The Announcer March 2024

ALLENDALE AREA CHAMBER OF

The Announcer is delivered to you as a free monthly publication serving Allendale Township. It is brought to you by the Allendale Area Chamber of Commerce.

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WEBSITE: www.allendalechamber.org

OFFICE HOURS: By Appointment

ADS SENT TO: Christie Tidd at allendaleannouncer@gmail.com

2024 Sustaining Partner Circle

Thank you to our 2024 Chamber Partners and Key Members!

Easter Events

24 Easter Egg Hunt at Bauer Community Fellowship at 11am Church Service at 9:30am

30

Easter Egg Hunt at Life Stream Church at 10am, food truck + coffee

WEEKLY EVENTS

MON Trivia at Peppino’s Pizzeria + Sports Grill at 6pm

TUES WED

Trail Point Run Club meeting at 5:45pm, start at 6pm

Trivia at Trail Point at 7pm Karaoke at Main St Pub starting at 8:30pm

Trivia at Main St Pub starting at 8:30pm

Karaoke at Peppino’s Pizzeria & Sports Grill at 9pm

THR Senior Fit Time at Love Inc at 11am, all abilities welcome Trivia at Farmhaus Cider at 7pm (paused for now, continues in April)

FRI Trivia at Embassy Bar and Grill starting at 8pm

SAT Karaoke at Embassy Bar and Grill starting at 9pm

GVSU Events

All March Community Events: tinyurl.com/37nfn86s

APS athletics

allendaleathletics.org

Food Trucks

Trail Point: Tuesday - Sunday

Farmhaus Cider: Friday - Sunday

TOWNSHIP INFORMATION

Township board mee�ng dates are March 11 and 25 at 6:00 pm. You can find board agendas and minutes on our website: www.allendale -twp.org.

Lifelong Learners

Are you 55+ and looking for a fun, social group to join? Look no further than the Lifelong Learners group. They meet regularly for meals, cra�s, games, and more. Contact Tasha Shepard at 616-202-1547 or email

natashashepard@allendale -twp.org for more informa�on.

ALLENDALE TOWNSHIP LIBRARY

Meet our new Library Director!

2024 Rental Housing Update

As we consistently strive to improve Allendale’s Rental Housing program, we recognize the need to offer more efficient forms of communication and online service options for our patrons. To streamline our services, we integrated registration, invoicing, and inspections under one company called Mobile Eyes. Also, to save on the high cost of postage, we ended mass mailing, making email our primary tool of correspondence.

As with any new service, we have a learning curve and apologize for any confusion. We ended up deferring rental registration payments, normally due by March 31st, to the end of year, as many didn ’t recognize the Mobile Eyes email address.

To prevent any confusion this year, we’d like to remind you to please check your emails at the beginning of March for 2024 Rental Registration invoices. They will come directly from Mobile EyesNOT Allendale Township. The invoice will also contain a link that will direct you to the secure online payment system, allowing you to use your credit card or bank account to easily pay online. Of course, you may still pay the Township with check or cash.

Thank you for your patience as we attempt to provide you with the best service we can offer. Please call (616)892 -3114 with any questions. ACT Rental Registration Department

Hi! My name is Abby Black. I have been a professional librarian for 12 years. I started my career as a youth librarian at the Coopersville Area District Library then as a branch librarian at the Kent District Library - Wyoming Branch for 9 years. I am a mother of 4 smart and strong daughters. I have a passion for people, connec�on, stories, biking and raccoons. Come say hello at the library - I look forward to mee�ng you.

Does Your Brand Look the Part?

Whether you sell incredible products or provide great services, don’t let poor brand perception, bad design, or lackluster marketing lose you business. Your customers make purchasing decisions based on their perception of your business’ quality, professionalism, and trustworthiness—and one of the easiest and best ways to improve those perceptions is with better design that enhances your brand, and a more thoughtful and intentional strategy behind how design is integrated into all aspects of your business.

Visually Express What You Do

You’ve spent a lot of time growing your business and perfecting the tools and processes you use. The last thing you want is for potential customers to not understand what you do, or think you’re not the best choice for their money because your website, or social post, or ier didn’t give o the right impression. The design, visuals, and

messaging of your brand and marketing materials should reinforce and enhance the products or services you o er. Have a fun product and friendly retail locations? Then your brand should give o fun and friendly vibes. (Trader Joe’s does this well with its custom in-store signage and playful product names.) Have a high-quality, technical service you o er? Then the design of your website should have a high-tech aesthetic. (The Google Store website has a nice, high-tech feel, while also being approachable and friendly.) To gain more business, it’s crucial that the outward, visual expression of your business is inline with the quality of products and/or services you o er.

Everything Matters

The design of your logo matters. The wording and tone of your messaging matters. The usability and accessibility of your website matters. The fonts and colors you use in your social posts matter. Everything matters.

