Since 2009
Grand Rapids Area Professionals for ExcellenceMore About GRAPE
Our Mission
“To build a community of professionals who inspire others to reach their fullest potential: personally, professionally, and neighborly!”
Connect With Us
CLICK here to get our APP for easy convenient access: user friendly, no downloading necessary!
Sign up for real time text message alerts. Simply text GRAPE to 313131.
Become A Sponsor
We appreciate your support. Click here for more information. We are always looking to promote area venues too!
Meet GRAPE’s Leadership Team
Carolyn Lund
Board President
Co-Founder & Managing Partner with Earnest Apps (A division of Earnest Enterprises)
Lisa Kosak
Social Media Consultant
Horizon Bank
Patty Vanderklok
Board Secretary
Real Estate Investor
John Potter
Executive Director
Academic Librarian
GRAPE Events
Educate Event June 15, 2017
Join us as we learn more on... "Utilizing Technology to Supercharge Your Brand"! Event tickets are $15 through Mon 6/12, $20 through Wed 6/14, then $25 after 10am on 6/15. Lunch will be catered by Fred's Italian Restaurant, App.FredsItalian.net (A Limited Number Of...
Connect Event May 18, 2017
Grab your business cards, a guest, and join GRAPE for an evening of fun networking. There will not be a charge for this event; however, we would appreciate your RSVP! You can participate in a Raffle, a Speed Networking segment, or just chill. (Your donations are...
Educate Event April 20, 2017
'The Business Rewards of Community Involvement' Panelists include: Scott Lane, President, West Michigan Whitecaps Matt Cook, AVP Community Relations, Lake Michigan Credit Union Justin Hendges, VP Sales, Eikenhout Moderated by WZZM 13's Catherine Behrendt 11:30 -...
Connect Event March 22, 2017
Social w/ GRAPE, GRBE, & West Michigan Business Networking & Beers. Bring your business cards and a guest to this really cool networking opportunity. This will be a social event with all 3 groups attending and a cash bar available. We will be meeting in the...
It’s Not Just About Money: Starting a Philanthropic Conversation with Your Client
In Grand Rapids, be sure to check out "It's Not Just About Money: Starting a Philanthropic Conversation with Your Client” on Wed, March 9 from 1-5pm at The Gillette Auditorium (@ the lower level of the Fifth Third Bank Building). The event features Scott...
Connect Event: The Internet of Things
I still remember asking, well more like begging, for my first watch. I was 9 years old and thought I was pretty grown up when I found the tiny package under the Christmas tree and unwrapped the Timex watch. Pretty important stuff. It's still important stuff. We get...
Join our GRAPE Sponsorship program
Support. Recognition. Appreciated.
Please visit our sponsors.
What we do
Creating a Community of Excellence
Connect
Connect events are opportunities for entrepreneurs to meet and build relationships with others in the Grand Rapids area.
Educate
Every quarter, GRAPE hosts special meetings that provide members with relevant and helpful information.
Inspire
Annually, GRAPE highlights an issue or charity that members can learn about and support.
What Drives Us
Our Mission
To build a community of professionals who inspire each other to reach their fullest potential: personally, professionally, and neighborly!
Get Involved
As a non-profit organization, GRAPE always appreciates the support of volunteers!
Our Next Event
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays to you and yours! Have a safe and joyful season! We will see you just around the corner in February...
Read
Articles
Biases & Decision Making by Anne-Cécile Graber
I few days ago I was browsing through numerous articles trying to decide on content for this blog. Imagine my surprise when I came across this article by Anne-Cécile Graber from her blog focused on organizational management. I asked Anne if I could share her article here and she approved.
Leadership: Situation, Context, and Followers
Leadership is situational. It emerges from the context of a specific situation and with a group of willing followers who share common goals, beliefs, and culture. Within that context, however, different situations call for emphasizing different leadership skills. One size does not fit all.
The worker owned business model
Worker owned businesses are more common than many people realize. Law firms and accounting practices are often employee owned: when a lawyer makes partner, he is, in fact, becoming a part of the business itself and will be compensated according to his share in it. How well he is compensated depends on a number of factors, just as it does for a coop worker.
Does Your Website Deliver?
Grand Rapids area professionals can enhance their businesses’ effectiveness and success by maintaining company websites that deliver on customer and prospect expectations. It’s a matter of website performance; the right balance between privacy and personalization; providing relevant, fresh content; and delivering a consistent experience across all platforms.
Managing People to Achieve Superior Results – with Toyota Kata
I finally got to Mike Rother‘s book Toyota Kata and wish I had gotten to it sooner.
A kata is a routine or behavior pattern that is deliberately practiced, whereby it becomes second nature. This is done to develop particular skills and mindset. The term kata is found mostly in the study of Asian martial arts.
Businesses need to stay up-to-date on the Affordable Care Act
It’s a challenging time for everyone in America’s quickly morphing healthcare landscape. Families who have been squeezed for years between paying higher shares of premium costs and higher deductibles now wonder whether they will be able to pay for insurance at all, or...
Interview with Mimi Fuger, Career Transitions Center West Michigan
CTCwm programs are delivered by hiring professionals; this is our differentiator in delivering career development services. Many of our volunteers have a background in human resources and can share their experiences and best practices in hiring from the employers point-of-view.
Once Upon a Time there was a Great Leader – A Case Study on Executives who Micromanage their Key Leaders
The following is an account revealing the “implosion” that can occur within large organizations from the top down when Executives micromanage. Jane was hand selected to assist with building a complex department for a large non-profit organization. Her entire...
An Innovative Use of QR Codes
By Daniel Belanger What is a QR code? The textbook definition of a QR Code is a two-dimensional bar code created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response.” A type of Matrix or Two Dimensional bar-code. Rather than use a...