GRCC In the News, 9-7-22

Snack company to invest $41.7M in Kentwood operation

9/6/22 Grand Rapids Business Journal

A Greek-owned snack food manufacturer will open its first North American operation in greater Grand Rapids.

… West Michigan Works! and Grand Rapids Community College also will support the project with a $614,000 workforce training package.

Grand Rapids Public Library to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month September 15-November 3

9/6/22 FOX 17

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Public Library has announced multiple events celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. The events will run from September 15-November 3.

… Grand Rapids Public Library’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration will also include live music performances. The Latin rock collective Cabildo will perform on Thursday, September 29 from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. at the Main Library. The group’s music is described as a blend of cumbia, ska, folk, and other genres of music from Latin and South America. Gabriel Estrada III will perform at the Main Library on Thursday, October 6 from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. Estrada started the first mariachi ensemble at Grand Rapids Community College. He also received a Legacy Award for Regional Mexican Music at the Grand Rapids Latin Music Awards for his representation and outstanding leadership in ranchera/mariachi music in West Michigan.

(This article doesn’t mention it, but speaker Elisa Pérez-Arellano is also a GRCC alum.)

Artist Feature: Jeff Ham

9/6/22 Revue magazine

Jeff Ham didn’t grow up with pottery, but it’s been his professional life for the last five years.

He did grow up on a century old family produce farm just outside of Grand Rapids, learning to love and work with things from the earth. Now he carries that tradition on with pottery, which started with a class at Grand Rapids Community College, leading to a studio space at The Grand Rapids Pottery, not to mention a job working and learning under the owner. Then, in 2017, he started going to bigger art fairs and pottery became a full-time gig.

Pay stubs available for viewing in online center

It’s still National Payroll Week! So that’s the perfect opportunity to remind you that you can see all of your pay stubs in your Online Center. And, even better, you can see a pay stub for a given Friday pay date on the Thursday before the pay date! You can always take a sneak peek at what’s coming your way! You can find tips on how to access and read your pay stub on our Payroll How-tos page.

WWC 2022 wraps up

GRCC employees had a very active summer!

There were 74 participants in the Summer 2022 Walking & Wellness Challenge, divided into 17 teams, including one team made up of solo walkers from around campus – Team Unity.

Our winning team: Sole Crushers included staff from IT: Bryan Door, Mandy Tomlinson, Justin Vogelar, Josh Engwall, Lilia Herdegen, and Rachel Bower. Together this winning team achieved 7,332,379 total steps and averaged over 1.2 million steps per person. Congratulations!!

Special thanks to our monthly meetup sponsors: GRCC Library, GRCC Academic Support & Tutoring Services, GRCC IT, and GRCC HR. Everyone loved all the great swag!

Overall, participants reported nearly 260 MILLION steps, which is equal to 130 thousand miles. Equivalent to five thousand marathons, and five times around the Earth, as well as 62 times across the USA from East Coast to West Coast. Wow!!

Way to go GRCC!!

Upcoming employee learning opportunities in September

Wednesday September 14

Active Shooter Response Training

in person

Friday September 16

Mindfulness Made Simple

virtual

Tuesday September 20

Managing Effectively Through Change

in person

Thursday September 22

25Live Training

virtual

Tuesday September 27

Shifting Our Mindset

virtual

Wednesday September 28

Addressing Employee Conduct Concerns

virtual

Friday September 30

Developing Team Relationships

virtual

Registration is simple! Log into your Online Center account, click on the Professional Development tile and enroll! Calendar appointments will be sent for all sessions.

Condolences to family, friends, colleagues of Till Peters

We are distraught to be sharing the news of Till Peters’ passing. He played a crucial role in making GRCC what it is today.

As GRJC’s Occupational Education dean, he pushed for the creation of the culinary program now known as the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education and introduced the Occupational Therapy Assistant program.

After retiring in 1993, he remained committed to GRCC students, endowing the Michael C. Peters Memorial Engineering and Technology Scholarship, the Bernice Trantham Peters Memorial Social Justice Scholarship, the Dr. Linda S. Peters Education Scholarship, and the Lotte Rachel Peters Arts and Humanities Scholarship. He was named Emeritus Faculty in 2003.