Goorhouse Gives Back at Home
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 24, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three traits have been key in making Holland Christian grad Mike Goorhouse nationally-recognized as a civic leader on the rise.
He’s a strong communicator, which comes in handy when coordinating support for causes all over the state.
He’s a relationship builder, allowing him to develop strong rapport as he explains how everyone can give something back to their communities.
Finally, Goorhouse is a philanthropist – not just in job, but in life. He is the vice president for donor development at the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area, where he works to raise support for nonprofit organizations. He also has served on the boards of directors/trustees for eight organizations, and he and his wife financially contribute to more than 15.
But a fourth quality, nurtured during his tennis and soccer careers, has been an asset as well for the 2003-04 MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award winner.
“I always loved the competition side of sports. I talk to people who own companies, run companies, run shops. The reason they hire people who were involved in athletics is because of that drive,” said Goorhouse, 27, who was named in 2011 as one of the top 30 civic leaders nationally under the age of 30 by online networking site Splashlife. “Not everyone has that drive to succeed, to win, get a goal.
“Succeeding in the non-profit world looks a lot different. But it takes the same drive.”
Goorhouse was among scholar-athletes recognized during the winter of 2004 by the MHSAA and Farm Bureau Insurance, which continues to sponsor the Scholar-Athlete Award program that has grown to honor 32 recipients annually. In advance of this March’s 25th celebration, Second Half is catching up with some of the hundreds who have been recognized (see additional links at the bottom of this page).
Earning a Scholar-Athlete Award likely meant more to Goorhouse than many of the other 607 who have been recognized over the quarter century. His grandfather, father and brother all have served as MHSAA officials, and his dad and brother both coach as well.
Mike also is part of a third generation of Goorhouses who annually attend the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals, during which the Scholar-Athlete winners are recognized. He joined his dad and grandfather starting at 8 or 9 years old, and every year would read the bios of Scholar-Athlete Award winners in the Finals program and watch them line up on the court during halftime of the Class C championship game.
“Honestly, I wanted to be that,” Goorhouse said. “I had a lot of respect for the ability to balance academics and sports, and be good at both."
Goorhouse won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 tennis title at No. 4 singles as a sophomore in 2002 and returned to the Finals at the No. 1 flight as a senior. He also played soccer at Holland Christian and then played tennis at Calvin College.
Tennis exposed Goorhouse to handling pressure on an individual basis while building mental toughness. Soccer was more about blending teammates’ skills and developing communication among the group.
“Everyone has his or her own version of the story, and that makes it more true; sports teaches a lot about leadership, and just about life and navigating the ups and downs, emotions, handling yourself under stress,” Goorhouse said. “I was in two way different sports, and it was fun to be able to see how those two things impacted me differently.”
As high school students begin focusing on college and potential occupations, professional giver probably isn’t an option many realize is possible. Goorhouse would’ve been counted in that group while at Holland Christian until becoming a member of the Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council. That opportunity joined him with many of his sports opponents from around the Holland area as they assisted the foundation in grant making for youth causes.
The philanthropy bug stuck. After his freshman year at Calvin, Goorhouse interned with the statewide Council of Michigan Foundations, which then hired him parttime as a college sophomore and fulltime once he graduated.
He returned to the Community Foundation in 2012 and works with 1,500 donors who contribute to the Holland/Zeeland area.
As donations grow, so does the foundation’s ability to give grants. But it’s not all about money. An oft-quoted definition of philanthropy is the “giving of time, talent and treasure” – and Goorhouse, as he speaks to various groups, makes sure to emphasize “and” as the most important word of that statement while encouraging donors to give of themselves in all three ways.
“It’s who I am as a person that fits this job so perfectly. It’s hardly work,” Goorhouse said. “When they’re thinking about giving back to the community, they’re at their best. I get to talk about what they care about.”
Goorhouse earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education and then a master’s in public administration from Grand Valley State University. He’s able to take advantage of his relative youth in the professional world to connect with high school students and explain to them the opportunities to give back as part of the non-profit world. He serves on the boards of generationOn and Learning to Give, which both focus on integrating service into pre-college education.
While the national recognition in 2011 might’ve carried the most significance among honors Goorhouse has received, another he earned in 2009 has been his most meaningful on a personal level.
He was honored with the inaugural Young Philanthropist of the Year award by the Community Foundation. He didn't begin work for that organization until three years later, but giving back in his hometown always has been close to his heart.
“I love this place. It’s not that I can only do this work here, but it’s extra special to do the work you love in the place that you love,” Goorhouse said. “I could’ve lived anywhere because I would be on the road regardless. But to come home where my family and friends are, to the community I know best, it’s special.”
Click to read the series' first installments:
- 25 Years Later, Scholar Athletes Shine On
- On Call as Doctor, Director, Mom
- "Mailloux Management" Goes Global
PHOTO: Mike Goorhouse sends a volley while playing tennis for Holland Christian. He won an MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award in 2004. VIDEO: Goorhouse speaks in 2004 about playing for his high school tennis coach John Knoester.
Huron's Davis Goes 'Beyond' as Leader
March 8, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
On first glance, the word “beyond” seems an imaginative way to describe a favorite colleague.
But providing context, Ann Arbor Pioneer assistant principal Jason Skiba may have found the ideal word to describe Ann Arbor Huron assistant principal and athletic director Dottie Davis and her contributions over nearly 40 years in high school athletics.
