Steve and Deb Van Heck
Giving for Good
Here, we highlight the generosity of the Van Heck family and Smith Gas Liquids, who recently set up two funds that represent each part of our mission to build our Community’s Endowment and to help donors achieve their charitable goals.
The Van Heck family and their company have established two funds at the Community Foundation: the Smith Gas Liquids Company — Van Heck Family Advised Fund: a donor advised fund, and the Smith Gas Liquids — Van Heck Family Fund: an unrestricted fund for our Community’s Endowment.
Where did you first learn the importance of giving back to your community?
We learned the lesson of giving back to the community first and foremost from our families, but also from the other very generous families within the Holland/Zeeland community. Our grandparents and parents thought it was a God given privilege to help our neighbors and community organizations to make this area a great place to live. Our Christian faith teaches us that we are to be good stewards of our blessings and to support others that may need assistance.
Our families taught us that this is a responsibility to be taken seriously. They were great examples to us, and we want to continue to be that example for our children. It didn’t take long to learn that it just plain feels good to give. It doesn’t matter how big or how small.
Can you share the story of Smith Gas Liquids and how it began?
Smith Gas Liquids was founded in Holland for one reason; it’s a great place to live. Founders Tom and Genny Smith were from Kansas. Tom visited Holland while helping a friend’s propane business, loved the lakeshore’s beauty, the local values, and thought it would be a good place to live and work. They put down roots near Lake Macatawa and Tom started a small propane wholesale business out of their basement.
I grew up in Grand Rapids, and was hired in to the business shortly after it started. Soon after my hiring, I too moved to Holland. Tom was a great man to have as a mentor. The Smiths really invested in me as an employee. They appreciated that I came from a background of hard working parents that raised fourteen children (ten adopted). For both Deb and I, our parents taught us the value of giving our best efforts to our employer.
Our “sure thing” company motto comes from our history of always having propane when our competitors didn’t. Focusing on our customers and immediately responding to their needs has always been our priority and has been a basis of success. Our company was an industry pioneer with next-day delivery. One call, and our customers get both a guaranteed price and next day delivery. If we have a customer that runs low on gas, we can get product to their business with same-day service.
When the Smiths decided it was time to retire, they passed the ownership of the company to me. The initial success after purchasing the company had little to do with me, and all to do with God’s plan.
Our family was blessed, and we don’t take that blessing for granted. A great deal of the business’ success can be attributed to our wonderful employees and their families. We feel a great responsibility towards them.
You have a successful, family-owned, local business. Why have you chosen to stay local?
West Michigan has wonderful schools, beautiful natural surroundings, and the support of area business people. This is where we have had the privilege to live, work, and where our children have been mentored by our community as they grew up.
The people here have a giving and supportive spirit; they give of their time, talent, and treasure to improve the lives of others. Who wouldn’t want to live in such a beautiful and caring place? It’s our hope that many others recognize the value of living here, and will have the same opportunity as we have to support the future of the community.
Why have you made giving back part of your legacy and one of your values?
Our company and families have been blessed with the gift of giving. As the business has grown and become more profitable, we’ve been able to give more and more. Our employees really bought into the idea of being able to give to both our community, and the communities where we serve our customers. Our employees have been involved in the whole process of giving.
As a family, we gives because it is a gift to be able to give. Giving really is a joy! Small gifts can be multiplied into larger gifts. We encourage our kids to not only give financially, but to give of their time.
How did you initially learn about the Community Foundation?
As we got more involved with supporting different causes or projects, we saw how active the Community Foundation was in supporting not only the organizations and projects we supported, but organizations and projects that benefit the broader community.
We recognized that the Community Foundation has a big picture in mind as they decide where funds will make the most impact in the Holland and Zeeland community.
Also, funds can be put into any of a wide variety of directed funds that exist under the umbrella of the Community Foundation. Have a cause that’s close to your heart? There’s probably a directed fund held at the Community Foundation. If there’s not a fund for your cause, you can start one.
What benefits did you see to starting both a Donor Advised Fund and an Unrestricted Fund at the Community Foundation?
Through the Community Foundation, we, as a family and company, have established funds that will give to the community and other causes for many years into the future.
Having the Smith Gas Liquids — Van Heck Family Advised Fund within the Foundation is a way to ensure that our employees and children have the opportunity to be involved in supporting the community well into their future. The Foundation makes the administration simple, and takes care of investing the funds so they can grow and be of even more benefit.
The Smith Gas Liquids — Van Heck Family Fund, as part of the Community’s Endowment, supports the broader needs of the entire community, not just the needs of the organizations closest to our family. The Board of the Community Foundation is exposed to the broader needs of the community, so more organizations and projects can benefit.
“It is our hope that many others recognize the value of living here, and will have the same opportunity as we have to support the future of the community.”
To learn more about Donor Advised Funds and other ways we can help you achieve your charitable goals, visit www.cfhz.org/donorservice
Featured in the Community Foundation’s Spring 2015 Newsletter. While this was written by CFHZ’s Communications Manager Nicole Paquette in 2015, we believe that stories of generosity are timeless and always relevant.