Every aspect of your business can and should be enhanced with better design and thoughtful strategy behind those design decisions. Why have you chosen the colors you use in your business? Why do you use the fonts you use? What words and phrases resonate with your target audience? How easy is it for customers to place an order on your website? If you don’t have strategic reasons for the design decisions you’ve made for your business, there’s a good chance you’re not reaching all of the customers you could be.

Brand Better with BizStream

BizStream is a local branding and website development agency located right here in Allendale, MI. We have decades of experience helping clients improve their branding, strengthen their design and messaging, and strategically grow their business. Our team can help you with all design aspects of your business. Whether it’s updating your logo, exploring advertising ideas, or updating your website, we have the experience you need to take your brand to the next level. See examples of our work and contact us at bizstream.com.

Meet your neighbor: Don Knoper

By: Kathy Hanes / Allendale Historian

As part of Allendale’s 175th Anniversary celebration this year, it seems fitting to introduce you to some of the elder residents of Allendale. People who were born and raised here, 80 plus years ago, and continue to call Allendale home. They raised their families, worked in the community and most likely will be buried in the local cemetery. They truly are lifelong residents of Allendale. While most are reluctant to share their story, there is value to future generations to preserve this history and learn from our elders. Their stories are unique to them, but could have happened to any of us. I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Don Knoper and, this is his story...

Many things have changed in the past 80 to 90 years. Think of all the changes that have occurred in your lifetime. Now go back to 1931...that was the year the Empire State building opened its doors in New York City. The Star-Spangled Banner was adopted as the national anthem and construction of the Hoover Dam began. The world was in the early years of the Great Depression, and the economy was in crisis. While the world was welcoming new accomplishments and lifestyle changes, back in Allendale, Michigan, Mr. and Mrs. Harm Knoper welcomed a new baby; a bundle of joy they named Donald.

Don was born on the family farm which was located east of 68th Avenue on Warner Street. Like most families of that day, his dad was a farmer and his mom was keeper of the home. Times were hard and with the continuing economic crisis, the Knoper family succumbed to the effects of the Great Depression and lost their farm. It seems that most people were much more resilient back then, but sometimes it was the only thing that kept them going when hope was lost. The Knopers were resilient, had hope and forged ahead.

They moved to a farm on 40th Avenue, near the ravines and Dad Knoper continued to work the land by helping others. In time, he was able to buy his own farm and grew pickles. As a child of 5 or 6 years old, Don remembers taking pickles to the pickle drop off in the horse-drawn wagon. The pickle drop off was located by Walcott Elevator on 68th Avenue. These pickles were loaded by hand onto a conveyer to a big truck that then went to the Heinz factory in Holland. There were many of these pickle drop off sites around west Michigan and long before Michigan was known for being the automotive capital, it was the leading producer of cucumbers for pickling in the United States. To this day, Michigan is still the top pickle producing state! I bet you didn’t know that??

Don went to school in a one-room schoolhouse near his home and was eventually bussed to Allendale Center School at some point—he thinks maybe 3rd or 4th grade. Being a child, he didn’t know the reason why he changed schools, but Don was an easy going kid and made friends with his new classmates. There were 5 or 6 students in his grade. He continued his education until midway through 7th grade. It wasn’t uncommon for youth to leave school after 8th grade to help on the family farm, so farming became his ‘new’ classroom and his 7 1/2 years of education was considered sufficient for that time. Years later, when he was elected township treasurer, Doc Baker asked him how much training he had for this position. Don simply answered, “7 1/2 years.”

Eventually their family moved to a farm on 56th Avenue. It was around this time, in 1950, that Don met the girl of his dreams. Donna was 17 and still attending school in Coopersville, but that didn’t stop them from getting married.

For their first home, they rented a farm on 84th Avenue and, with some hard work, they were able to purchase that 80 acre farm for $10,000 in 1955. They started their family (Diane, Dar, Dale and Deb) and continued to farm for about 10 years.

Don then took a job at Gemmen’s Meat Processing and worked there for 35 years. It was during this time that he was elected township treasurer and served in that capacity for many years.

After leaving Gemmen’s, he was the maintenance supervisor for the township. His crew of one took care of the grounds and maintenance around the town hall. He still helps take out the trash and might even vacuum after a Lifelong Learners event. He has a knack for keeping things neat and tidy.

In recent years, Don has been known to collect large, 30+ cup coffeemakers and always makes sure that their church or the senior citizens group had a good working coffee pot. He never asks for a payback, that’s just the way he is.

In retirement, Don and Donna enjoyed golfing and family time and used to spend winters in Gulf Shores. While they may have slowed down a bit, there is still that sparkle and energy that comes from hard work and appreciating a job well done…Here, Now, In Allendale.