The Hope College Alumni Association Board of Directors has chosen its officers for 2008-09 and appointed five new members.
Mark Van Genderen of Cedarburg, Wis. (pictured right), who previously served as vice president, has been elected president. Bob Bieri of Holland has been elected vice president. Kat Campbell of Minneapolis, Minn., has been elected secretary.
The board's new members are: Dr. Thomas Henderson, a 1970 graduate from Dayton, Ohio; Colleen Leikert, a Hope junior from Ludington; Michael McCarthy, a 1985 graduate from Weston, Mass.; Jimmy (Jim) McFarlin, a 1974 graduate from Ferndale; and Arlene Waldorf, a 1964 graduate from Buena Vista, Colo.
Sarah Oosterink of Jenison, formerly Senior Class Representative, was appointed representative of the most recent graduating class. Brett Kingma of Grand Rapids, formerly Junior Class Representative, was appointed Senior Class Representative.
The board members who have concluded their service to the board are: Jason Cash of Hudsonville; Scott Schaaf of Mukilteo, Wash.; Todd Soderquist of Canton; and Dr. Sara VanAnrooy of Castle Rock, Colo.
Henderson is a staff physician with the Dayton Arthritis and AllergyCenter and an attending physician with the Kettering Medical Center Network and MiamiValleyHospital.
He majored in chemistry at Hope. His activities as a student included the Centurian Fraternity, Chapel Choir, College Chorus, Chemistry Club and serving as a chemistry lab assistant. For several semesters he also led a discussion group for Dr. D. Ivan Dykstra's philosophy class.
After graduating, Henderson completed his M.D. at the University of Michigan. He also holds an Executive Graduate Certificate from Hopkins Business of Medicine of Johns Hopkins University.
After interning and residency, he practiced in St. Joseph, Mich., from 1977 to 1987 before moving to Ohio. While in Michigan he was also an adjunct clinical assistant professor of health science at Western Michigan University for 10 years.
He is a founding fellow of the American College of Rheumatology and serves on the Ohio River Valley Chapter Board of the Arthritis Foundation. He has received multiple honors from the foundation, including a National Volunteer Service Citation, two Awards of Appreciation and a Distinguished Service Award.
His involvement in the life of the college has included helping organize regional events in southern Ohio and participating in class reunions, and serving as a volunteer caller for the admissions office.
He and his wife, Charlotte, have two grown sons, David and William.
Leikert is majoring in management with a minor in communication. She will be serving as co-chair of the all-campus Social Activities Committee (SAC) during the forthcoming 2008-09 school year. She chaired SAC's traditional events committee last year, with responsibilities including the Homecoming Parade and Siblings Weekend.
Leikert's Hope activities have also included participating in the spring break mission trip program coordinated by the Campus Ministries Office, serving as a volunteer tutor with the Children's After School Achievement (CASA) program, and the Nykerk Cup competition. During the spring 2008 semester she was a teacher assistant for two sections of the college's Management Decisions course.
She is a 2006 graduate of Ludington High School, and the daughter of Michael and Kari Leikert of Ludington.
McCarthy is a vice president, with a focus on external research, with Fidelity Management and Research Company. He interacts with Wall Street investment banks, independent research boutiques and industry consultants to help build and manage systems to support the firm's internal investment professionals.
He majored in business administration and minored in economics at Hope. His activities as a student included the Fraternal Society, Student Congress, serving as a resident assistant, and men's cross country and track. He also participated in the Chicago Metropolitan Semester.
Immediately prior to joining Fidelity Management and Research, McCarthy was a managing director with the Thomas Weisel Partners Group, joining the company as a partner when he opened its Boston office in 1999. He previously held positions with Alex Brown & Sons and Trammel Crow Company. He holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
His involvement in the life of the college has including helping organize and participating in Hope regional events, and he also serves as a volunteer caller with the admissions office.
He and his wife, Eileen Fava, are active in several community organizations and their church. They have two young children at home, Duncan and Paige.
McFarlin is the information officer for the College of Nursing at Wayne State University, responsible for all public relations, media communication and Web content on behalf of the college.
He majored in communication at Hope. His activities as a student included the "Anchor" weekly student newspaper and WTAS (now WTHS) college radio station, the Cosmopolitan fraternity, the freshman Pull team, intramurals and varsity track.
After graduation he joined the staff of "The Grand Rapids Press" as a staff writer and critic. He has also worked as a reporter with "The Flint Journal"; spent 16 years as a reporter, critic and columnist with "The Detroit News"; served as a talk host on WCHB-AM radio in Detroit and was senior editor of publications for C-E Communications, the magazine division of the Campbell-Ewald advertising agency in Warren, Mich.
McFarlin has written, edited or co-edited six books, including the 1,000-page reference work "MusicHound R&B: The Ultimate Album Guide." He has co-hosted two film review series on Detroit television, "Flix & Pix" and "UpFront @ the Movies." In addition to his present position at WayneState, he is the media critic for "The (Detroit) Metro Times," hosts a weekly sports show on cable television in Detroit and is a regular contributor to numerous publications.
He is a board member of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Michigan chapter, and a member of the Hope College Alumni of Color advisory group. Since graduation he also has attended class reunions and served as a Class Representative.
Waldorf is retired after long-time service in education and ministry. She served most recently as executive director of Reformed Church Women's Ministries (RCWM).
She majored in Latin and minored in English at Hope. Her activities included the Sigma Sigma sorority, Mortar Board, Student Court, the Latin Honor Society, and serving as choral director for the All-College Sing and the 1964 Nykerk Cup competition. At graduation she was awarded the Southland Medal for scholarship, leadership and service.
After completing a master's degree in English and education, she taught English composition at the high school and college level for several years and served as an instructor in student personnel at Northern Illinois University.
She became director of Christian education at Westwood Community Church, RCA, in Omaha, Neb., in 1982, and was subsequently program director and then executive director of the RCA's Warwick Camp and Conference Center. Immediately prior to her role with RCWM she was Christian educator for the Arvada Presbyterian Church in Colorado. For her career spent in service she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators in 2005.
Her involvement in the life of the college has included participating in Hope regional events and class reunions. In addition, her husband, Bill Waldorf, is a former member of the college's Board of Trustees and current member of the Investment Committee.
Her first husband, George Walters, a member of the college's Class of 1963, died of pancreatic cancer in 1995. She and Bill, who had lost his wife to cancer, were married in 1997. Together she and Bill have five grown children (Jami Dearstyne, Bill Waldorf, Eric Walters, Mark Walters and Kim Mercer) and 10 grandchildren.