Bing Goei was born in 1948 in Jakarta, Indonesia, half a world away from Grand Rapids, MI. But he came to America when he was ten years old when the Fuller Avenue Christian Reform Church sponsored his family to make the journey. As a child, Goei was excited by the prospect of living in a new country.
The stories of the western cowboys pictured on TV captivated Goei's young imagination, but so did the opportunity to come to one of the most popular places in the world. He and his family jumped at the chance to make the move.
“I had heard the stories and had a vision of the U.S. as a large wealthy country with many opportunities,” Goei said. “It was very exciting to me.”
Today, Goei is one of the most respected and distinguished business leaders in west Michigan. He owns Eastern Floral, one of the region's most prominent flower and gift shops, and he recently assumed the chairmanship of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. In 2005, Goei was named Entrepreneur of the Year for West Michigan by Ernst and Young, the global finance firm. And he also serves on several highly regarded local boards, including the GR Civil Service Commission and the Diversity Advisory Council of Leadership West Michigan.
As metropolitan Grand Rapids grows and expands, a rising number of people born outside Michigan, and outside the United States, like Bing Goei, are playing an increasingly important role in the region's ongoing evolution into a vibrant economic and cultural hub of the Midwest. More than 10 percent of Grand Rapids' current population was born outside the United States, according to a recent study on immigration published by the Dyer Ives Foundation. And 62 percent of these newcomers arrived in the U.S. in the past 17 years.
These newcomers bring a wealth of assets to the local community, from professional degrees and business savvy to new culinary tastes and traditions. And many are not simply building new lives for themselves. They are giving back to the community and contributing to the region's health and prosperity in countless ways.
In addition to immigrants from overseas, business people from other states and across the country are bringing new ideas and energy to the region as well.
A Fountain of New Ideas
Guy Bazzani, a local green builder and developer, moved from California to the Grand Rapids area in 1994 as part of a family decision. He had been coming to the area for ten years prior and knew it as an economically stable community rich in tradition, Bazzani said.
“Grand Rapids is more sophisticated than you would expect a small city to be,” Bazzani said. “It feels more like a big city. It has a lot of big city assets for a small town.”
Bazzani's background enabled him to bring a new perspective to the local construction industry. New building concepts and designs generally originate on the West Coast, Bazzani said, so importing his expertise from California empowered west Michigan to get a head start on the latest trends when compared to other Midwest regions. He immediately saw an opportunity for his line of work in Grand Rapids and his firm, Bazzani and Associates, is one of the most respected and successful redevelopment companies in town.
Today, Bazzani is one of the titans of the local sustainability movement. He's not only a certified real estate broker and general contractor, but he was one of the first local builders trained in the practice of energy efficient and environmentally sensitive construction. Locally, he's pioneered the practice of building roofs and parking lots that improve storm water management practices and help to conserve the quality of local natural resources such as the Grand River.
Bazzani also has established himself as committed community leader. He serves on two of Mayor George Heartwell's special initiatives: the New Economy Task Force and the Environmental Advisory Council. He's a founder of Local First, a nonprofit group established to promote locally owned businesses and farms. And he's focused intensely on bringing new life to forgotten urban properties. His past work has received honors from the Grand Rapids Historic Preservation Commission, the Neighborhood Business Alliance, and others.
Diversity: A Business Strategy
A job brought Michael H. Stecher, president and CEO of Kentwood-based Swoboda Inc, to metro Grand Rapids. Although, at first he didn’t know where exactly the job was located. The announcement did not specify the town, Stecher said, it merely characterized the place “as a nice ‘university town’ with a high quality of living.”
“With Lake Michigan being so close, we soon found out that this is true,” Stecher said. “I have the privilege to work where others spend their vacations.”
On his first visit to Grand Rapids, the annual Celebration on the Grand was in full swing, Stecher said, and he immediately fell in love with the city. He got the job, and the Stecher family ultimately left Reutlingen, Germany and moved to the Grand Rapids area in July 2002.
“It was my wish to look outside ‘the box’ and gain a broader view of (business) life while working in another country where my family and I could grow spiritually and intellectually,” Stecher said.
Swoboda, a Gernman-owned company, is a leading plastics manufacturer with plants in Germany, the United States, and the Czech Republic. Running a German business based in Grand Rapids presents its own unique challenges. And understanding the nuances of both cultures has helped him and the company succeed, Stecher said.
In fact, all the individuals interviewed for this article agreed that diversity in the workplace, whether it's ethnic, geographical, political, or gender diversity, is increasingly essential to running a successful business.
Bing Goei said he strives to promote diversity at his company in part so his staff can relate to a highly diverse market and client base.
“People in the community buy from places they feel welcome, valued, and are provided with quality service and product,” Goei said. “At Eastern Floral, we try to be as welcoming as possible irregardless of background.”
He added that as the population of Grand Rapids continues to evolve and becomes more and more diverse, his business has to adjust to the meet the needs of the changing population.
“Today’s businesses have to be able to manage diversity,” Goei said, noting that the issue of promoting diversity is a key pillar of the GR Chamber's agenda.
Guy Bazzani agreed, saying that businesses in the greater Grand Rapids community are smart to promote diversity because the market includes people from “all walks of life and races.”
Some say Grand Rapids remains a city segregated along racial, political, and at times geographical lines. Whites and blacks; democrats and republicans; even urban and rural residents find much to disagree about. But there seems to be rising awareness among visionary community leaders that embracing diversity as a strength, and eagerly welcoming people from a variety of backgrounds and interests, is an essential component of a healthy and prosperous community.
“It is not a matter of me being successful," said Michael Stecher, "but having the tools of different cultures and values available to be a successful market leader.”
Photos:
Bing Goei at Eastern Floral
Bing Goei at Eastern Floral
Guy Bazzani in his East Hills office
Guy Bazzani
Photography by Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved