The Grand Rapids Arts Musuem invited GRYP for a special evening to view the opening of their Art in Bloom weekend. It featured floral designs from the region's best designers, and some of the designs were inspired, and even some mimiced, the architecture or piece of work next to their piece! Local artist and Volunteer Council President, chris Overvoorde, gave us a personal 1-hour tour of the museum. He gave us some insight on the pieces that most of us wouldn't have known. He was a great asset to our experierence at GRAM. Thank you Chris; you were fantastic! Thank you to Lisa Shaw, of The Bigger Picture Photography LLC, for taking photos at the GRAM. Please take a look on our Facebook page for some amazing shots of our group! For more information on Lisa's services & to view her portfolio, please visit her website at www.lookatthebiggerpicture.com and/or www.facebook.com/lisasha w, or call her at 734-812-2028. Thanks Lisa!!

Over 70 GRYP members attended our Downtown Development Panel Tuesday April 13th at the University Club in downtown Grand Rapids. We were fortunate to have the following individuals present representing their respective projects:

Nick Koster, The Gallery on Fulton
Andy Winkel – 38 Commerce
Jerry Kooiman – MSU Secchia Center

Jay Fowler, the Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority, acted as the panel’s moderator, and fielded questions from the audience after each panel representative had given a brief biography and introduction of their project. GRYP would like to extend thanks to each panel participant, our moderator, and The University Club for supporting this event and our organization.

Thank you to everyone who came out for our Get Involved Expo at McFaddens on Friday, April 29th! It was another great success with over 140 people! It’s great to have one place, one night, and many opportunities featuring local non-profit organizations that need volunteers & leadership.

Many thanks to all of the non-profits which included: AMBUCS, American Cancer Society – YLS, American Red Cross, ArtPrize, Bethany Christian Services, Boys and Girls Club, Catholic Charities West Michigan, Center for Inquiry, Chamber of Commerce, Children's Assessment Center, Dwelling Place, Frederik Meijer Gardens, Friends & Families of Cystic Fibrosis, Friends of GR Parks, Goodwill Industries, Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities, GRYP (Relay for Life), Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, Koinonia Foundation, LocalFirst, Mackenzie's Animal Sanctuary, Make-A-Wish, Foundation of Michigan, MI Blood, and Women's Resource Center. Also, thank you to Susan McGowan, of PICS Photography, for taking photos at the Get Involved Expo!

Please look for photos on our Facebook page that have already been uploaded. For more information on Susan’s services & to view her portfolio, please visit her website at www.picsgr.com , or call her at 616.889.1196.

Thank you to the GRYP members who attended the Town Hall Meeting to Engage Young Professionals on Monday, April 26th from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at the Weathy Street Theatre. There were other young professional organization present such as the Asian Professional Organization, BL²END, Grand Rapids Jaycees and many others. During the meeting, Greg Sunstrom - City manager, Eric Delong - Deputy City Manager and Scott Buhrer – Chief Financial Officer talked about the city finances and charter admendent. After the informative meeting, the young professionals were able to ask questions about the 5-year plan and suggest ways to improve the city of Grand Rapids which lasted over an hour. Greg Sundstom said it was the largest turn out he has seen for this meeting and best audience involvement to date. He hopes to continue the strong relationship with the young professionals in Grand Rapids on a regular basis.