For many years, Dick DeVos worked at his father’s company Amway. He led the global sales division as Vice President throughout the 1980s. However, as a recession hit his home state of Michigan, he worked hard with business leaders in his hometown to prevent a depression from taking over.
He had seen what happened in Detroit after the sports teams left, and he didn’t want the business district in downtown to be abandoned in Grand Rapids. Together with a group called Grand Action, DeVos rebuilt Grand Rapids and put the city on the map.
In fact, the metro area experienced rapid growth from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The city has continued to grow through 2020. Much of this relates to a few decisions that Dick DeVos made in the 1990s.
For example, DeVos build a new performance hall and convention center in downtown, along with a sports arena. The first part of his plan was to attract more business conference tourism to the area, just like in Orlando or Denver. He felt that Grand Rapids could hold its own as another business destination.
He also partnered with the CEO of the local airport to bring in business travelers. However, the airport wasn’t profitable. Ticket sales were stagnant. DeVos had to work with the CEO of AirTran Airways to bring in more flight destinations. Once he convinced the CEO to add four new destinations, ticket sales began to pick up.
By 2015, the airport underwent renovations under the Gateway Transformation Project to bring more technology, convenience, and business traveler accommodations to the airport. As a result, the airport surpassed a million travelers by 2018 and it won awards for its new services.
The FAA recognized DeVos’ work and offered him a place on their advisory council to advise on regulations, budgets, and new policies.
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