Grand Rapids Community Foundation

For good. For ever.

President's Point of View: Learning from the best!

July 5, 2007

Sue Blandford passed away on June 19th. Sue’s leadership, vision and humanity will be sorely missed. She lived and breathed philanthropy and she did and will continue to make a difference. She had a strong influence on me and certainly on this Foundation and on this community.

She served on the community foundation board from 1979 to 1987 making certain that sound grant decisions were made. During that same time, she was the lead volunteer to whom I related when I worked at the United Way locally and she was on the search committee when I was hired as the Executive Director of The Grand Rapids Foundation as we were known in 1987.

The family was kind enough to ask me to make some remarks at her memorial service on Thursday, June 26th and I copy them here as they express my appreciation for her positive leadership - she was a tremendous person!

Since Sue’s passing last week, I have spent a great deal of time remembering so many moments spent with her in the past 30 + years. I first met Sue in the mid-1970’s when I worked as a very young and green caseworker at the American Red Cross chapter where she was a board member and ultimately the chairperson of the board. She was immediately supportive and didn’t seem to mind the naivete so evident in my early years. Her passion for the work was evident and she was ever diligent and serious about her role. But not so serious that she couldn’t let her hair down and just talk about the issues of the day.

As I moved along in my career, my next stop was the United Way of Kent County as it was known in those days. Guess who was the lead volunteer for the division I headed? None other than Sue Blandford! Well now it was really time to get to work! This is where I learned so much from the woman who had such a strong influence in my life.

Back in the late 1970’s, Sue and her many female friends were the pioneers shining the light on the path of leadership for many of us. And was she inexhaustible, quick to laugh and share her experiences and of course her opinions. She helped guide me and many others to understand why it was and still is so important to not shy away from stepping up and making our thoughts known. She was action oriented and thought that time was wasting away if we didn’t get going on the issues of the day!

The sight of Sue standing before the board of directors of the United Way a few years later taking over the helm of chairing that august group was in my eyes a defining moment. It wasn’t just because she was the first female to take on the role of chair, it was because she deserved it and she demonstrated leadership every moment. Imagine learning from her! What a privilege and what an honor.

So in my quest to move forward I interviewed for the lead staff position at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation twenty years ago. Guess who was on the search committee. You got it … Sue Blandford! As she was serving her term as chair of the United Way board, she was also serving two full terms at the Foundation. I was offered the position and again I learned from the best.

She was honest, forthright and extremely caring as she gave me wise counsel on this new world of leading the Foundation. Do not be intimidated she would say and speak your mind. Be smart and strategic and by all means, if you need me, you call and I’ll be right there to help you.

More than two weeks ago the peregrine falcons nesting on the top of McKay Tower were squawking like crazy, or as the falconers would say “kaking”. From my office on the second floor of the Waters Building, I could see the falcons soaring and diving back down toward the roof of the Tower. People on the street stood and stared at the spectacle and I thought of Sue as her passion for the falcons led to funding back in the late 1980’s and help draw the community’s attention to try to save these magnificent birds on the brink of extinction primarily due to the widespread use of the now-banned pesticide DDT. The falcons finally returned last year to Grand Rapids and the din that arose that day had to do with representatives from the DNR and John Will, who is a leader in the Peregrine Falcon Restoration project, trying to tag the new babies. The parents were enraged and wanted to protect their youngins’.

Sue’s passions included art, birding, and most of all her precious family. Tom was her best friend and their relationship was so loving and so full of humor and good hearted teasing. Building their business and working well together, they made the best team around.

At one point back more than a couple of decades ago, I learned and read about the efforts of a young woman who was trying to get the attention of our city government to help eradicate the vermin found throughout the neighborhoods in the core city. She got their attention and she quickly became known for her remarkable advocacy and tenacity standing up for the rights of neighborhoods to address concerns in their area with the help not the hindrance of the city. This young woman is one of Sue and Tom’s daughters Karen. She learned well from her mom and Sue was so proud of her.

Equally proud of her other daughter Bonnie, I was told many years ago by Sue to watch for her daughter’s beautiful jewelry at various art shows not only here in Michigan, but beyond. Bursting with rightful pride, Sue would just beam if someone was wearing a piece of Bonnie’s jewelry and the beauty of her talent certainly had its origins from her mom’s draw to beauty and art.

I will miss you Sue - - - - you had an indelible mark on many people and in particular on me. I will call upon you from time to time if I need to just as you told me I could many years ago. I’m sure in some way you will get your answer back to me!

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Comments

Your words were on the mark. She was always one step ahead of us and that is why we have a path to follow.

Love, Jean

Posted by: Jean Hitchcock | July 5, 2007 6:14 PM

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