The Catering Company |

BY LAURA BERGELLS
PHOTOS TJ HAMILTON

Monday, March 24th marks the second annual Paws, Claws & Corks event at the Steelcase Ballroom in DeVos Place. When you attend, you’ll not only help raise money for the Humane Society of West Michigan (HSWM), you’ll also help yourself to a mouthwatering array of fabulous cuisine, brews, and wine.

Oh, and the networking opportunities?

“We’re expecting 450 plus people to attend,” said Trudy Ender, Executive Director at HSWM. “We’d like to shoot that through the roof. Over 500 would be fantastic.”

Last year’s event raised over $84,000 for the Humane Society of West Michigan. With the support of local restaurants, businesses and individuals, this year’s event is primed to be an even bigger success.

“Whether you’re an animal owner, or you just want to support the animals in our area, we want you to come,” said Nicole Cook, Marketing & Events Coordinator for the Humane Society of West Michigan. “It’s a fun event. Whether you love food, beer, and wine — or you just want to come out and support our animals, there’s something for everyone.”

The Humane Society of West Michigan has been in our area since 1883, and relies entirely on local support to fund its programs.

“Because we’re 100% donor funded, we don’t receive any funding from the government or national animal welfare organizations,” said Cook. “So everything that we do comes directly from our community. We rely on events like this that provide the majority of our funding to care for all the animals that we have year round.”

Locally, Meijer continues to support the organization and plans to be present at the event

“Since 2004, Meijer has been a partner with the Humane Society,” said Stacie Behler, Group Vice President for Public Affairs at Meijer. “We realize the importance of rescuing and finding forever homes for pets in West Michigan. And so we love to support different events that the Humane Society puts on to raise awareness as well as raising capital. We got a lot of expenses here, caring for animals.”

The HSWM needs your support to run its 15+ critical programs. The largest program is animal adoptions.

“Currently, we have about 200 animals,” said Cook. “The majority of those are dogs and cats, but we also currently have bunnies, a couple of guinea pigs, and some hamsters.”

Another big program is Kibble Konnection.

“That’s our low income pet food bank,” explained Cook. “We believe strongly that if we can provide some supplemental services for people who are struggling a little bit that they can keep that pet in the home. The pet’s happier, the people are happier, and that’s one less animal in an already overcrowded shelter.”

Other programs include humane education, spay/neuter, and animal rehabilitation.

Come to nom-nom-nom, network, and bid on auction items. This year’s event will feature noshes and guzzles from the following restaurants:

The Catering Company

FOODesign by Chef Brech

One Trick Pony Grill & Taproom

Reds on the River

FireRock Grille

Reserve Wine & Food

Who you’ll meet: a small sampling

Kim Bode, Principal – 834 Design & Marketing

Paws, Claws, & Corks Co-Chair

“My involvement with HSWM and Paws, Claws & Corks stems from my love of animals, particularly dogs. I have 4 amazing large, loud and lovable dogs – Bentley, Apollo, Murphy and Jimmy. The joy they have brought into my life is immeasurable. Animals give so much of themselves to their human counterparts and the least we can do is support a great organization that is dedicated to finding them their forever homes.”

Stacie Behler

Group Vice President, Public Affairs, Meijer

“I’m not unlike thousands of Meijer customers who also have pets in their homes. Today, I was with my dog Jake. And he’s got two cat brothers that live at home with us, too. He had a sister that we had to say goodbye to in November. But we are an animal family, and lots of Meijer shoppers are animal families, too, so it’s a great fit for us to support the Humane Society.”

Tom Picardy, Certified Financial Planner – Fortune Financial Solutions, LLC

Humane Society of West Michigan Board Member

“My passion for animals and involvement with the HSWM started as a young child. As the current President of the Board of Directors, I continually try to find innovative ways to help the organization succeed in our wonderful community. ”

For tickets, please contact Tammy Hagedorn, Director of Development, at thagedorn@hswestmi.org or 616-791-8138. You can also purchase tickets online.

BY: SPARKLY STELLAFLY
PHOTOGRAPHY: TERRY JOHNSTON

“Be Our Guest.”

That was the theme throughout a very special grand opening of Grand Rapids’ newest event space, The Ballroom at McKay, on Friday evening. Located on the second floor of the historic McKay Tower, and once home to Grand Rapids National Bank, the nearly 11,000-square-foot space has been beautifully restored into a world-class event venue. As you enter the ballroom, the first thing you will probably notice are the eight incredible twenty-four foot Doric columns, the beautiful chandeliers that sparkle throughout, and the original marble slab walls with gorgeous detail. The modular black lacquer bar features mirrored glass that compliments the mirrored glass on the upper walls.

On Friday evening, well over a hundred event professionals, city leaders, and friends of those involved were invited to get the first look at The Ballroom at McKay. Chaundra Derks, Director of Operations for Steadfast Holdings and McKay Tower welcomed everyone and thanked the architects and the many contractors who made the ballroom into what it is today. She introduced her father and owner of McKay Tower, Jonathan Borisch, who was elated at the results of the restoration project. He hopes that this space and the building are “a blessing to the city of Grand Rapids.”

Mayor George Heartwell was there as well and thanked the Borisch family for the “great gift” they have given to the residents of Grand Rapids. He remarked that it is projects like this in great cities like ours that attract bright, young, talented people to the area. The Ballroom Director, Alicia Caldecott, owner of A Day in May, Event Planning and Design in Traverse City, will oversee any events in the space. Caldecott talked about the many possible uses for the room, from weddings to social gatherings to fashion runway shows, and described the state-of-the-art audio/visual system that will accommodate a variety of technologies.

Beautifully designed tables by Jennifer Ederer of Modern Day Floral & Events; Caldecott’s firm, A Day in May, Event Planning and Design; and Jodi Bos of In Any Event showcased three very different concepts for table design in the ballroom, and there were beautiful place cards and menu cards featuring calligraphy from Lola Grace Calligraphy. Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Applause Catering, Martha’s Catering, The Catering Company, and The Gilmore Collection—preferred providers of the venue—were on hand with delicious hors d’oeuvres, meats, cheeses, fruits, and of course desserts for the guests who walked through the space, in awe of its timeless beauty.

If you are interested in seeing the space for your special event, it is open by appointment only—call (616) 951-1078 or email info@theballroomatmckay.com.

They can’t wait for you to be their guest!