2019 Education Foundation Annual Dinner
Leading the Way for our Kids
During the evening we had the honor of presenting Neil and Gwen Kraay with the Distinguished Service Award for their dedicated service and support of Ada Christian School.
As this year’s guest speaker, we welcomed U.S. Army Ranger Veteran and Country Musician, Keni Thomas who used his powerful story from the “Black Hawk Down” mission to challenge us all to “Lead the Way”.
With a record amount of funds raised, this truly was a night to remember.
Neil and Gwen Kraay
For over 30 years, Neil and Gwen have supported Ada Christian School. In fact, they have not missed an annual dinner. Neil and Gwen were presented the award by their son, Colin. Gwen reflected on what a blessing it is to be a member of the Ada Christian School community, both as a parent and now as a grandparent. Neil expanded on this sharing how the financial commitment to Ada Christian is worth every penny. Neil and Gwen are proud that all of their 7 school-aged grandchildren now attend Ada Christian.
Neil and Gwen have been an incredible blessing and embody what it means to serve God with mind, body and soul in Christian community. What a God-honoring legacy!
Securing a Strong Future
To show our support for our school we conducted a paddle raise. Maranda emceed the paddle raise, making it fun and engaging. The response was overwhelming! Thanks to The Stephen Klotz Family Foundation, The Van Andel Family Foundation, and Tom and Laurie Welch for providing a $50,000 matching challenge which we were able to successfully match and more!