Tulip Time Festival Parade Grand Marshals Announced

HOLLAND, MI – May 1, 2009.
Beginning with Wednesday’s Volksparade on May 6, Tulip Time honors retired Chief of Police, John A. Kruithoff and retired Fire Chief for the City of Holland, Dan Henderson. Kruithoff graduated from Holland Christian High School, received his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Ferris State University and attended Northwestern University for Police Staff & Command. Hired as a Police Officer for the City of Holland in 1975, Kruithoff was promoted to Patrol Sergeant in 1986, promoted to Police Command Officer in 1992 and appointed Police Chief in 1996. He retired in December of 2008.

Dan Henderson joined the fire service as a volunteer firefighter in 1974. He joined the Sturgis, Michigan Fire Department as a Firefighter/EMT in 1976, and rose through the ranks of Captain and Fire Marshal, becoming the Fire Chief in Sturgis in 1981. In 1988 Henderson was appointed Fire Chief for the City of Holland, a position that he held until his retirement in 2008. During his tenure in Holland, he led a reorganization of the department, expanded the role of the department in providing emergency medical services to the community, and oversaw the construction of a fire station owned jointly by the city and Park Township.
The Volksparade is sponsored by Fifth Third Bank.

Thursday’s Kinderparade, May 7 will honor Dr. Virgil Gulker. Gulker is a social entrepreneur whose work engages church volunteers in the lives of at-risk children and families. In 1995 he founded KIDS HOPE USA, an innovative church-based mentoring program that has trained nearly 800 churches in the United States and Australia to engage their members in one-to-one, I believe in you relationships with 10,000 at-risk elementary children. Prior to his involvement with KIDS HOPE USA, Dr. Gulker founded numerous other award-winning programs, including LOVE INC, a church services network that mobilized over 300,000 volunteers in three countries to respond to over 1,000,000 needs in 2007.
The Kinderparade is sponsored by Johnson Controls.

Saturday’s Meijer Muziekparade, May 9 honors Matt Steigenga for his outstanding contribution to the sports world. His career began as a member of the Michigan State University Varsity team in 1988, having served as Co-Captain from 1990-1992. He was selected as Third Team Academic All-American in 1990 and First Team Academic All-Big Ten 1989-1992. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1992 and is a member of the 1997 world champion Chicago Bulls. His professional basketball experiences offered various opportunities, and today Steigenga is a Youth Basketball Instructor for Michigan Athletic Club and Radio Basketball Color Analyst for Spartan Sports Network

Residing in Lansing, Michigan, Steigenga co-founded Sixty North LLC, a real estate investment group. The initial project was The Masonic Temple Building Project, a historic residential/commercial structure in East Lansing, Michigan. Sixty North remains the parent company of many other ventures focused around the acquisition and renovation of Historic Properties throughout the Midwest.
The Meijer Muziekparade is sponsored by Meijer, WOTV 4 and WOOD TV8. A tape delayed broadcast of the Meijer Muziekparade can be seen Sunday, May 10 at 10am on WOTV 4.
Photos available upon request by emailing carla@tuliptime.com.

For more general information on the Tulip Time Festival call 800.822.2770 or visit www.tuliptime.com. Tulip Time Festival 80th Anniversary Celebration is May 2-9, 2009.
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