The fundraiser for the aviation-themed charter high school, founded in 2010 by Amway heir Dick DeVos, raised $400,000 for additional educational and enrichment opportunities for students, including off-site visits, flight experiences, lab equipment, and a three-week summer literacy and mathematics program for new students.

“What matters is high standards and academic rigor in a way that encourages students,”
said Bush, who was the gala’s keynote speaker, about the keys to education.“It’s important because it hopefully provides kids with the skills necessary to compete in a global economy.”

Related: Former President George W. Bush in town for speech at Dick DeVos’ charter school

The two-term Republican, who said he has purposefully stayed out of the headlines since leaving the White House in 2009, congratulated DeVos on being a “social entrepreneur.”

In his introduction of Bush, DeVos said he respects his “world view, commitment to principle, and his determination to do what he thinks is right.”

Bush didn’t give the traditional speech at the podium at the event held in the Alticor hangar at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Instead DeVos asked the former president questions for about 30 minutes as they sat on a stage in leather armchairs with a jet as the backdrop.

His answers and remarks drew a mixture of laughter and applause from the audience.

DeVos, president of Windquest Group, asked him about his new title and role as grandfather with his daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, recently giving birth to a baby girl, Mila.

“I am not good sitting around watching a child that can’t speak,” he said joking. “It’s awesome. It’s going to be really fun.”

On a more a serious note, DeVos asked him the best and worst parts about being president.

“The worst part is war,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a wartime president.”

He said was very deliberate in his actions and when he made statements such as any country that harbors a terrorist is equally guilty as the terrorist, they were not hallow words.

“The best was being sworn in a second time,” he said about the electorate knowing him better. “It was a great moment for me, being validated by the people and voted in a second time is a refreshing and invigorating moment.”

He told the audience he does not long for presidency.

“Eight years, trust me, is ample,” he said. “I believe power can corrupt vision. You cannot lead if you react.”

He spoke about a couple of initiatives he and wife, Laura, are pursuing, including starting a network of women in Egypt to help them find the skill set to emerge as leaders, and a separate effort of fighting cervical cancer in Africa.

“I believe women will lead the democracy in the Middle East,” he said, noting the U.S. cannot bail out on the new democracies.

The questions from DeVos ran the gamut, from Bush’s leadership to books he’d recommend, and the former president recently taking up oil painting.

Earlier in the day, he spent time having frank discussions with students at the school on the airport, 5363 44th St. SE., and answering their questions.

Lennox Ramsey, a West Michigan Aviation Academy student, tried out a new flight simulator in 2011 with help from aviation Instructor, Keith Sutherland. The $50,000 simulator was donated from Western Michigan University.

“It was so impressive to listen to a former president talk to our students in a clear and concise way,” said Pat Cwayna, the school’s chief executive.

Bush said told the audience he talked to them about his alcoholism when he was younger and the importance of making good choices and learning from bad decisions.

The tuition-free, public school, which this year offered classes for ninth through eleventh grades, draws its 245 students from 35 school districts across West Michigan. Next year, enrollment is expected to climb to 370 students with the addition of a 12th grade. A $6 million expansion has created capacity for up to 500 students.

The students played a big part in the event. They manned displays in the hangar of robotics, airplanes, and simulators. Students also greeted guests as they boarded buses to the venue and as they entered the hangar.

“This is phenomenal,” said John Newlan, 17, of Wayland, standing by a Cessna with the WMAA name on the tail. “It is so great to have all these people here supporting us and have the opportunity to meet a president.”

Newlan, a junior, wants to be a commercial airline pilot.

“I hope you will be pleased with your investment, and we warrant your investment in the future,” said DeVos, who said they want to expand the world of their diverse student body.

The event is underwritten by Gulfstream Aerospace. Sponsorships ranged from $2,500 to $15,000. Guest purchased raffled tickets for two round-trip American Airline tickets, a ride for seven passengers on a B-25 Bomber on display in the hangar, and gift certificate to the DeVos-owned Reserve Wine Bar.

“It’s high academic standards, but with an eye to the sky,” said Dick DeVos, Founder and Chairman of the West Michigan Aviation Academy.

