When I asked Haywood what he thought about the Foundation for Excellence, he brought up the property tax breaks. When the bill passed 23-15, his . View Lara Johnston's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. CHICAGO Michael Johnston, co-founder of record label Audiotree and the son of Kalamazoo billionaires William Johnston and Ronda Stryker, pleaded guilty after being accused of using hidden . NTllMGE4MzQ1Y2NiYzRhNDNlZjk5NjVhYzZjYTkyMzVhNDk5MmYxYjJjMGRh The last few years a number of high level private country clubs in Michigan have undergone major course changes and renovations. He was 96. Nobody feels that theyve got power over anyone else, or theyre better than anyone else, Johnston told me. What could go wrong is [if] the billionaires dont like what the city is doing, and say, Were not going to keep giving you money unless you do things differently, Callahan says. Kalamazoo, MI. Ronda E. Stryker & William D. Johnston Foundation . But Im always about doing things that have never been done before. He rose to vice president of the firm in just six years, but decided to leave and establish Greenleaf Asset Management Inc.the first of the three Greenleaf Companies. As soon as anyone whos antiracist or curious about equity hears the word[s] tax breaks, it is so obvious to us that thats immediately going to be racially inequitable, says Smith, who argues that the foundation could instead use money to try to solve the problems of infant mortality, poverty, homelessness and other issues worsened by the countrys wealth gap. OGRmOWI5MjFlNDRjOTQ3N2JjMTMwODI3MDg0NjcyYzg3NDM2MDIyNDUwZDBk These changes meant that the city was approaching what assistant city manager Laura Lam calls the X of death, where revenues and expenditures would permanently cross. In the meantime, if you see any KCC members be sure to congratulate them for winning the lottery! William Johnston and Bill Parfet are two billionaires with a mission to stabilize the city of Kalamazoo in southwest Michigan. Main address. The foundation says it does not disclose the identity of its anonymous donors; the $400 million pledge is revocable if any of the staff who know the donors disclose that information publicly. Lindsey Hemmerlein Grants & Operations Administrator, Lindsey Hemmerlein is from Kalamazoo, MI. The Incredible Cars, Planes, and Boats at Ocean Reef Club's Vintage Weekend. . Kalamazoo has long lived with the contradictions of relying on the generosity of the very rich; multiple people told me that elected officials have long factored how the two Bills would react to policy decisions. Other family members and associates include Lorraine Johnston, Michael Johnston, William Johnston, Jon Stryker and Megan Johnston. City crews are repairing sidewalks, repaving pickleball courts, building a splash pad for kids in a low-income neighborhood and replacing lead pipes, their work marked by orange-and-white construction barrels and closed roads. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Smith is outspoken about the racial inequities he says are fueled by the foundation: Its widening the wealth gap.. Same with Imagine Kalamazoo 2025. . MjQwMDlkMjViN2RmMjdlNjgxZjFlY2NmZTBiMjIzYzc4MjgzYWQyODQwN2Nk Its a scenario that critics say sets the stage for the super wealthy to control more and more aspects of public life. N2QwNDRkMjM0ZjQwZDIzNTYzYmVlZDg5NTY2MDI5YzU5Zjc4NDAwMTg5ZmRj The Foundation for Excellence is much more than an alternative to an income tax. Meanwhile, in Kalamazoo, this new way of funding a government has begun to seem so normal after five years that candidates for city commission in the citys election on Nov. 2 didnt even talk about the Foundation for Excellence. The two will provide $70 million in seed money for the Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence over the next three years. Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, and Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, put forward substitutions focused on protecting religious expression prior to the vote. The Bills say that an income tax was the opposite of what Kalamazoo needed. William D. Johnston, B.S. Johnston, whos married to Ronda Stryker, another admired philanthropic force in Kalamazoo, made the purchase presentation to the clubs membership in 2020 and the vote to sell the club was overwhelming passed. Johnston resides with his wife, Ronda E. Stryker, who earned her masters from WMU in 1982, in the Kalamazoo area. But beyond the construction crews and new pickleball courts, a tension hums below the surface of Kalamazoos budget miracle. When she saw an early diagram showing that the foundation would be funded by big companies like Stryker as well as by universities and hospitals, Sykes-Nehring says, she suggested that these organizations could instead just pay some fees to the city, since some are exempt from property taxes. Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo MI 49008-5200 USA(269) 387-1000Contact WMU, WMU Notice of Non-DiscriminationLand Acknowledgement Statement, Masters degree in political science, WMU, 1974, Favorite book: Good to great, by Jim Collins. YzdjMGEyYWFmYjkzNTJiN2RlM2ZiNGJmZWIwMjlkZjBlMGZmNTVlNWViMzI3 "Beyond our best wishes, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Nick for his exceptional dedication to the . She has experience in grant writing, organizational design, and youth development. Ronda Stryker | PresidentBill Johnston | Treasurer and SecretaryAnnie HennJJ HennMegan JohnstonMichael Johnston. UNLOCK PROFILE. Kalamazoo, Michigan. I learned the game under the tutelage of Walt Biber. OTQ4YzA1ODJiZDJjYjNkZGVmOTRkNTMwZDlmYzUzMWNmNGRmNjE5YzZlNmI3 She began her career in the nonprofit sector, as an anti-racist facilitator and organizer, working with institutions to eliminate systemic racism. Resides