schouwink has two puppies for sale at http://home.earthlink.net/~bodaciousbambi  Her son joined the Army 2 years ago and is now married and expecting his first child in December. His wife Jennifer and he are currently in Germany but in March of 2005, he will be deployed to Afghanistan for at least a year. They are going over to Germany in December to visit them and the new baby (they've been told it's going to be a girl). Their next trip over will be in the summer when Scott has returned from Afghanistan and they are planning on renting a couple of Harley's and doing a lot of site seeing.
• Jim Wagner’s brother (G. Rob Wagner) passed away in Colorado after a tragic accident. 

August 2004 News   

• Jason Bender has updated his home address.  Check it out on the Where are they now?  page. 
• Check out the recent photo (on the Pictures page) of Peter Cook in a helicopter over Grand Rapids area!
• Gerhard Tscheschlok's address has been updated.  Check it out on the Where are they now?  page. 
• Matt Nyenhuis has updated his home address.  Check it out on the Where are they now?  page. 
• Laura Miling is ready to re-enter the "work force" (part-time at least) and has asked that if anyone knows of any openings or if any come up, to contact her at 866-5367 or e-mail at milingmj@juno.com  She would love something that is less than 20 hours and preferably during school (like 9-3 or so) or any work-from-home would be great too!!
• Drew Balcam has updated his home address.  Check it out on the Where are they now?  page.
• Kevin Merryman has updated his home address.  Check it out on the Where are they now?  page.
• Tim Strader has updated his home address.  Check it out on the Where are they now?  page.
• Ken Postema's home address has been updated.  Check it out on the Where are they now?  page.
• Ken Postema had an accident while driving his lawn tractor back in June. He tipped over and it landed on top of him breaking his left wrist. He has had two operations to correct the injury, but is still healing and not able to do much. If he uses it ....it swells, so then has to stop everything. Also, his daughter has breast cancer and surgery was set for August 5.   If anyone wants to send him a note, his address is 8626 E. 56th Newaygo, MI 49337.

July 2004 News   

• Ted Andriese has added his Birthday information to the web site! (September 13). He also just completed a fun project for Peter Cook,- -arrangements for the fifth (or maybe it was the sixth) Import Motors/VW Dealer reunion since Mr. Cook sold the VW franchise back to Volkswagen in 1980. Wayne Williams and Doug Putnam had called Peter and asked if it was possible to have another get-together. Peter agreed, and on June 25th it was held in the Imperial Ballroom of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.  A total of 53 people were there, and, as you might imagine, there were lots of handshakes, hugs and laughs as people brought up memorable happenings from the past. Don Lucas's wife even brought a large display of VW memorabilia that she has collected over the years. 
  In other "Ted" news, he's now engaged to a fine lady named Marilyn Rottschafer! No wedding plans right now- -mainly because there are other plans in his immediate future. It seems that having his right hip replaced in 1984 wasn't enough. Now his left hip needs it, and he's scheduled for a replacement on August 23rd. He's been spending a lot of time, as he did at Import Motors and Mazda Great Lakes, taking pictures. Only now it's with a digital camera, and he stores them on the computer, transfers them to CD or prints them for the extensive file of albums that he's compiled through the years. 
• Does anyone have a current address for these alums?  Jason Bender, Kevin Merryman, Jim Schneider, Jim Sliter, Tim Strater, and Gerhard Tscheschlok.
• For Mazda E-plan help at Borgman Mazda please call Tom Scott at (616) 249-8803 or e-mail him at tscott@borgmanfordmazda.com  Remember, time is running out to take advantage of this great program!
• Kelly and Steve DesSaint are back in Grand Rapids!  Their new address is 1184 Dogwood Meadows Dr. Ada, MI 49301.  Their new phone effective 7/26/04 is (616) 676-1271.
• The time period for former MGL employees to purchase a Mazda using the Mazda E-Plan is running out.  You have until September 25, 2004 to take advantage of the plan.  Call Steve Somsel at East Imports if you have any questions.  800-678-1302.
• Gerilyn May is now the Development Coordinator at Children's Miracle Network.  Her new e-mail address is gerilyn.may@spectrum-health.org
• Joyce Brown and her husband Jerry have purchased a really nice deli in downtown GR.  It is called River Front Deli & Catering and is located at 820 Monroe Ave. N.W. and the phone number is 458-5895.  Stop by and check out their great soups and sandwiches!

