GVSU's School of Social Work honored two local leaders in the field of social welfare in a special convocation on June 7.
Evert Vermeer, former head of the Kent County Family Independence Agency, and John Steketee, longstanding judge of the Kent County Courts system, werehonored with honorary degrees for their substantial contributions to the community. GVSU President Arend D. Lubbers awarded the doctor of humane letters degrees in a ceremony in the Loosemore Auditorium.
The special convocation is the first for the GVSU School of Social Work, said SSW Dean Rod Mulder. The two local men were selected for the honor because of their significant roles in the blossoming over the past 40 years of public and private agencies serving the area public, said Mulder.
These men are both known nationally as innovators of programs for children, he said. They are first-rate and very creative. They stand head and shoulders above everyone else.
Steketee was a judge of the Kent County Probate and Family courts for 33 years and was appointed Chief Judge by the Michigan Supreme Court in 1988. Over the decades he has distinguished himself in the areas of juvenile and family law and earned a national reputation as an advocate for the welfare of children. Foremost among his contributions were improvements in adoption law and the development of permanency placing policies, putting emphasis on finding stable and timely solutions for children. His practices in these areas have become national models. Steketee retired in December 2000.
Evert Vermeer retired four years ago after serving as director of the Kent County Family Independence Agency (formerly Dept. of Social Services) for 25 years. As a leader in human services, Vermeer, along with Judge Steketee, was involved with policies to improve permanency planning for children. He also was a forerunner in establishing employment training programs 20 years ago, in improving the accounting system both locally and nationwide for welfare clients, and initiating a program for establishing paternity for out-of-wedlock babies before they leave the hospital. Child welfare models developed under his leadership are being used nationwide.
Both Evert and Judge Steketee understand the human service system and they know how to blend public and private agencies, Mulder said. Grand Rapids has the best set of human service agencies in the state and those two guys have a lot to do with it. We want the local community to know that.
