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.
Champions Back to Grow 'Battle' Legacy
January 22, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
FRANKENMUTH -- Doyle Webb and his cousin were in Florida for spring break last April, walking to the beach, when they met a couple of girls.
They struck up some small talk, and Webb described his little German hometown known in part for its giant Christmas store that celebrates the holiday 361 days a year.
Not overwhelmingly impressed, perhaps, the girls “asked if there was anything else cool to do in our town,” Webb said.
So he pulled out his phone, pulled up a video of Frankenmuth High’s student cheering section in action, and “blew their minds.”
Webb has dialed up that YouTube clip more times than he can count over the last year since Frankenmuth won the MHSAA’s inaugural Battle of the Fans contest. Friends, family, complete strangers – he’s proudly shown it off to them all.
“People ask me what my winter sport is, and I say I lead the student section for basketball. They’re like, ‘Good for you,’” Webb said, imitating their light sarcasm.
“And then I pull out the YouTube video, and they are just like, ‘Wow.'"
This year already has provided a few more highlights to add to the reel. Frankenmuth again is among the five vying for this season’s Battle of the Fans II championship, and Friday was the first stop on this year’s MHSAA finalist tour. Buchanan is up next, followed by Vandercook Lake, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Zeeland East before the winner is announced Feb. 22.
For the Eagles, much of the championship story remains the same as last year – but with a few new chapters.
If three years ago was the section’s opening act and last year its defining performance, this year has been about not just an encore, but establishing a legacy and making participation in the cheering section a regular part of student life.
Of the school’s 507 students, roughly 70 percent participate in athletics. More than 250 – including a few rows of middle schoolers who have been recruited by the new section leaders – filled a large section of the gym for Friday’s game. “If you’re actively involved in an extracurricular activity,” Webb said, “the chances are you’re going to be actively involved in the student section.”
The buzz from last year’s BOTF title stayed hot into the summer, when it was replaced by discussions about what the section could do to up its game for 2012-13. The majority of last year’s leaders graduated last spring. But a group of athletes – Webb and seniors Blaine Malochleb and Ian Fischer, with a big assist from junior Katie DeGrace – began soliciting ideas from their classmates as soon as this school year got rolling. Last year’s leaders gave their blessing and a boost of support.
“They told me to not let them down, to keep the tradition. So we just found a good group of guys and tried to organize everything,” Fischer said of conversations with those new alums.
“Zack (Robinson, a leader last year) texted me and said, ‘You’re going to take my short jean shorts and sweater that I wore every home game, and you’re going to wear them, and you’re going to make me proud. And you’re going to defend the title.’”
The challenge this year has been keeping the repertoire fresh. Frankenmuth won last year’s “Battle” in part because of the fun, festive atmosphere from the opening tip until the final buzzer, and there again was plenty of singing and dancing during Friday’s “Christmas Night,” which originally was scheduled for a game just before the holiday break but always is relevant in a town known for its holiday spirit.
When Frankenmuth’s players came out for pre-game warm-ups, they were presented by the cheering section with two Christmas-wrapped basketballs. Webb passed out candy canes to passers-by, and tree lights hung from the gym balcony and bleacher railing. There were Santa hats and Christmas carols, the section’s traditional German chants and self-deprecating cheers like chanting “in our faces” when a Frankenmuth player’s shot was blocked.
“Essentially, it’s what we did last year,” Fischer said. “We set a new standard last year, as the best section in the state, and we had to up that this year.”
But halftime was the defining moment of this BOTF visit, a celebration, Malochleb said, “that I don’t think people have really seen before.”
After leading the section in some waves, spins and other moves, Fischer split the section, and Malochleb and senior Logan Gatza pretended to cut down a Christmas tree planted in the middle of the bleachers and carried it to center court. The gym went dark, the tree’s lights were turned on, and students emptied onto the floor for a verse of “Silent Night” followed by a quick dance party.
For Frankenmuth, it’s still about having a good time and representing the school and town – but also that “Battle” championship banner hanging on the gym wall.
“We used to see stuff like student sections trying to get in (opponents’) faces, get in their heads, mostly negative stuff,” Webb said. “Last year changed that with the emphasis of positive cheering from the MHSAA and the (BOTF) contest, and I think we really picked up on that. That’s changed a lot.
“The older you get, the more you realize how it’s supposed to be about the game, and it’s supposed to be fun.”
Subway is a sponsor of this season's Battle of the Fans II contest.
PHOTOS: (Top) Frankenmuth fans follow leader Doyle Webb (tan vest) during a cheer Friday. (Middle) Students gather around a Christmas tree at center court during halftime of the Eagles boys basketball game against Bridgeport. (Photos courtesy of Chip DeGrace.)