If you are a patriot and have donated money to the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, you have unknowingly supported a left-wing, anti-racism agenda that focuses on equity, NOT equality. Unfortunately, you have been tricked by a web of organizations that tie the cities of Portland, Seattle and Minneapolis directly to Ottawa County. This web also includes links to the Grand Haven Area Public Schools. Let me explain.
Ottawa County, Portland, Seattle and Minneapolis are all key members of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity – GARE.
Members include city and county governments as well as public health and educational agencies. Most surprising, there are ties from this organization that lead to Grand Haven Area Public Schools.
Sylvia Leigh’s Ottawa Impact article, The Racial Equity Movement Assault on American Freedom, contains extensive research into Ottawa County’s GARE membership. The short version is that it is a government alliance formed to push a leftist agenda onto communities across the country and Ottawa County is in deep. Here are a few highlights from her article.
GARE is a national network of government organizations working to achieve racial equity.
GARE’s parent organizations are progressive, politically motivated, and have ties to George Soros.
Ottawa County was an early member who joined GARE in 2015.
Ottawa County participated in the Transforming White Privilege Project which was held in Grand Haven.
Ottawa County’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office is influenced by GARE and was created by the Ottawa County Commissioners. They supported it 10-1
The Ottawa County DEI office was supported by early donors Herman Miller Foundation - $30,000, Haworth - $35,000, and Grand Haven Area Community Foundation - $234,507
The Ottawa County DEI office has connections to LEDA (Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance) and the Momentum Center in Grand Haven.
Roger Bergman, Ottawa County Commissioner, is leading the charge for the DEI office.
Perhaps you have heard of The Momentum Center in Grand Haven? It is a key link in the chain from GARE and the Ottawa County DEI office to the Grand Haven Area Public Schools - GHAPS. The Momentum Center offers many programs that support community wellness which has helped them gain community support.
In addition to the community mental health, family and teen support groups, the Momentum Center runs an anti-racism task force. The anti-racism task force holds monthly town hall meetings. During these town hall meetings some moderate and some extreme guests share their views and experiences with racism. Many concepts are discussed in these town halls:
Power and privilege are tied directly to your identity
Groups of people have been marginalized by institutions
A person can be a racist or an anti-racist, but you can’t simply be “not racist”
White people need to decolonize their thoughts
All people have implicit bias
Social justice promotes equity and fairness across many aspects of society
Studying intersectionality reduces disadvantage
Members from the Momentum Center have spoken at Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meetings in support of the Ottawa DEI office, and the Momentum Center is listed as a Partner and Sponsor of the Ottawa County DEI office. Here is a page from the Ottawa County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office annual report which shows they are partnering with the Momentum Center.
2019-2020 Ottawa DEI Annual Report
2020-2021 Ottawa DEI Annual Report
Key employees of GHAPS have connections to the Momentum Center. Both Director of Instructional Services, Mary Jane Evink, and former Assistant Superintendent Brian Wheeler are/have been involved with this organization. Mary Jane Evink coordinates all audience questions at the town hall meetings, and Brian Wheeler had simultaneously been in charge of cyber security and a Momentum Center board member. Recently, Mary Jane Evink advocated for the Momentum Center at the January 11th 2022 Ottawa County Commissioners meeting. The following video shows Mary Jane and other Momentum Center representatives speaking at the commissioners meeting (8 minute 15 second mark).
In addition to Mary Jane Evink and Brian Wheeler, other GHAPS ties to the Momentum Center include Andy Ingall, and Tracey Nauta. Andy Ingall is the former Superintendent of GHAPS. Tracey Nauta is a member of the GHAPS DEIB committee and former candidate for the Grand Haven School Board.
The work of the Ottawa DEI office aligns directly with the work of the GHAPS DEIB committee. Previously led by Assistant Superintendent Brian Wheeler, the GHAPS DEIB committee is now under the leadership of Mary Jane Evink. There are several notable members of Grand Haven’s DEIB committee. Hailey Barton is an important member. Hailey is in charge of Calling All Colors, the student version of a DEI committee, and has connections to LEDA. Scott Grimes the new Superintendent is on the DEIB committee. Jason Reinecke, the new Assistant Superintendent, is on the DEIB committee and so is newly appointed school board member Mark Eickholt. It appears that DEIB committee membership is an essential function of GHAPS leadership.