in Springfield, IL. Among Dr. Strykers many patents and most famous innovations were a turning frame to prevent bedsores in bedridden patients and an oscillating saw to remove casts. He wants to teach his kids to fish and huntand to avoid city politics. Johnston is a quiet, large-framed man who sits powerfully behind his desk at Greenleaf Trust in downtown Kalamazoo. Phone & Email (9) All Addresses (9) Family (4) But to Sykes-Nehring, the creation of the foundation institutionalized the Billss influence at a time when the city commission was finally getting more progressive. Joe Bellino, R-Monroe, and Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, joined Democrats as the only Republicans to vote in favor of the bill. It got really ugly, says Sykes-Nehring, who also spoke out against the foundation. Upon graduation, he accepted a teaching and coaching position at Kalamazoo Central High School and began a 14-year career in public education while also earning a masters degree. Trustee Johnston is the chairman of Greenleaf Companies, . She believes that to eliminate philanthropys inherent power dynamics, we have to name and claim the power in the room. His great-grandfather founded the Upjohn pharmaceutical company, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2002; the Upjohn family also founded an employment-focused research institute in Kalamazoo. Greenleaf Trust manages in excess of $7 billion and has offices in the Michigan cities of Birmingham, Traverse City, Petoskey, Holland and Kalamazoo. They are worth $5 trillion, two-thirds more than the total wealth held by the bottom 50% of Americans. Meanwhile, since the tax cuts of the 1980s, local governments have faced mounting budget problems that are expected to grow as they struggle to pay pensions and fulfill other obligations, says David Callahan, the editor of Inside Philanthropy and the author of The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age. He resigned from the board after he says Hopewell and David Andersona city commissioner at the timechastised him for publicly criticizing the foundation. It helped people like Ebube Okpechukwu, 20, learn how to build her rsum and explore the medical field by setting her up in a position that let her work alongside physical therapists. Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson at City Hall. An associated email addresses for William Johnston are wjohnston3***@aol.com, william.johnst***@yahoo.com and more. OTA4ZTI5MzQwZmYyMWEyNmYwNDg0Nzk0OGU4Yjg1ZjUzMGVmYjRjNWNkNzRm But its the foundation staff and board who decide exactly how the money is spent. A new parking lot under construction near the farmers market. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. It will boast a series of tees that will accommodate varied handicaps. The Hon. Supporters of the foundation say the setup is democratic because the city commission, which is elected by voters, has to approve each years grant from the Foundation for Excellence. And just because a government policy helps one group more than another doesnt mean a city shouldnt fund it; it still builds roads, even though some people dont have cars, and makes bike paths, even though some people dont ride a bike. No one had a cell phone until it was created, he says. Includes Address (7) Phone (5) Email (3) See Results. A graduate of Kalamazoo College and the American Bankers Association Graduate Trust School, Kevin is a Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor. Once they find out that this Foundation for Excellence transforms the community [and] reduces poverty, philanthropists in other communities may look and say, Build an arena, or put money into the city budget? Were kind of a laboratory for some extreme generosity approaches to urban governance. In a small city like Kalamazoo, with not that many resources of its own, the power of big donors giving tens of millions of dollars is that much greater.. But those deals can set a dangerous precedent. Despite this wealth, Kalamazoo has been struggling. He served as assistant principal at Kalamazoos South Junior High School. OGNkMWYwNTZiNzgwZTRmNjM4YjEzMDRkYmJiYWU5MGM1MmZhZDU0YTY5NmJh Ronda Stryker and her husband, William Johnston, live in Portage and have been busily involved in communities across the state through their dedication to the Western Michigan University Medical School and their wealth management firm, . Age 51. . The forthcoming redevelopment plans for the club are beyond exciting and anything any former member could ever have imagined. Kalamazoo is not unique in this; money buys influence in politics, even more so since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court case. If the only future for this country is Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg on Mount Rushmore, and titans of capital have this never-ending gilded age, then the municipal endowments at least is a way to have some kind of local autonomy, says Dannison. Reputation Score: 2.68 - 4.09. Leatrice Fullerton was born and raised in Kalamazoo, MI. Select this result to view Peg Johnston's phone number, address, and more. Johnston and Parfet pledged to raise enough money to keep the foundation going in perpetuity, but if those funds dont materialize, the city risks insolvency. His previous and ongoing experience as a practicing attorney . Personal Details View . William D Johnston, 42. Many Northside residents are more concerned about Graphic Packaging International, a paper factory that announced a $600 million expansion on a lot adjacent to its current property on Kalamazoos Northside. All documents about the foundation live on the citys websitethe Foundation for Excellence does not have a separate website. Every conversation was about cut, cut, cut, she says of city budget discussions at the time.