Meet Sally Gruppen, WMRAA board Secretary!
Sally has a rich history of involvement and support for her local communities. She started early on in her career at Miller-Knoll, and 59 years later she is still with the company, now as a Legacy Ambassador. Her role is largely community based, and she spends her work days sharing the company’s rich history as well as her own experiences working with designers, fellow employees and community partners.
A Zeeland native, Sally’s commitment to the community extends beyond her profession and into her free time as she supports her local community through several avenues.
It all started with the mission to provide Zeeland a functional, safe library and community center. She decided that the best way to accomplish that goal was to run for Zeeland City Council. Sally built her campaign on that goal, and canvassed door-to-door sharing her vision for the new community space. Those efforts resulted in her being the first woman ever elected to the Zeeland City Council and ultimately led to the construction of the Howard Miller Library and Community Center.
Over the course of her public service she has served on 14 different committees and boards, all driven by her commitment to bettering her community.
“Serving others is in my make-up, I am happiest in my life helping others.” she remarked.
Sally’s influential work on the Zeeland City Council led Mayor Hoogland to invite her onto a committee tasked with forming an airport area authority—one that would purchase, build and maintain a local airport. Sally was thrilled to say yes.
After many meetings and a public vote, the tri-area authority (Holland, Zeeland and Park Township) was approved. That effort became West Michigan Regional Airport. Sally is proud to see the framework she helped build for the entity still thriving today, and is thankful she gets to serve the WMRAA as their board secretary.
“My time as part of that committee was a great example of how people can come together to make something valuable happen for the good of all!” Sally said.
Sally hopes to continue her work at WMRA by helping provide more services to local residents to foster ongoing connection in the community. She says it all starts with a willingness to learn and care for each other. She believes the airport is a great example of a community coming together to make positive ongoing change.
