Ottawa County Parks Foundation – November Newsletter
Foundation Board Members: Tim Stoepker and Alice Hoban
Tim Stoepker joined the Ottawa County Parks Foundation Board of Directors in 2016 when we were still working on obtaining our 501(c)3 status.
During that time, Tim volunteered as a committee member or the Foundation’s first capital campaign, helping to raise funds for the Grand River Greenway. Since the founding of the Foundation he has served on the Finance and Investment Committee, and we hope he will continue to do so. Tim has always been available to provide just the right language when drafting new policies for the Foundation. He has regularly sponsored our annual fundraising event and hosted a table.
Alice Hoban also joined the Ottawa County Parks Foundation Board of Directors in 2016 and played a key role in the founding and formation of the Foundation. She set up our endowments with the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation and served as Treasurer until 2018. During her tenure as Treasurer, she took care of the mail, processing of donations and bills, and as chair of the Finance and Investment Committee. Alice currently serves as co-chair of Donor Engagement Committee; a role we hope she will continue. She has hosted a table every year at our annual event and is a terrific fundraiser.
Tim and Alice have been an integral part of helping us get to where we are today. Thank you, Tim and Alice, for your dedication to Ottawa County Parks and Recreation and the Ottawa County Parks Foundation!
Featured Plant: Heart-leaved Aster
by Bobbi Jones Sabine
Asters are the dessert in the smorgasbord of wildflowers, blooming late in the season when other flowers have given up the ghost. Heart-leaved aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium – formerly Aster cordifolius) is well distributed through the lower half of Michigan’s lower peninsula, and has been documented as far north as Manitoba.
It’s often seen in beech-maple and oak-hickory forests, in borders and clearings, and along roadsides, and can be downright weedy in urban areas.
Also called blue wood aster, short bluish or pale lavender petals surround a yellow disc and the opposite leaves decrease in size as they go up the stem. The species name, cordifolium, means “having a heart-shaped leaf.” It spreads via short rhizomes or wind-dispersed seeds.
The Ojibwe used S. cordifolium to make an incense to attract deer. Reportedly, the leaves can be cooked as a vegetable and the root added to soups or stews. Medicinally, it has been touted as a blood medicine, analgesic for headaches, a laxative, and venereal disease remedy.
Photo credit: U. of M. Herbarium, B. Walters
Looking for gift ideas this holiday season?
The Ottawa County Parks Foundation is happy to help. Donate to the Foundation in someone’s honor, and the honoree will receive a thank letter from the Foundation letting them know you made a generous donation in their honor. Put a note in the comments section of the online form with the person’s name and contact information.
Featured Park: Connor Bayou
The 142-acre property includes nearly a mile of Grand River frontage and a diversity of natural communities including wetlands, mature mixed hardwood and pine forest, and remnants of prairie plant communities. The site offers outstanding views of the Grand River and expansive wetlands to the north.
2016 when we were still working on obtaining our 501(c)3 status.
(Symphyotrichum cordifolium – formerly Aster cordifolius) is well distributed through the lower half of Michigan’s lower peninsula, and has been documented as far north as Manitoba.
