Event Details
Thursday, November 14, 2024
7:30am – Check-in & Registration
8:00am – 9:00am – Program
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Please join us Thursday, November 14th for the YMCA’s annual Hour of Impact event. During this breakfast event, we will showcase how community collaborators, conveners, and leaders like you have united to serve individuals and families through YMCA programs. The event will include a panel of community leaders and impact testimonials that highlight how gifts create access to wellness, nutrition, education, leadership, and childcare programming. You are invited to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park for a celebration of stories and a call to support and serve individuals and households throughout West Michigan through YMCA programs that help create thriving futures for all.
Proceeds from the event provide for critical financial assistance support for members of our community.
Will you join us in creating transformational impact?
Our 2024 Panelists
Phil Tower: Station Manager
Phil Tower was born and raised in Greenville, Michigan, is a proud graduate of Greenville High School, and has lived in West Michigan his entire life.
Phil Tower serves as the station manager of 88.1 FM WYCE Public/Community Radio in Grand Rapids. He also serves as owner and founder of GrandCast Media, a full-service broadcast and podcast consultancy. In addition to his consultancy, and work with WYCE, he serves as a producer and talent coach with iHeartmedia.
He's a two-time graduate of Central Michigan University (B.A.A. and M.A.) and he serves as an adjunct faculty member with the Communications Department at Aquinas College, as well as the Multimedia Journalism Department at Grand Valley State University.
His professional broadcast and media career spans many decades and he is perhaps best known for his time at WOOD AM & FM Radio in Grand Rapids, where he spent nearly two decades as Director of News and Programming for iHeartmedia, West Michigan.
Phil has served as a trustee with The Greenville Area Community Foundation for over 14 years, and he has been active on numerous charity boards and foundations in West Michigan. Phil and his wife Diane live in the Greater Grand Rapids Area.
Phil Tower
88.1 FM WYCE Public/Community Radio
Shannon Wilson: Vice President of Population Health & Health Equity
Shannon Wilson is the first-ever vice president of population health and health equity for Priority Health, a Michigan-based health plan. In her role, she is responsible for the growth and development of Priority Health’s population health strategy, inclusive of health plan quality. Wilson also has oversight for health equity efforts, ensuring that achieving health equity is foundational to all health plan functions. To complement this work, Wilson serves as the executive director of the Total Health Care Foundation, a charitable organization committed to addressing social needs and determinants in southeast Michigan. Wilson is a public health leader who has devoted her career to studying the intersection between health and race. She is focused on improving health care experiences for vulnerable populations and improving health and well-being for all residents across the state of Michigan.
Shannon Wilson
Priority Health
B. Donta Truss: Vice President for Enrollment Development and Educational Outreach
Dr. Truss is the vice president for Enrollment Development and Educational Outreach. As an experienced administrator of more than two decades, his career reflects dedication toward enhancing institutional/student outcomes from enrollment to graduation. He enables distinct and original strategies by harnessing community strengths and resources to improve pathways to higher education for many, especially low-income and first-generation students. His deeply invested and action-oriented approach for student success upholds institutional commitments to the community. As a result of his leadership at GVSU, the university initiated an inclusive learner-ready approach to encourage learners from all backgrounds to complete their educational pursuits.
B. Donta Truss
Grand Valley State University
Our 2024 Sponsors
Thank you to Meijer for being our presenting partner!
Matching Gift Sponsor
Inclusion Sponsor
Critical Needs Partners
Stepping Stone Sponsors
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- ChoiceOne Bank
- Corewell Health
- Feyen Zylstra
- Grand Valley State University
- Imperial Dade
- Lake Michigan Credit Union
- Litehouse Inc.
- Mercantile Bank
- North Central Area Credit Union
- PNC Bank
- Tom & Dawn McDonald
- University of Michigan Health-West
- Western Michigan University