The WGVU Engage I HAVE Made a Difference Awards are awarded to one individual and one non-profit organization that best exemplifies outcomes in the five WGVU Engage areas of focus and overall excellence in support of our community. The categories include Inclusion, Health, Arts, Veterans, Education, People’s Choice, Non-Profit of the Year and Person of the Year, and are judged by a group of panelists representing the WGVU Engage Committee, WGVU Public Media, and the community.
Lynne Ike has been chair of the WGVU Engage Arts Committee for two years, and has strived to create opportunities for young people to experience the arts. She facilitated a trip, complete with boxed lunches, to a Grand Rapids Symphony Pops concert for children from D.A. Blodgett - St. John’s Home, and is currently working to bring children from this organization to a Grand Rapids Symphony Holiday Pops concert. Her efforts also enabled local veterans and their families to attend a Sesame Street Live performance at Van Andel Arena last year.
Lynne is active with the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority’s Community Inclusion Group (CIG), which strives to bring diverse entertainment to Van Andel Arena, DeVos Place and DeVos Performance Hall. Her efforts with CIG include working with various West Michigan communities to raise awareness of events and to create a welcoming atmosphere at the venues, as well as at other businesses downtown, including restaurants, bars, nightclubs and other establishments.