Regardless, there are clear ties from GHAPS to the Momentum Center, from the Momentum Center to the Ottawa County DEI office, and from the Ottawa DEI office to GARE. This is terrifying as our schools are not supposed to push political viewpoints, but are supposed to teach our children reading, writing and math. Do we really want these outside influences affecting our children’s learning at GHAPS?
This image shows more partners of the Ottawa County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office.
What is very interesting is that the Ottawa County DEI office had an unusual start. Instead of being funded with tax dollars like any other government office, it was supported by companies, non-profit foundations, and progressive Democrat aligned organizations. What this essentially means is that these donors own Ottawa County. These donors are directing our county government, not We the People.
You see, government officials have a choice. They really have two groups of people they answer to. They answer to the voters who elect them and they answer to the donors who finance their campaigns. Most politicians get into politics because they want to make a change for the people or serve their community. Sadly, they quickly learn they can line their own pockets and keep their job for many years by answering to their donors because their constituents don’t pay attention. This typically happens at the state and federal level of government with senators, and representatives in the house. Now however, it is happening at the county and local government level. The reason these politicians get away with this unethical behavior is because the people haven’t noticed. Politicians answering to businesses, non-profits, and progressive organizations is out of control right here in Ottawa County.
Unfortunately, many of the donors to these non-profits don’t even realize the destructive effect their donations can have. There are many wealthy citizens in the Grand Haven area who have eagerly donated large amounts of money to the Grand Haven Community Foundation. The Grand Haven Community Foundation has been involved in many projects that have been beneficial to Grand Haven and its residents. Unfortunately, the Foundation’s involvement with the County DEI office is not beneficial to our communities. It actually creates a climate of racism, prejudice and discrimination. Organizations like GARE are influential in supporting politicians that undermine law enforcement and public safety. Portland and Seattle are two of the worst run cities in our entire nation. Do we want similar policies undermining the prosperity of our beautiful Ottawa County communities?
The DEI office also partners with LEDA – Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance. They put together the statement in the image below which shows they share the belief that America is a racist nation, or rather, the belief that we in Ottawa County are a racist community.
Currently GARE is working not only with city and county governments, but partnered with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, MDHHS and working towards getting more health and educational institutions on board with their mission. Since Ottawa County joined GARE and created the Ottawa County DEI office, they have begun influencing local governments. Here is an image from the Ottawa County DEI office that shows local townships and cities participating in these initiatives.
The Ottawa County DEI office has created a Cultural Intelligence Committee (CIC) and a DEI work group. The Cultural Intelligence Committee (CIC) has a social media team that put out a statement in support of George Floyd. The CIC is working to improve the lives of migrant families, and the CIC has a book club. They read titles like How to be an Antiracist by Ibrim X Kendi. (Did you know the Anti-Racism Task Force at the Momentum Center has book club that reads similar titles?)
In addition to the social media team and book club, the CIC has a team that plans events. They host lavish parties for their supporters, and create events where they can push their agenda.
The DEI Work Group under the Ottawa County DEI office contains judges, prosecutors, health department representatives and both county and business representatives. One interesting member of the work group is Lisa Stefanovsky from Public Health. Remember that intense Ottawa County Commissioners Meeting back in August of 2021 where hundreds of community members spoke in opposition to masks? Well, the health department representative spoke about requiring masks for children on a county-wide level, and the county commissioners did what she suggested. That health department officer was Lisa Stefanovsky.
According to the 2019-2020 DEI Annual Report, the DEI Office partnered with the Department of Public Health to receive the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Grant. So, if the county is accepting money from the MDHHS, does the county have to follow the guidance of the state health department to receive this money? This seems like it could be the reason our children were masked so long. Is this a direct connection to masking our children for money at the County Level?
I know this is difficult to follow as it links several groups together. So, let’s end with a graphic that hopefully will simplify the connections so they make a little more sense.