2008 Tulip Time Festival Parade Grand Marshals Announced

2008 Tulip Time Festival Parade Grand Marshals Announced

HOLLAND, MI – April 22, 2008. Each year the Tulip Time Festival honors individuals or groups who have contributed in a positive way towards the betterment of the Holland community. These individuals or groups are named Grand Marshals for the 3-themed parades held during the week of the Tulip Time Festival.

Beginning with Wednesday’s Volksparade, May 7, Tulip Time honors Elton Bruins. Bruins began his education at Hope College in 1950 graduating with a Bachelors of Divinity from Western Theological Seminary. He furthered his education through a graduate course at Princeton’s Theological Seminary and completed his studies with a PhD from New York University. He has had a long-standing association with Hope College beginning in 1966 as an Assistant Professor of Religion. Among his many accomplishments at Hope College he was the Founding Director of the Van Raalte Institute, 1994-2002, Chair of the Joint Archives Council, 1987-1995 and current member of the committee for the restoration of Graves Hall and Winants Chapel. His community involvement supports many of the local historical and cultural organizations of Holland. Bruins also authored and co-authored a number of books including The Americanization of a Congregation, Churches in the Nineteenth Century, and Isaac Cappon: Holland’s ‘Foremost Citizen.

The Volksparade is sponsored by Belle Tire.

Thursday’s Kinderparade, May 8, will honor the contributions of Superintendent Frank Garcia. Garcia began his career as a bilingual and migrant instructor at Fennville Public Schools. He taught at West Ottawa's Sheldon Woods and Lakeshore Elementary schools from 1983 to 1995. Mr. Garcia came to Holland Public Schools in 1995 as an Assistant
Principal at East Middle School and was promoted to Principal of West Middle School the following year. In 2001, he took over as Principal of Holland High School and began his superintendent role with the Holland District in the fall of 2004. Mr. Garcia earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, teaching certification from Western Michigan University, and a master's degree in educational leadership from Michigan State University.

The Kinderparade is sponsored by Johnson Controls.

Saturday’s Meijer Muziekparade, May 10, celebrates the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce and their 100th year anniversary. For the past 100 years, the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce has been building an exceptional community, advocating for a strong business climate, and providing value to its members. In the early 1900s, the Holland Chamber, Board of Trade at that time, became an essential element in the community resulting in the recognized establishment of the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce in 1923. The Holland Chamber has advocated through many avenues of business growth, economic development, and quality of life betterments. Some of these ventures include the Silent Observer program started by the Holland Chamber in 1977, the Lakeshore 504 program started in 1983, the partnership with HEDCOR from 1962 to 2007, the partnership with the Small Business Technology & Development Center beginning in 2002, and the partnership with Lakeshore Advantage beginning in 2005.

Meijer Muziekparade is sponsored by Meijer and WOTV 4. A tape delayed broadcast of the Meijer Muziekparade hosted by Bill Steffen and Maranda can be seen Sunday morning, May 11 at 10:00am on WOTV 4.

For more general information contact Tulip Time Festival, 238 S. River Avenue, Holland, MI 49423, 616.396.4221 or 800.822.2770, tulip@tuliptime.com, www.tuliptime.com, Tulip Time Festival 2008 Dates: May 3-10.

Contact
Tamra Bouman
Tulip Time Executive Director
Office: 616.395.8245
Cell: 616.218.3918

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