ADA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Amway World Headquarters hosted community leaders and neighbors Tuesday to celebrate two milestone anniversaries: America's upcoming 250th birthday and Grand Rapids' 175th year.
The event kicked off with a performance by the Girls Academy Choir before speakers addressed the significance of both anniversaries.
Doug DeVos spoke about civil engagement, community support and America's founding principles.
"We can inherit this tradition that's been given to us as a country, but to create the future, that's the work that only we can do," DeVos said.
DeVos focused on the principles that inspired the country's founding, including opportunity, individual effort and what he called the American Dream.
Gleaves Whitney, executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, discussed President Ford's legacy and impact on shaping the nation.
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"The American revolution is aspirational. The founding is an historical event. The revolution is aspirational and we continue to participate in it," Whitney said.
Whitney highlighted Ford as someone who embodied the nation's founding ideals of human dignity and opportunity.
"Gerald Ford recognized basic humanity so well in the course of his life, and even before he went into public service," Whitney said.
Whitney emphasized the ongoing work of expanding opportunities.
"We are still in the process of making sure that every human beings has access to the opportunities, the incredible, the bounty of opportunities we have in this country," he said.
The ceremony moved outside where members of Amway's Veterans Network raised the American flag while the Girls Academy Choir performed. The event concluded with refreshments and a raffle featuring tickets to local attractions including Grand Rapids' Fourth of July fireworks, a Whitecaps game, and the Gerald R. Ford Museum.
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