The school, situated on the grounds of Gerald R Ford International Airport, puts students right in the middle of their passion. It’s the dream of philanthropist, businessman and pilot, Dick Devos.

“We’re a high school first,” said DeVos. “We’re about academics and teaching and teaching kids to realize their full potential.”

The charter school attracts students from more than 20 school districts around West Michigan. It’s composed of about 78% male students, but DeVos said more female students are showing interest. Students wear uniforms and learn the importance of character and making good choices.

It started out with just a freshman class of 80. Now, as those freshman become seniors this Fall, the school will grow to nearly 400 students. Freshman wanting to enroll are now on a waiting list, as the school has a self-imposed cap at 125.

“We haven’t graduated any kids, but we expect that we’re going to be seeing engineers and pilots, and I hope aerospace engineers and aircraft controllers and mechanics and folks working in business administration in the airline industry. I hope we see that.”

Student, Anthonia Oyedeji, is from London. She said aviation was never on her radar, until she attended the school’s summer camp.

“Coming here has opened my eyes to a whole lot more things I could do,” said Oyedeji.

She’s planning to go into Medicine and apply that to a career in the aviation industry. She encourages other girls to try out the school.

“There’s a lot better opportunities for girls in the aviation industry.”

The school says they plan to receive a Cessna 172 this Spring, which will allow students a better opportunity to get in some flying time.

Reserve Wine & Food announced this week that it was beginning lunch hours this week followed by a late afternoon Happy Hour before regular dinner service.

The new lunch menu includes a selection of soups, salads and sandwiches like a fried perch, deli roast beef and lamb Reuben. Other items include a French omelet, oxtail tart and chicken Keiser salad with salt-cured smelt dressing.

Dinner menu favorites like pierogis, pork fat fries, heirloom lettuce salad and potato soup are also available.

The lunch menu was designed by executive chef Matthew Green, who called it a “great showcase for our housemade charcuterie.” Click here to view the new menu .

The lunch menu will change regularly, reflecting seasonal offerings from the woods, waters and farms of West Michigan and beyond, the restaurant said.

Monday through Friday lunch hours are 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Hour is 4 to 6 p.m. and dinner service begins at 5 p.m. The restaurant closes Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m., and at midnight on Friday. Saturday hours are 4 p.m. to midnight, and the restaurant is closed on Sunday.

Reserve is located at 201 Monroe Ave. NW in the DeVos family’s Windquest Building.

A plethora of start-ups now help people make money by renting out a spare room, a car, or even a cocktail dress, and Wal-Mart would in effect be inviting people to rent out space in their vehicle and their willingness to deliver packages to others.

Such an effort would, however, face numerous legal, regulatory and privacy obstacles, and Wal-Mart executives said it was at an early planning stage.

Wal-Mart is making a big push to ship online orders directly from stores, hoping to cut transportation costs and gain an edge over Amazon and other online retailers, which have no physical store locations. Wal-Mart does this at 25 stores currently, but plans to double that to 50 this year and could expand the program to hundreds of stores in the future.

Wal-Mart currently uses carriers like FedEx Corp for delivery from stores – or, in the case of a same-day delivery service called Walmart To Go that is being tested in five metro areas, its own delivery trucks.

“I see a path to where this is crowd-sourced,” Joel Anderson, chief executive of Walmart.com in the United States, said in a recent interview with Reuters.

Wal-Mart has millions of customers visiting its stores each week. Some of these shoppers could tell the retailer where they live and sign up to drop off packages for online customers who live on their route back home, Anderson explained.

Wal-Mart would offer a discount on the customers’ shopping bill, effectively covering the cost of their gas in return for the delivery of packages, he added.

“This is at the brain-storming stage, but it’s possible in a year or two,” said Jeff McAllister, senior vice president of Walmart U.S. innovations.

Indeed, the likelihood of this being broadly adopted across the company’s network of more than 4,000 stores in the United States is low, according to Matt Nemer, a retail analyst at Wells Fargo Securities.

“I’m sure it will be a test in some stores,” he added. “But they may only keep it for metro markets and for higher-priced items.”

