By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
There are a multitude of reasons City of Kentwood residents volunteer to serve on its various boards, committees and commissions — from wanting to give back to their community to enjoying interacting with other citizens with common interests, just to name two.
And while the city appreciates its volunteers year-around, it toasted them with a special volunteer reception Nov. 21 at the Kent District Library’s Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch community room as city leaders mixed with volunteers “that make the City of Kentwood special” at a night of celebration, hors d’oeuvres and refreshments.
Two examples of fairly-new residents of Kentwood serving the city are husband and wife David and Dwell Moore.
“I joined the parks and rec committee a little over a year ago, just to be part of the community,” David said to WKTV at the event. “We have seven kids and we thought it would be interesting to be part of the community and actually contribute to making the city a better place for recreation.”
Dwell, who is on the Historic Preservation Commission, said “I love history and, so, I enjoy learning more about Kentwood and the town I live in. We’ve been here three years and it has been really interesting to learn about this community we moved to.”
City of Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley, at the event, said he sees community involvement as essential to the city.
“For a city of function properly, it has to be a community effort,” Mayor Kepley said to WKTV. “It has to be a community that volunteers, that gets involved in all levels of government, all levels of service. … a successful city will have a strong volunteer group.”
Other examples of citizen involvement are Gerry Noorman, who volunteers at the city’s Heritage Room in the library, as well as Kevin Small, who has a long history on the Parks and Recreation Commission.
“I got on it because my backyard is right on Jaycee Park,” Small said. “The city has some great parks, its got some fantastic programs. … It is just a good feeling (to serve), I guess.”
The City of Kentwood welcomes residents to participate in a variety of boards and committees as, according to its website, “community involvement is the key to keeping Kentwood a great community.”
Among the current openings are positions on Historic Preservation Commission, the Parks & Recreation Commission, and the Zoning Board of Appeals. For more information and to apply, visit kentwood.us.
