By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
The statue sitting on a curved sandstone bench with a welcoming smile, legs crossed and hand out encouraging the passerby to take a seat depicts well the warm, hospitable nature of late President Gerald R. Ford, according to his eldest son Mike Ford.
“We know that dad was very approachable and very welcoming,” Ford said in his video comments during an unveiling of the statute at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Oct 15. “Today, dad is being honored right there in the new Presidential Gateway Plaza and his statute is a sign of the warm hospitality this community has to offer to all the travelers and guests who come through the airport from across the globe.”
According to the artist, J. Brett Grill, who spent a year researching the life and writings of the 38th president of the United States, said it was his intent to portray Ford in a relax manner.
“This sculpture stands in contrast to many of the existing monuments honoring presidents, which are typically posed and elevated,” Grill explained. “Although Ford was certainly ambitious, he was, by all accounts, an everyman, humble and unassuming, not your typical politician.
“To reflect that, the sculpture sits comfortably, welcoming travelers to have a seat next to the leader of the free world. He is approachable, amiable, and honest: the quintessential family man. It is fitting this sculpture is placed at the Ford Airport in his hometown. Even when he lived elsewhere, he remained our neighbor.”
The statute unveiling was part of the dedication for the airport’s new Presidential Gateway Plaza, which will serve as a welcoming center for travelers. Ford sits on a curved sandstone-inspired seating element, creating a place for visitors to sit with him while overlooking a global map etched into the concrete.
“As a congressman, he passed through the airport hundreds, I would say thousands of times as he traveled back to his home,” Mike Ford said, adding he would have been honored and humbled with the tribute as much as he was when the airport was renamed in his honor in 1999. That was the same year Ford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in honor of his public service in healing the nation after the turmoil of Watergate.
“We are proud that he is there to welcome many thousands of people to his home of Grand Rapids,” Mike Ford said. “These are the people that he came to know and love through his many visits back through the airport.”
The statue of Ford is the Secchia’s gift to the Airport and all those who travel through it. The Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority designed and funded the development of the Presidential Gateway Plaza. Board Chair Dan Koorndyk, CEO Tory Richardson and other members of the board and leadership team joined elected and community leaders from the region and members of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Board to dedicate the plaza.
“This statue holds a special place in our family members’ hearts,” said Community Legends Committee Chair Charlie Secchia. “Not only was Ford an adept and insightful leader in a tumultuous time, he was Grand Rapids’ favorite son and someone my parents are honored to have called a friend. We could not be prouder to call him our own and to dedicate this memorial as part of the Community Legends Project.”
The statue of Ford – the 12th in the Community Legends series – is across town from the one of his beloved wife, Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Bloomer Ford, who was also memorialized in bronze by the Community Legends Project. Her statue was the 10th in the series and was dedicated in 2018 at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in downtown Grand Rapids. Additional legends in the series include U.S Sen. Lucius Lyon (considered the founder of the City of Grand Rapids), Chief Noahquageshik, Lyman Parks, Anna Sutherland Bissell and Jay Van Andel.
Through the years, the airport also has honored both the president and his wife. In 2017, the Gerald R. Ford Tribute Room was dedicated at the airport and in 2019, Betty Ford Drive was unveiled.
“Gerald R. Ford was an international man, well-traveled around the globe who always carried with him immense local pride for his Grand Rapids home,” said Ford Airport Authority Board Chair Dan Koorndyk. “We envisioned this new memorial as a way to share his global vision while offering an approachable space for our community to engage with and to enjoy.
“We so appreciate the Secchia family for choosing the Ford Airport to be home to this incredible piece of art. We hope the new Ford statute and Presidential Gateway Plaza will become a famous and well-recognized icon for our region.”
Ford was a member of Congress for 25 years where his reputation for integrity earned him the position of House Minority Leader from 1965 to 1973. He was appointed vice president by Richard M. Nixon in December 1973 and, following Nixon’s resignation in 1974, became president of the United States. During his presidency, Ford took action to stem inflation, pass the Freedom of Information Act and resolve unrest in the Middle East. He was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1999, he was awarded the