“Above and beyond the call of duty. Beyond normal work hours. Beyond the scope of her job description. Beyond what most other people would do when it comes to doing what’s right for kids,” he wrote in recommending Davis for the MHSAA’s Women In Sports Leadership Award.
“Dottie models for students what it means to be loyal and have integrity,” Skiba added. “She says what she means and follows up with what she says she’ll do. Dottie’s work with student leadership conferences and her conversations with student athletes about what is involved in being a leader show the value she places on responsibility and follow through, even from students.”
Each year, the Representative Council considers the achievements of women coaches, officials and athletic administrators affiliated with the MHSAA who show exemplary leadership capabilities and positive contributions to athletics. Davis will receive the 30th WISL Award during the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association conference March 19 in Traverse City.
Davis was a three-sport athlete at both Ypsilanti High School and then Eastern Michigan University, before moving into teacher, coach and later administrative roles first at Byron for a year and then Ann Arbor Huron for the last 38, along the way making significant contributions especially in the development of girls sports that didn’t exist as part of the MHSAA tournament offerings during her scholastic career.
“I always wanted the best for our female athletes. They need somebody to be their voice, and I’m all about being positive and what can we do to change and make things better for the women of today,” Davis said. “I think through that, people listen, and we get a chance to make improvements for kids coming up.
“I love being a pioneer and trying to make it better for those that follow. I have such a passion for sports that I want them to be the best for both male and female athletes. I’m glad women are now finally getting recognition they deserve, and it’s kinda cool to hand off the baton to the next person.”
A 1971 graduate of Ypsilanti High, and 1978 grad of Eastern Michigan University – she took off three years from studies after high school to care for her mother, who was recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning at the time – Davis took her first job out of college at Byron High School during the 1978-79 school year, teaching and coaching volleyball, basketball and softball.
She moved closer to home the next fall, joining the staff at Huron as a teacher, and she went on to also coach a variety of sports: varsity volleyball for five seasons from 1979-84, girls varsity basketball from 1980-92 first for eight seasons as head coach and then as an assistant, varsity softball a total of 10 seasons between 1980-2006, and a season each of boys freshman basketball in 2003 and varsity tennis in 1987. She became Huron’s athletic director heading into the 2005-06 school year.
Davis has served on various MHSAA committees and hosted a number of tournaments at the District and Regional levels and also sessions for the MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program. In addition, she served as an MHSAA registered official in basketball from the 1992 season through the end of that decade, and also five years each for softball and volleyball.
“Dottie Davis is a fantastic advocate for girls sports and simply an awesome administrator – she’s a great role model for all students and continues to provide a strong voice in support of female athletes,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “We’re delighted to present Dottie with the Women In Sports Leadership Award.”
Davis earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from EMU in health and physical education/fitness. She was inducted in 1990 into EMU’s Athletic Hall of Fame for earning a combined 10 letters in volleyball, basketball and track & field, and later inducted as well into Huron’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
In addition to those accolades, Davis was inducted as a player into both the United States Slow-pitch Softball Association Hall of Fame in 1985 and Michigan Softball Hall of Fame in 1986, and also was named USSSA-deBEER Richard Pollack Memorial “Sportswoman of the Year” in 1986. She has been part of 20 softball world championships.
She’s a member of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA), as well as the Michigan Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD), and the Association for Supervision and Curricular Development (ASCD).
“Ask any administrator in our district about Dottie,” Skiba wrote, “and they’ll tell you she is a respected individual who represents the best of what happens in schools.”
Davis will decide soon if this will be her final year at Huron or if she will return for one more in the fall.
Either way, Davis considers herself a “River Rat” for life with plans to remain in the school community more as a fan but still to assist when needed after she does decide to retire.
“The people; it’s all about relationships, and not seeing them face to face every day will be different for me,” Davis said. “I’m a people person. I love people. That’s probably what I’ll miss the most.”
The first Women In Sports Leadership Award was presented in 1990.
Past Women In Sports Leadership Award recipients
1990 – Carol Seavoy, L’Anse
1991 – Diane Laffey, Harper Woods
1992 – Patricia Ashby, Scotts
1993 – Jo Lake, Grosse Pointe
1994 – Brenda Gatlin, Detroit
1995 – Jane Bennett, Ann Arbor
1996 – Cheryl Amos-Helmicki, Huntington Woods
1997 – Delores L. Elswick, Detroit
1998 – Karen S. Leinaar, Delton
1999 – Kathy McGee, Flint
2000 – Pat Richardson, Grass Lake
2001 – Suzanne Martin, East Lansing
2002 – Susan Barthold, Kentwood
2003 – Nancy Clark, Flint
2004 – Kathy Vruggink Westdorp, Grand Rapids
2005 – Barbara Redding, Capac
2006 – Melanie Miller, Lansing
2007 – Jan Sander, Warren Woods
2008 – Jane Bos, Grand Rapids
2009 – Gail Ganakas, Flint; Deb VanKuiken, Holly
2010 – Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2011 – Ellen Pugh, West Branch; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
2012 – Janet Gillette, Comstock Park
2013 – Barbara Beckett, Traverse City
2014 – Teri Reyburn, DeWitt
2015 – Jean LaClair, Bronson
2016 – Betty Wroubel, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Huron athletic director Dottie Davis has spent 38 years in educational athletics, including the last 37 with the River Rats. (Photo by Jo Mathis/AAPS District News.)