LEGAL BOUNDARIES

Start-ups such as TaskRabbit and Fiverr already let individuals rent out their time and expertise to companies and people looking for small jobs to be completed.

Zipments was founded in 2010 as a crowd-sourced delivery network that allowed anyone over 18 years old with a vehicle, a text-enabled phone, and a PayPal account to bid on courier services for local businesses.

Such online match-making businesses often push legal boundaries – and a Wal-Mart crowd-sourced delivery program would be no different, according to Nemer.

Online packages delivered by customers may never reach their destination, either through theft or fraud, the analyst said.

Such a crowd-sourced delivery service may not be as reliable as FedEx or United Parcel Service, which have insured drivers, he added.

“You are comfortable with a FedEx or UPS truck in your driveway, but what about a stranger knocking on your door?” Nemer said.

ZIPMENTS EVOLVES

While Zipments started out with a pure crowd-sourcing approach, the company now does more screening of drivers before allowing them to be part of its delivery network, Chief Executive and co-Founder Garrick Pohl said in an interview. It now serves big cities including New York and Chicago.

Theft, fraud and late deliveries have never been a problem, but insurance and licenses were an obstacle, Pohl explained.

Drivers often need personal liability insurance to cover package delivery activities. Cargo insurance is also needed. Zipments self-insures this risk up to $250, but the firm encourages its couriers to buy additional coverage for higher-value packages, Pohl said.

In some areas, like downtown Chicago, people also need a courier license to deliver things, he added.

“Zipments now helps people get all these things set up before allowing them to deliver goods,” Pohl said.

Still, he said the issues are not insurmountable, citing pizza restaurants, which have used part-time drivers to deliver pies for years.

“It’s a great solution for large retailers like Wal-Mart,” Pohl said. “We’d like to see them move quicker, but it’s great that they are considering it.”

Zipments is trying to provide such services to retailers, although Pohl declined to say which companies the start-up is talking to about this.

CRUSH Grand Rapids begins with a private patron reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by wine-food pairing stations and dessert. The event concludes at 10 p.m. after the awards ceremony, which will honor Dr. James B. Fahner, the director of pediatric hematology and oncology at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital with its 2013 Pioneers in Medicine Award, and Varnum LLP with its Corporate Leadership Award.

“For the past 60 years, CLF has worked to serve the practical and emotional needs of West Michigan families as they navigate their cancer journey – from diagnosis through treatment and beyond,” said William Seklar, president and CEO. “Our new office underscores the commitment of CLF to have a stronger presence in West Michigan to support our works with nearly 800 families in the region.

“We are also very excited to host our first CRUSH event in Grand Rapids. Since the series was launched in 2008, CRUSH has focused on creating world-class regional fundraising events that benefit CLF. CRUSH Grand Rapids joins very successful annual events in Birmingham and Northern Michigan that will showcase some of the leading chefs and sommeliers across Michigan. All funds raised at CRUSH Grand Rapids will stay in West Michigan to benefit patients and their families.”

CRUSH Grand Rapids joins the CLF series featuring world-renowned wine experts and culinary masters who create unparalleled of degustation events for their guests. Culinary masters for the event will include the following executive chefs:

• Paul Virant, Vie and Perennial, Chicago who will serve at the 2013 Honorary Executive Chef and Restaurateur

• Matt Millar, Reserve Wine & Food, who will serve as the 2013 Honorary Culinary Director

• Myles Anton, Trattoria Stella in Traverse City

• Mathew Green, Reserve

• Guillaume Hazaël-Massieux, La Bécasse in Maple City

• Josef Huber, Amway Hotel Corp. in Grand Rapids

• John Korycki, Zazio’s in Kalamazoo

• Colin McPhee, Bar Divani in Grand Rapids

• Matt Peitsch, Salt of the Earth in Fennville

• Joel Wabeke, Trillium Haven in Grand Rapids

Tom and Vicki Celani, proprietors of Celani Family Vineyards in Napa, Calif., will serve as the 2013 Honorary Winemaking Family.

Ron Edwards, a master sommelier, consultant and educator, will serve as the 2013 Honorary Wine Director for CRUSH Grand Rapids. He will be joined by Peter Marantette, a certified sommelier and general manager of Reserve Wine & Food.

