Chair: Gregory J. Forzley, MD, Immediate Past President of KCMS
Doctor Forzley is President of the Kent County Medical Society for 2011. He has been a member of the Kent County Medical Society since 1982. He was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Doctor Forzley received his medical degree from Wayne State University Medical School in 1978. He did his Internship and Residency at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. He is Board Certified in Family Practice.
Doctor Forzley is the Medical Director of Informatics for Saint Mary’s Health Care. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Michigan State Medical Society.
Vice Chair: David W. Whalen, MD, KCMS Board President
David Whalen, MD, MPH is a Partner with GREMG, the independant physician group that staffs the Emergency Department at Saint Mary’s Hospital. He went to Medical School at the University of Michigan and completed an Emergency Medicine Residency at Christiana Care in Newark, DE. Doctor Whalen is President-elect of the Kent County Medical Society. We welcome him to the Kent Medical Foundation Board.
Secretary/Treasurer: Donald Condit, MD, MBA, KCMS Treasurer
Dr. Condit is a Michigan native who graduated form the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan Medical School. Following an orthopedic surgery residency at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, he became a hand surgery fellow at the Indiana Hand Center, and a member of the clinical teaching faculty at Indian University. His sub specialty training in hand surgery covers all aspects of hand surgery, including microsurgery. He studied in Switzerland at several leading hand centers. Dr. Condit is an active lecturer and contributor in medical education. He continues to be active in legislative and Michigan state issues that affect the practice of medicine and patients, is active on the Chamber of Commerce Healthcare Committee and has served on the Board of Project Access, a program of the KCMS and KCOA.
Trustee: Irene Betz, Liaison to KCMS Alliance
Irene Betz is past president of the Kent County Medical Society Alliance and the KCMSA Foundation, and is currently a board member of both organizations. She has a B.S. in Accountancy from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. She is a C.P.A. and prior to moving to Grand Rapids worked in the tax divisions of Arthur Andersen and Sears, Roebuck, and Co. She is active in volunteer organizations in our community.
Trustee: Shirley Daniels, Liaison to KCMS Alliance
Shirley K. Daniels is a retired educator and former Grand Rapids Community Foundation trustee who reflects the unique spirit of giving that makes this community special. Ms. Daniels worked her way up from serving salads at Oakwood Manor to operating an elevator at Steketee’s to leading a labor union at General Motors. When she enrolled as a junior at Michigan State University in 1963, her son was already a sophomore. Her former GM coworkers from Local 1231 sent her on her way with a new typewriter, and she remembers writing some of her first drafts on a brown paper bag.
By 1969 she had earned a Masters in Education. She has degrees from Michigan State University, including doctoral work, and Western Michigan University. She also did post-graduate work at the University of Hawaii.
Ms Daniels has served on many Boards in Grand Rapids, including the Grand Rapids Art Museum Board and the Grand Rapids Library Board Foundation. She has been a Kent Medical Foundation Trustee since 2008 and is currently Board Vice Chair.
Trustee: Margie Garencer, Community Volunteer, Accounting
Margie S. Gerencer, CPA/MBA joined Echelbarger, Himebaugh, Tamm & Co., P.C. (EHTC) in June 2005 and is a manager for the tax department. She graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Troy University in 1996 and a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana Tech University in 1998. She holds CPA licenses in Michigan and Illinois, and also a Life, Accident and Health Insurance License in Michigan.
Margie is involved in the Tax, Healthcare Services, and Insurance Planning areas of the firm. She works with clients in a variety of industries including healthcare, financial, professional services, manufacturing, farming, construction, and non-profit. She specializes in providing tax and consulting services to physician groups and other professionals. Prior to joining EHTC, Margie worked for CPA firms in Shreveport LA, Grand Rapids and Holland MI.
Margie is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA), Inforum, and the Michigan Women’s Tax Association. She is affiliated with the Michigan Medical Group Management Association, Michigan State Medical Society and Affiliated Healthcare Advisors. She has served as a trustee for Kent Medical Foundation since 2011.
Scott Hoag, Community Volunteer, Banking
Thomas H. Peterson, MD, Community Volunteer, Liaison to Medical Students
Dr. Thomas Peterson received his medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean. He took his internship and residency program in pediatrics at Saint John Hospital in Detroit, and is board certified. Dr. Peterson has been a member of the Kent County Medical Society since 1990 and served as President in 2008. He currently serves as the Executive Director of Safety, Quality and Community Health at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Stawski serves as Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of Undergraduate Surgical Education for the Grand Rapids Campus. He is also a surgeon with Spectrum Health Medical Group General Surgery.
Dr. Stawski has served his community and his profession in multiple ways—with the Kent County Medical Society, serving as its President in 1985; the Midwest Surgical Association, the Kent Medical Foundation, the Physician Review Organization of Michigan, and the AMA Surgical Caucus. He helped start the West Michigan Ambulatory Surgical Center and was Chief of Staff in 1986 and 1987.
Dr. Stawski and his wife Elvira, live in Grand Rapids, and have raised four children.
Representing the community, Timothy J. Waalkes was elected to the Board of the Kent Medical Foundation in the fall of 2010. He is an attorney with Vespoor, Waalkes, Lalley, Slotsema & Talen in downtown Grand Rapids.
Mr. Waalkes graduated from Calvin College and Wayne State University. He worked for two firms in the Lansing area before joining the firm in July 2004. He specializes in estate planning, probate administration, business law and general civil litigation.
He has been a member of the Optimist Club of Grand Rapids since 2004. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Bar Association, the National Committee for Planned Giving and the West Michigan Estate Planning Council.