During its May meeting, the Alumni Association Board of Directors at Hope College has chosen its officers for 2006-07 and appointed three new members.

The board made the appointments during its May meeting. They took effect July 1.

Karen Navis, a 1981 graduate from Grandville, has been elected president, succeeding Beth Snyder of Arlington, Va. As immediate past-president, Snyder will continue to serve on the board for another year.

Vice president is Mark VanGenderen, a 1990 graduate from Cedarburg, Wis. Dr. John Witte, a 1954 graduate from Vero Beach, Fla., will continue to serve as secretary.

The board's new members are junior Sarah Oosterink of Jenison (Junior Class Representative); Carol Troost, a 1968 graduate from Scotia, N.Y. (Upstate New York Representative); and Lois Veldman, a 1956 graduate from Okemos (Lansing Representative).

Allison Pawlowski of Pinckney, formerly Senior Class Representative, was appointed representative of the most recent graduating class. Jason Cash of Brighton, formerly Junior Class Representative, was appointed Senior Class Representative.

The board members who have concluded their service to the board are: Eva Gaumond of Coral Springs, Fla.; the Rev. Jan Luben Hoffman of Schenectady, N.Y.; and Ben Sanders of Evanston, Ill.

Oosterink, a generational student at the college, is a studio art major with an art history minor.

Her activities at Hope have included the Social Activities Committee (SAC); College Chorus; Relay for Life; and Dance Marathon, the student-organized fund-raiser held on behalf of DeVos Children's Hospital. This summer she participated in the Vienna Summer School, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. During the coming school year she will be one of SAC's finance directors, overseeing the business side of the organization and working with the performers that SAC brings to Hope and their agents.

She is the daughter of Gregory and Nancy Oosterink, the latter of whom is a 1977 Hope graduate. She has a twin sister, Katie, who is also attending Hope and a younger sister, Julie, who is still at home. She is a 2004 graduate of Jenison High School.

Troost retired in 2004 after teaching for 29 years, mostly at Galway Central School in New York, where she taught ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade English, directed plays and served as the newspaper advisor. In 2003, her colleagues named her the school's "Teacher of the Year," and in 1990 she was named an English Teacher of Excellence for the state of New York. She has also been recognized in "Who's Who Among America's Teachers" four times. In retirement she continues to substitute teach, and she is currently serving as second vice president of the local chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international professional honorary society for women educators.

She is a member of First Reformed Church of Schenectady, where she was a deacon. As an active member of the Reformed Church in America she serves as clerk of the Schenectady Classis and was a General Synod hostess for the classis in 2005. Her community involvement includes participating in events for Bethesda House, which is a homeless shelter, and the Schenectady Inner City Mission, and helping with Galway Christmas baskets.

Through the years Troost has participated in a variety of Hope regional events, and she returns each summer to attend productions by Hope Summer Repertory Theatre (HSRT), of which her sister Mary Schakel is the producing director. Her brother Lou Schakel's photography frequently graces Hope publications.

She majored in English and minored in French at Hope, and completed a master's in reading at the College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y.

Her husband was the Rev. Donald Troost, a 1967 graduate who died on June 18, 2000. Their two children are a son, Matthew Troost, a member of the college's Class of '01, and a daughter, Deborah.

Veldman is retired after a career that included teaching, nursing, and serving as a missionary, and continues to be active as a volunteer.

She was an elementary teacher and later a reading tutor. She and her husband, Dr. Jerold Veldman, a 1955 Hope graduate, served as missionaries in India in the latter 1960s and early 1970s. Among her activities in India were teaching missionary and hospital staff children and helping to start a library.

In 1981 she received her R.N. from Lansing Community College and then worked in a pediatric office, her husband's medical specialization.

She is currently a member of Peoples Church, an interdenominational church in East Lansing, where she is on the Women's Board. She has previously served as a circle coordinator, Sunday School and Communicants Class teacher and as an elder. Her past community involvement includes having been a parent volunteer in the East Lansing Schools, and a community volunteer aiding international students at Michigan State University.

Active in the life of the college, Veldman has helped plan class reunions and has been a Class Representative. She and Jerold hosted a regional event in 2003.

Lois and Jerold have three children: Timothy Veldman; Jon Veldman, a 1982 Hope graduate; and Dr. Sarah Mickelson, a 1985 graduate.