The event is sponsored by Celani Family Vineyards, Dom Perignon, Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, Remy Cointreau USA, Reserve Wine & Food, Scott Shuptrine Interiors and Soaring Eagle Casino.

Tickets for CRUSH are $450 for general admission (7pm) or $650 for the private patron reception (6pm). The Cinquieme Sponsor at $2500 includes two patron level tickets and sponsorship privileges which sponsors a CLF family for one year.

The name of this ancient festival speaks for itself. Pa means game, sola a pointed object. At Pasola, armed Sumbanese on horseback assemble on a large field and lob spears at one another. When blood is shed, priests proclaim it a successful Pasola, for despite the violence (and even, in some years, deaths), Pasola is meant to keep the peace. By licensing this ritualized violence once a year, local tribes hope to be free of it at other times.

Catching the start of Pasola is challenging since it takes place without prior notice, but the jousting rolls on for weeks near the villages of Wanokaka, Koda and Gaura. Sumba itself is a rugged, rarely visited island near Flores. But if you make it there and time your visit right, you’re in for a visceral experience. And did I mention the best part? Those sea worms, cooked with ginger and garlic, are a special festival treat.

—Ron Gluckman

2. Eurovision Song Contest
More than 100 million people tune in every year to the Eurovision Song Contest (eurovision.tv) on TV — but there’s more to Eurovision than the contest itself. From May 14 to 18, at least 30,000 people will visit Malmo, Sweden, this year’s host city, for the weeklong series of cultural events that lead up to the final. From morning until night, music lovers will mingle at the Moorish Pavilion, a massive dance hall inside Folkets Park, and the Eurovision Village, a temporary amphitheater erected in the town center. Local musicians and Eurovision contestants will perform live at both venues and at bars, restaurants and street parties across the city.

Regardless of where they take place, the performances offer a chance to hear such esoterica as schlager (a saccharine Germanic pop), operatic pop, Gypsy punk and turbo folk. With 39 competing countries this year and a large LGBT fan base, Eurovision creates a tolerant atmosphere that smacks of gay pride, Glastonbury and the Olympics rolled into one.

—William Lee Adams

3. Guca Trumpet Festival
For more than 50 years, the village of Guca, in the western Serbian Dragacevo region, has exploded every summer with the joyful oompahs of a weeklong brass festival.

Dubbed the Balkan Woodstock, the Guca Trumpet Festival (guca.rs), to be held this year from Aug. 5 to 11, features regional sounds played mostly by Romany musicians. The exuberant music, called cocek, originated among Serbian military bands, but the region’s Roma took it on and sped it up.

The Dragacevski Sabor Trubaca, as the festival is locally called, has become an event of global pilgrimage ever since the international success of the likes of musician Goran Bregovic and filmmaker Emir Kusturica raised the cultural profile of the Balkans. Last year more than half a million descended on the Serbian countryside to wiggle their pants off. “A lot of young people come, and it’s grown to the point where they have pop stars doing concerts in hotels and discos,” says Michael Ginsburg, whose New York City–based brass orchestra, Zlatne Uste, competed at the festival in 2010. The main acts perform in the football stadium, but the real fun is had around town in various makeshift kafanas, or cafés. Lambs roast on spits while virtuosic toots rock the umbrellas. And everyone forgets their troubles. Says founder Nikola Stojic: “If someone has never danced, in Guca they will dance.”

—Cathryn Drake

4. ArtPrize**
The world’s most lucrative art competition isn’t in New York City or Hong Kong but in Grand Rapids — a Michigan city better known for Rust Belt decline than edgy painting and photography. Founded in 2009 by Rick DeVos — heir to the Amway fortune — the annual ArtPrize (Sept. 18 to Oct. 6) will distribute some $560,000 to its 2013 winners, chosen by both a professional jury and the votes of the more than 400,000 visitors who will arrive to view the work.

The prize money is the largest of its kind in the world, but ArtPrize’s real difference isn’t cash. It’s the event’s “unusual and daring ability to completely democratize the process of artistic judgment,” says 2011 judge Noit Banai. “Whether one agrees or disagrees with the grand public’s choice, the process empowers ordinary people to be the sole judge of value.”