May 2004 News   

• Diane Reardon's oldest son, Brad, got married last month at the McNamara Alumini Center on the University of Minnesota campus.  He and his wife graduated last year from the U of MN and are living and working in the Twin Cities area. Diane's youngest son, Matt, graduated on May 7, from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.  He's working for the Secretary of State office in Minnesota as a software developer. 
• Kevin Merryman won his first Bodybuilding competition last month!  Check out the pictures here... http://www.mglalumni.com/pics.htm  He trained 18-20 hours a week for over 3 months!  He took first place in his class and then went on to take the Overall Men's Novice Division title.  He also bought a house in Allendale and moved in last month.  Busy Guy!
• Judy (Bell) LaValley is now working from home, cleaning houses and business' for $15 hour.  If you've missed an important date or an anniversary lately  and want to try to make up for it, hire Judy to clean your house while your significant other is out sometime!  I'll bet you'll be back in their good graces in no time at all!

April 2004 News   

• Carolyn Ford is ENGAGED!!!  Congratulations Carolyn!!! Carolyn Ford and Ken VanDorp met about a year and a half ago playing volleyball and have decided to join teams!  Carolyn and Ken are planning their wedding for September 18.  Carolyn also has a new work e-mail address: Carolyn_Ford@deanfoods.com
• Jim Buffington has moved.  His new address is: 2875 Coppergrove Ct NE  49525
• Kim Peterson gave birth to another beautiful little girl on April 3.  Tyler Paige was 8.5lbs. and 19.5in.  Congratulations Mike, Kim and big sister Samantha!
• Peter Cook will appear on WGVU-TV Channel 35 in GR and WGVX-TV Channel 52 in Kalamazoo on "Inner Compass" -- a TV interview show produced at Calvin College.  It will air on Tuesday, May 11, at 6:00 p.m.  He'll be interviewed about his business and philanthropy.

March 2004 News   

• Sheryl Leatherman's father passed away on Friday, March 5, and the service was held Monday March 8.  He was only 59.  If you have a chance, drop Sheryl a note - I'm sure she could use your prayers right now.

February 2004 News   

• Carolyn Ford's son, Jason, is still in the process of raising funds for his trip this summer as a student ambassador. If anyone would like to help out by purchasing either water or candy bars, please contact Carolyn through email at sportsmom@netpenny.net or give her a call at work 243-0173 or home 698-0702. She and Jason are selling cases of water (24 /.5 litter bottles to a case) for $12 per case (that's 50 cents a bottle). They are also selling fundraising packs of candy bars (40 candy bars in a box for $40). If you would like to purchase either the water or candy bars or know of any business in town that would like to make a purchase to help in the fundraising, please contact Carolyn ASAP. Thank you.
• Holly McGavin is pregnant with their first child!  She is in her 15th week, and last week they heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time!
• Becky Decker's sister's surgery went well.  She is home and recovering well.  Chemo will begin late this month.
• Judy Bell-LaValley can be reached at her new e-mail address:  JLavalley@peoplepc.com
• Jean Kelleher has a new e-mail address at home: bobkelleher@sbcglobal.net

January 2004 News   

• Kelly DesSaint's e-mail address in Charlotte, North Carolina is kdessainte@carolina.rr.com
• Ken Woltjer's new home e-mail address is kmwoltjer@comcast.net
• Becky Decker's boyfriend Chris proposed to her on Christmas Eve and she said yes!  With that ring on her finger she's officially off the market - the single guys lose another good one!
• Becky Decker's sister's last surgery gave promising news, no cancer in the lymph nodes but enough in the tissue surrounding the site of the lump that a mastectomy is needed.  She is scheduled for surgery in early February.
• Steve Heiss' son Christopher who lives in Spain with his girlfriend Bea Calpena had their first child on January 5. Nora Heiss Calpena weighed 6.6lbs. and Nora becomes Steve's fourth granddaughter!

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