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Making West Michigan a best place to live,
learn, work and play...
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Happy
Holidays
Wishing you and your family a safe and joyous
holiday season!
  
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A message from WMSA
President, Greg Northrup
For the
past ten-years, the West Michigan Strategic Alliance (WMSA)
has served a unique role as a catalyst for regional collaboration.
Since 2000, WMSA has enhanced our region’s long-term
sustainability by working with business, government and
institutions to balance economic prosperity, environmental
integrity and social justice. And, we will be here serving
the region for another ten-years.
It has
been exciting and rewarding to see the “collaborative capital” that
has developed over the past decade, with hundreds of regional
stakeholders working together to improve the region's quality
of life. The WMSA staff remains committed to
finding innovative new ways to improve the value of what our region
has to offer and with your help we can achieve our shared vision
for West Michigan as a best
place to live, learn, work and play in the Midwest…for
the benefit of all. To learn more or get involved, visit
us online at: www.wm-alliance.org.
On
behalf of the WMSA Board of Directors, staff and many volunteers,
thank you for allowing us to be a part of the West Michigan
community and serve the region proudly. We wish you and yours
a safe and happy holiday season.
Best
regards,
Greg
Northrup, President
West Michigan Strategic Alliance
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The West Michigan Internship Initiative Needs
your Input
As a key
stakeholder in the region, helping to lead change, the West
Michigan Internship Initiative invites you to complete a
short survey on the number of internships created in West
Michigan. Your input will give us an overview of the current status
of internships in the region and how we can improve our processes
and future outcomes.
The
survey is web-based and should take less than ten minutes to
complete. We hope that you take this opportunity to have your voice
heard. This survey will be available until Tuesday December 21,
2010. Please click below to begin the survey. To take part in the survey, please click here.
For
mor information about the West Michigan Internship
Initiative contact Cindy Brown at: 616-871-2452 or cbrown@wm-alliance.org.
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Regional Diversity leaders meet to
discuss the 'hot' issues impacting West Michigan
Several
regional diversity came together on Thursday, December 2nd at
the Alumni House- GVSU, Allendale, MI to discuss issues
centered on diversity and racism as they impact the quality of life
here in West Michigan.
Over
25 regional leaders attended this meeting and helped WMSA gain a
better understanding of diversity across the
region. Attendee, Kelley Losey, Director, Quest
Sustainable Solutions/Cascade Engineering, said: "I think
West Michigan is ready for change. There have been great
racial injustices to people, that are still being felt into this
generation. We need business and community leaders to come
together and help create the future of our region by eradicating
racism and creating genuine and purposeful actions, to make
sure everyone is given similar opportunities and we are valuing all
of the human capital in our communities."
After
some great discussion on the current state of diversity in the
region, next-steps were created to include a Regional Diveristy
webpage on the WMSA website and future meetings to keep the
important work of creating a diverse and racist free West Michigan
for all moving forward.
To get
involved or learn more, please contact Tedd Parsons, WMSA
Diversity Advocate, at: 616-356-6060 or tparsons@wm-alliance.org .
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REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Winter
can be a great time here in West Michigan. Not
sure what to do during the cold months? To learn about
all the great things happening in the region, check-out
the West Michigan Tourist Association website -www.wmta.org.
Please Click here to
discover how much fun Winter can be and what is happening in your
area.
Many
thanks to our friends at the West Michigan Tourist Association for
keeping us up-to-date on all that West Michigan has to offer year
round.
 
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Don't forget to visit us on:
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THE GREEN SPACE
Discovering the Green Buildings of West Michigan
From
Grand Rapids to the Lake Michigan shore, the West Michigan region
is home to one of the highest concentrations of LEED certified
buildings in the country. With LEED buidling becoming
increasingly sought-after and more than 130 LEED-certified
buildings in the region, the West Michigan Chapter of the U.S.
Green Building Council (USGBC) took the opportunity to prove the
benefits and showcase green building design. Over 40 building
owners agreed to showcase their buildings and provide
post-occupancy research data on energy.
This
resulted in a two-day showcase tour that was held in September 2010
and a full color, hard-cover, coffee-table quality book of case
studies of LEED-certified buildings in West Michigan. The
book includes an Overview of Sustainability and Case Studies
of each of the segments on the tour: commercial, education, health
care, homes, nonprofits and office.
This
is a great opportunity to promote sustainable design and LEED
building, and the book makes a compelling marketing tool as a gift
for your friends, family, staff, clients and prospects. The
showcase book is now ready for purchase for $75.00 at www.usgbcwm.org/green-buildings-book
or you can call the West MI USGBC at 616-301-6688.
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WMSA is proud to recommend:
The
West Michigan AmeriCorps Collaboration, is proud to present 'Traces
of the Trade - A Story from the Deep South' on Monday, January 17,
2011 beginning at 7:00 PM. This free screening will be held
at Celebration Cinema North- Grand Rapids, MI.
Film Synopsis
In
Traces of the Trade, Producer/Director Katrina Browne tells the
story of her forefathers, the largest slave-trading family in U.S.
history. Given the myth that the South is solely responsible for
slavery, viewers will be surprised to learn that Browne’s ancestors
were Northerners. The film follows Browne and nine family members
(ages 32-71) on a remarkable and disturbing journey through the
history and legacy of New England’s hidden enterprise.
The
DeWolf descendants are confronted with questions that apply to all
of us. What is the legacy of slavery? What is our shared
responsibility? What would repair—spiritual and material—really
look like?
Directed/Produced/Written
by Katrina Browne. Run Time: 86 minutes.
Ticket Info
Tickeet cost is 1 (one) non-perishalbe food item donation.
Donations to be dropped off at the registration table at Celebration
Cinema - Grand Rapids North on the night of the event. All
donations will benefit the Feeding America West Michigan Food
Bank.
For
more information or to register for this worthwhile event, please click here.
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Signs
of the season...
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About the West Michigan Strategic Alliance
The West
Michigan Strategic Alliance was formed in 2000 and serves as a
catalyst for regional collaboration among the businesses,
institutions and governmental units serving more than 1.4 million
people living in a eight-county region including: Allegan, Barry,
Ionia, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo and Ottawa. WMSA works to
encourage a regional mindset, which will foster collaboration on
critical issues that impact how we live, learn, work and play.
Additional information is available at http://www.wm-alliance.org/.
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