—David Kaufman

5. Burt Munro Challenge
Every November thousands of motorcyclists make for Invercargill on the South Island of New Zealand. It’s the birthplace of the late Burt Munro, who in 1967 broke the world 1,000-cc land-speed record on a 48-year-old Indian motorbike modified with parts made in his garage. Little was known about his achievements until the 2005 release of The World’s Fastest Indian, starring Anthony Hopkins. The highest-grossing local film at the New Zealand box office, it turned Munro into a cult figure and precipitated the birth of the Burt Munro Challenge two years later.

Like its eponym, the Burt is unique, combining seven forms of racing: beach, circuit, street, long track, sprint, hill climb and speedway. Throw in live music, food, camping and Invercargill’s famous hospitality, and you’ve got one of the most colorful motorsport festivals ever conceived.

On the fifth and last day, the Munro family awards a trophy to the competitor who most closely mirrors the traits that enamored Munro to a nation.

“A lot of people have asked me over the years what my dad was like when I was a kid,” John Munro tells TIME. “I’d say he was just my dad and what he did seemed normal. But now I understand him as a different person, one with imagination, tolerance, unique skills and super­human patience. All of that gives me great respect for him and for what he contributed to society.”

—Ian Lloyd Neubauer

Each wind blade is about 150 feet long and weighs 17,000 pounds.

“It’s a pretty big day for us to ship those blades. We’re shipping some more and we hope it’s a trend that just keeps going,” says David Slikkers, CEO of Energetx.

The Holland-based company sent its first ever shipment on Friday, since beginning production.

“We team up with aerospace engineers, to design the blade, to make it the most efficient blade on the market,” says Slikkers.

The wind blades use fiber glass, similar to the boats made by sister company, Tiara Yahts. The material is meant to withstand mother nature.

“Snow, rain, sleet, you name it, high wind, obviously,” says Slikkers.

Energetx is currently selling wind blades to one customer, but company executives expect the wind industry to grow in the next couple years, and if that happens, they say it will lead to more hiring as well.

“There’s several farms that are scheduled to go up in 2013 and 2014,” says Slikkers.

The company currently has 100 employees.

“Getting in line with these supply chain processes could mean somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 to 400 additional jobs for Michigan,” says Slikkers.

“I see my role as being part of something new, using the manufacturing skills that we have in this state and creating something that is higher tech,” says Jake Boer, an Energetx employee.

“I think they should want to come work here, we’re flexible and learning new things everyday,” says Nancy Honor, an Energetx team leader.

Each wind blade is expected to last 20 years. Energetx says nine wind blades have been shipped out of state so far and six more will be delivered at the end of the month.

Neurocore for the new year

Ask the Expert
Neurocore – Reclaim Your Brain
Free Lectures
January 10, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The Midtown Center
Holland
96 W. 15th Street
January 14, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
888-968-7139
rsvp@theneurocore.com
www.theneurocore.com/lectures
Neurocore
800-600-4096
Grandville
Grand Rapids
Grand Haven
Holland
Kalamazoo
Okemos
www.theneurocore.com

“At our core, we help communities and residents redirect the money they spend every day on energy back into their families and communities,” said CEO Geoff Chapin in a statement announcing the funding. “Reduced energy consumption also means more predictable energy bills, cleaner air and lower demand for fossil fuels. Additionally, it means more employment for local contractors, electricians and other tradespeople who work with Next Step Living as partners. Through energy efficiency, you really are helping change the world one home at a time.”

Next Step Living visits homes in the region to find any areas where energy can be saved, writes the Boston Business Journal. The company then provides services such as adding insulation and window re-sealing to reduce costs for homeowners. With the recent funding, Next Step Living plans to expand beyond Massachusetts and open offices in Maryland, Connecticut and other East Coast states.

KLR is one of the largest CPA firms in Boston, and offers assistance to venture capital firms. These include internal audit assessments as well as international tax services and specialized tax services such as cost segregation, research and development and energy studies. Due diligence for buyers and preparedness for sellers can also be provided during the acquisition process.