George Bayard | Baseball and the African American Experience in West Michigan
A member of the Grand Rapids Historical Commission, George Bayard is an artist and owner of the Bayard Gallery of Fine American Art & Books. He is founder and director of the Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives (GRAAMA), and recipient of the Ethel Coe Humanities Award at the 2024 Giants Awards Banquet.
Adam Gross | Sunken Stories of the Grand River and It’s Lost History
Adam Gross was born and raised in Grand Rapids. He is an avid kayaker, magnet fisher, scuba diver and treasure hunter. He loves to showcase the stories of these treasures plus the history that goes along with our city Grand Rapids. He manages his own YouTube channel called Ferrous Fishing, where the viewers can come along with him on these adventures to the depths of the Grand River and see our tossed history for themselves.
GF Korreck | Baseball and the African American Experience in West Michigan
GF Korreck is a member of the Grand Rapids Historical Commission. He has worked on a number of Commission projects, such as the parks-focused history “Keep on the Grass.” He also maintains a free-lance writing business. Korreck recently served as editor of the poetry anthology “Busy Griefs, Raw Towns,” a project involving 29 area poets with proceeds from book sales forwarded to Ukraine relief efforts.
Valerie Marvin | Michigan’s Lady Senator: Eva McCall Hamilton
Valerie Marvin is honored to serve as the Director of Education and History at the Michigan State Capitol. She is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan (Bachelor of Arts in Russian Studies, 2005) and Eastern Michigan University (Masters of Science in Historic Preservation, 2009). She is an active member of the Historical Society of Greater Lansing and the Lansing Woman’s Club. Valerie lives with her husband David in a 1906 home in downtown Lansing.
Jayson Otto | Anywhere on the Face of Creation, but Michigan: Colonizing and Developing the Grand Rapids Fruit Ridge
Jayson Otto is a PhD candidate in the history department at Michigan State University. He is a cultural environmental historian currently researching the history of fruit and vegetable farming in the southwest and northwest regions of Michigan’s lower peninsula. Jayson is a longtime resident and historian of Grand Rapids who also spent nearly a decade teaching anthropology and food studies at local colleges.
Pam VanderPloeg | The WPA-funded City Tax Survey – A Literal Snapshot of Grand Rapids 1936-1938
With a background in library administration and research, historian Pamela VanderPloeg has published two books Grand Rapids Downtown Buildings and Ottawa Hills: Early Owners, Architects & Builders. She received the Grand Rapids Chapter of the American Institute of Architects 2021 David D. Smith Humanitarian Award for elevating architecture in the community and the 2023 Grand Rapids Historical Society Albert Baxter Award for significant contributions to preserving Grand Rapids history. VanderPloeg publishes the website BuildingStoryPress.com
David Votta | Stanley Ketchel: Origins of American Achilles; Grand Rapids’ First World Boxing Champion
David Votta is the Special Collections Manager at the Library of Michigan. Prior to joining the Library of Michigan, David spent the last 4 years as the director of Charlotte Community Library in Charlotte, Michigan. His experience also includes serving as the Community Engagement Librarian for the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services as well as working for Capital Area District Libraries. David holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Wayne State University. He also has a Master of Library and Information Science Degree with a Certificate of Archival Administration from Wayne State University and a Master of Business Administration from Northwood University.
History Detectives GR 