Acerca de Chris

Slide 1

Holland Native

I wish I could claim I’m a native Hollander, but I missed it by just a few years. My family moved to Holland from Zeeland when I was 3. The things I learned while working for the Holland Museum solidified what being a lifelong resident means to me. No matter where they came from, not many families arrived here on a winning streak. We all struggled for a piece of our American dream. And while we were each striving toward our own definition of success, we gave each other grace and tolerance. I think we’re still all on that same journey, just at different points. And we all still need that grace and tolerance.

My campaign is grounded in this idea of grace, tolerance and helping us toward what we each define as success.

Slide 2

Military Service

I look back on my time in the Navy as the space that widened my outlook, my vision and my mentality. I served with people of every racial, cultural and socioeconomic background. Serving overseas, I learned there were ways of living, doing and thriving that I never saw in Holland. I learned that the world is small if your vision is wide. I learned how to depend on others and to depend on myself, and how being known as a reliable shipmate was something you worked to earn and maintain. I learned that you watch out for your crew, for the people you’re responsible for, and even for the Marines if the other branches are messing with them.

My campaign rests upon reliability, steadiness, and watching out for the people I’m responsible for.

Slide 3

Family

Being a husband and father has been the greatest gift and adventure I could never imagine having, but did. Sarah and I are miles away from the people we were when we met 33 years ago, but I still can’t imagine a day without her in it, and that keeps me striving to be the person she needs. When my boys were young, I never hesitated to stop what I was doing if they wanted to play catch or Star Wars or anything, really, because I knew that that time was going to go so fast. I wanted to capture as much of it as I could. The amazing part is that when I talk to these two amazing men now, I’m sometimes so impressed that I forget I helped raise them.

While we’re striving in the present, this campaign knows that if we work mindfully, we will benefit today — and those too small to know it will benefit in the future.

Slide 3

Community Service

Service has followed me (or maybe I’ve followed service) since I arrived at Great Lakes RTC for boot camp in 1987. From day one we were taught to take care of those around you, help them to succeed, and ease their load if you can, so that when they rise up you can move forward together. Whether it has been educating the public about our area’s history, helping find ways to feed those in need, or making sure our vulnerable populations have access to the services they need, I have always tried, professionally, to ease the burden and care for those around me.

This campaign isn’t about exclusion, but about inclusion and service to everyone in the 2nd District and Ottawa County — so that when we rise up, we all rise up and move forward together.

Slide 3

Non-Profits

By working in a field where the outcome is not measured completely in a monetary sense, I have been rewarded beyond measure. Because you can’t put a price on helping someone create a toolkit of skills to live a better life. And a spreadsheet doesn’t reflect seeing an entire group of students understand our history in a way that affects them right now, today. And a stockholder assessment can’t quantify watching a volunteer board of directors find the confidence and wisdom to better serve their organization’s mission. I work in nonprofits because my ledger is not filled with numbers, but people. My friends, my neighbors.

We are running this race for those who can’t, striving for those who’ve lost hope, and speaking for those who’ve been scared into silence.

Chris ha comprometido su vida al servicio: servicio al país, servicio a la familia y servicio a la comunidad. Es un veterano de la Marina de los Estados Unidos, esposo, padre y abuelo, empleado del sector sin fines de lucro y voluntario para los necesitados.

• 55 años
• Nativo del área de Holland, graduado de Holland HS en 1986
• Descendiente de los colonos de Zeeland, sus antepasados ​​llegaron al Condado de Ottawa en 1847
• Se unió a la Marina de los Estados Unidos en 1987. Al finalizar el entrenamiento avanzado, sirvió a bordo de varios comandos que fueron asignados a la Estación Naval 32nd Street en San Diego. Durante su estancia en la Flota del Pacífico, Chris completó tres despliegues, el último como miembro del personal de DESRON 21 en apoyo de la Operación Desert Shield/Storm.
• Casado con Sarah desde 1992, dos hijos y un nieto
• Residente del Distrito 2 durante casi 30 años
• A.A en Servicios Juveniles, B.S. en Historia y Maestría en Administración Pública. El amor de Chris por el pasado lo llevó a desarrollar programación educativa en torno a la historia de Holland.
• 25 años trabajando en el sector sin fines de lucro, incluyendo su puesto actual como instructor de nutrición comunitaria.
• Sirve como voluntario en el Equipo de Respuesta a Emergencias Comunitarias (CERT) del Condado de Ottawa.
• Miembro de la junta de Salud Mental Comunitaria del Condado de Ottawa (CMHOC)
• Miembro del Consejo Asesor de Ottawa Food
• Miembro de la Legión Americana y VFW