Deconstructing the comments from Dick DeVos after his family received an award at the Econ Club’s annual dinner on Tuesday

For those who read my blog you know that there was organized actions on Tuesday from several different grassroots groups in Grand Rapids. I wrote about those protests earlier this week, which you can read here.

The actions were organized because the Econ Club invited former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, along with giving a “leadership” award to the DeVos family. I had written about this a month ago and provided some context for why people were enraged with Clinton, Bush and the DeVos family.

Dick DeVos received the award on behalf of his family and Mark Secchia posted his comments on social media. I am re-posting Dick’s comments here in italics, but providing commentary that is highlighted to provide a counter-narrative to the viewpoint of DeVos who only speaks for the Capitalist Class. His comments clearly demonstrate not only his contempt for poor people, but the kind of ideology he wants to impose on the rest of us.

Lastly, it is important to note that the media was not allowed to attend this event, so we have no way of know what both Clinton and Bush had to say.

Remarks to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids

Dick DeVos, Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Thanks, Dan, and let me add my thanks to the board of the Grand Rapids Economic Club and to each of you for this award and this opportunity to share a few thoughts. Here is a link to the Econ Club’s Board.

You heard what makes us passionate about this community. We are committed to making this a place where families thrive, generation after generation. Members of the Grand Rapid Power Structure keep saying they want everyone to thrive in this city, yet there are over 40% of Grand Rapidians living paycheck to paycheck. We have seen many of the pieces needed for that vision strengthened over the past decades. We have seen downtown progress from a place where you couldn’t host a parade for a US president because it was too unsafe, a place without any venue for a 100-person wedding reception, to a place with facilities and amenities that attract people from every corner of our great state and country. Here we can see that Dick DeVos was simply using part of his brother Doug’s Wall Street Journal Op Ed earlier this year. 

But as my family has noted, we are facing some challenges as a community. There are clouds on the horizon. We can’t think that the good things we have accomplished have happened by accident, or that success can be put on autopilot. In the video, Betsy noted the difference between building a house and building a home. One of the key differences, is caretaking. Without it, houses get run down over time. They don’t care for themselves. So, we must be honest and direct about what has been done and what is not being taken care of here in Grand Rapids. We’re seeing some troubling signs around town again. The progress that’s been made is at risk.

– Downtown residential growth has slowed. It is because people can’t afford to live there!

– One in five downtown storefronts sit vacant. Smaller businesses can’t stay open because of the cost of renting space and doing business.

– We are mortgaging our future – when 8 out of 10 children in 3rd grade at Grand Rapids Public Schools can’t read at grade level. Here Dick uses one of the talking points from the West Michigan Policy Forum (which the DeVos family co-founded), which wants to undermine public education across the state. 

• Vagrants and pan handlers accost our city’s residents and guests, all too often. Here DeVos clearly shows his contempt for people who are struggling. Dick and his family also co-signed the GR Chamber of Commerce proposal to criminalize the unhoused in 2022.   

– Crime is all too present despite the tremendous work of our brave men and women of the Grand Rapids police….And we just lost our police chief due, in his words, to “anti-police politics” from a vocal minority that some of our leaders wrongly listened to. Another false claim. I wrote a counter-narrative about Chief Winstrom when he fist announced he was leaving in February. I also responded to the claim that Winstrom left because of all the anti-police sentiment in GR from a “vocal minority.” 

– And podiums in our community are too often filled by outside voices that are out of step with west Michigan values. What podiums is Dick referring to hear?

This isn’t acceptable. We can and must do better. Equally concerning is the risk of losing our uniqueness. The Grand Rapids area grew to what it is today because we are different.

– We celebrate vibrant churches on every corner. Most of which ignore all of the suffering in Grand Rapids, are silent about the massive wealth gap in Grand Rapids and refuse to offer sanctuary for immigrants being terrorized by ICE.

– Children and families aren’t just welcome here, they are a priority. Only the children who are part of the privileged classes.

– We don’t practice pseudo compassion and let our fellow citizens sleep on the street, we help them. . . even when it requires “tough love.” What the hell does this even mean? What it could mean is that DeVos and his fellow members of the Capitalist Class fund the homelessness industrial complex, especially since these groups are Christian and never challenge the root causes of being unhoused. 

– We know safety isn’t optional – it’s essential. Especially for the privileged classes in downtown Grand Rapids and tourists who spend their money at the businesses and hotels that the DeVos family owns.

– We believe in people and their possibilities, and want every child to learn so they can reach their full potential. Dick and Betsy DeVos have spent decades undermining public education, so this comment is just a flat out lie. What Dick means to say is that lets use public money for charter schools, private schools and especially religious schools to educate children and not subject them to the unAmerican things being taught in the public schools. 

– We believe that hard work is a good thing that leads to a life of meaning and purpose . . .and that earned success is a good thing too! This is almost humorous, since the DeVos family wealth was built on the pyramid scheme Amway Corporation, which used the labor of countless people for the wealth of a few.

– And yes, cleanliness is next to Godliness and we are happy to “culturally appropriate” that from our community’s Dutch roots. Ah yes, those Dutch roots, like the Dutch CRC that would not support the 1911 furniture workers strike in Grand Rapids. 

We must ignore the voices who tell us we are “not progressing enough” to be like other cities. That’s not easy when their voices get loud. We don’t want to be New York, or Chicago, or LA, or San Francisco, or Portland, or Seattle.

We want to BE Grand Rapids! Let’s get back to having pride in who we are and confidence in where we want to go. Leading with strength and courage, knowing we can make tomorrow better than today. Let’s get back to doing what’s right for the vast majority of our community, with less concern about offending a vocal few. We have work to do.

Yes, “west Michigan nice” is a real thing (and it’s a good thing), but we are called to something greater. Because it’s not enough to be west Michigan nice. We need to be west Michigan good. Nice means we can avoid challenges and conflict. Good means we address challenges directly and we engage personally. Being good protects what matters. Being good makes Grand Rapids special.

It’s time we recapture the spirit of our friend Peter Secchia. Remember him? Many of you here do. And some of you got one or more of those pink paper memos with smiley faces or – more often – frowny faces. I sure did. Sometimes I wasn’t so happy about those. But most often, upon reflection, the “kick in the butt” was just what was needed. Our city is so much better thanks to him and other”s who never accepted “just okay,” but always challenged us to be good. See my article Bankrolling hate and harm: On the Death of Peter Secchia,” as a counter-narrative. 

We must take up that challenge again – to make our west Michigan house a better home. So it’s time to get back to sweeping the streets – literally and figuratively. We have a solid foundation, thanks to the vision and leadership of generations that have come before us, and so many of you right here in this room. We are deeply grateful for that. The “so many of you right here in this room” have been and continue to be contributing to the wealth gap, the emphasis on investing in downtown GR and perpetuating structural racism in this city, what I refer to as the Grand Rapids Power Structure. 

At the same time, there is much more work to be done. We hope each of you – in your own ways – will join us in working to reclaim all that makes Grand Rapids and West Michigan the very best place to call home. On behalf of the entire DeVos family, thank you again, very, very much. For those who want to explore the history of what the DeVos family has done in West Michigan, I invite you to check out the 830 page document – A DeVos Family Reader, which chronicles the commitment the DeVos family has to expanding its own wealth and their efforts to influence public policy for their anti-union, anti-public education, anti-LGBTQ, pro-business and pro-Christian positions that have caused tremendous harm.