The alumni H-Club at Hope College will
present its "Hope for Humanity Award" to the Rev. Jack
Klunder of Hopkins on Saturday, Oct. 18.
The award, first presented in 1990, recognizes
Hope athlete alumni for service to others, transformation of
Christian values and consistency of commitment. The H-Club
will recognize Klunder during its annual Homecoming
luncheon, which will be held in the Haworth Conference and
Learning Center.
Klunder is pastor of Hopkins Community Reformed
Church, where he has served for four years. He has also
been head boys' varsity basketball coach at Hopkins High
School for two years.
"I think that he makes a great candidate for the
award because he embodies in three areas of his life what
we'd like Hope alumni to be," said Russell DeVette of
Holland, a professor emeritus of physical education at Hope,
who coached Klunder on the college's varsity men's
basketball team, and will be presenting the award on
Saturday. DeVette singled out Klunder's commitment as a
parent, service as a pastor and perspective as a coach.
Prior to coming to Hopkins, Klunder was founding
pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Franklin, Tenn.
He also held pastorates at Mason County Reformed Church near
Ludington, Metuchen Reformed Church in New Jersey and Palos
Heights Reformed Church in Illinois.
He served on the Reformed Church in America's
Commission on Church History and Christian Action Commission
for six years, and is a board member for Habitat for
Humanity. He co-edited "Servant Gadfly," a festshrift for
John W. Beardslee III which is part of the Reformed Church
in America Historical Series.
During his first year as coach, the Hopkins boys'
basketball team advanced to the state high school Class C
semifinals. During his second year, the team won its
league's title with an 18-2 record. He was a 1997 nominee
for MHSAA Class C "Coach of the Year."
Klunder graduated from Hope with a bachelor's
degree in biology. He played basketball during all four of
his years at the college, three on the men's varsity team.
He holds a master of divinity from Western
Theological Seminary, and a doctorate from Westminster
Theological Seminary.
Klunder and his wife Mary, who is also a 1974 Hope
graduate, have four children: Jennifer, Kristin, Jack and
Bethany. Jennifer is a senior at Hope, and is a fifth
generation Hope student.
The Hope College Alumni H-Club consists of Hope
alumni who were athletic letter winners and other honorary
letter winners as approved by the H-Club's Board of
Directors, and currently has more than 2,800 members. The
previous recipients of the "Hope for Humanity Award" were:
Ekdal J. Buys of Holland, a 1937 Hope graduate (1994);
Robert N. DeYoung of Holland, a 1956 Hope graduate (1995);
Mary Dykema of Holland, a 1973 Hope graduate (1992); the
late Herman Laug of Coopersville, a 1929 Hope graduate
(1990); George Moger of Fort Gratiot, a 1978 Hope graduate
(1991); and Ross Nykamp of Fennville, a 1980 Hope graduate
(1993).
The alumni H-Club at Hope College will
present its "Hope for Humanity Award" to the Rev. Jack
Klunder of Hopkins on Saturday, Oct. 18.
The award, first presented in 1990, recognizes
Hope athlete alumni for service to others, transformation of
Christian values and consistency of commitment. The H-Club
will recognize Klunder during its annual Homecoming
luncheon, which will be held in the Haworth Conference and
Learning Center.
Klunder is pastor of Hopkins Community Reformed
Church, where he has served for four years. He has also
been head boys' varsity basketball coach at Hopkins High
School for two years.
"I think that he makes a great candidate for the
award because he embodies in three areas of his life what
we'd like Hope alumni to be," said Russell DeVette of
Holland, a professor emeritus of physical education at Hope,
who coached Klunder on the college's varsity men's
basketball team, and will be presenting the award on
Saturday. DeVette singled out Klunder's commitment as a
parent, service as a pastor and perspective as a coach.
Prior to coming to Hopkins, Klunder was founding
pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Franklin, Tenn.
He also held pastorates at Mason County Reformed Church near
Ludington, Metuchen Reformed Church in New Jersey and Palos
Heights Reformed Church in Illinois.
He served on the Reformed Church in America's
Commission on Church History and Christian Action Commission
for six years, and is a board member for Habitat for
Humanity. He co-edited "Servant Gadfly," a festshrift for
John W. Beardslee III which is part of the Reformed Church
in America Historical Series.
During his first year as coach, the Hopkins boys'
basketball team advanced to the state high school Class C
semifinals. During his second year, the team won its
league's title with an 18-2 record. He was a 1997 nominee
for MHSAA Class C "Coach of the Year."
Klunder graduated from Hope with a bachelor's
degree in biology. He played basketball during all four of
his years at the college, three on the men's varsity team.
He holds a master of divinity from Western
Theological Seminary, and a doctorate from Westminster
Theological Seminary.
Klunder and his wife Mary, who is also a 1974 Hope
graduate, have four children: Jennifer, Kristin, Jack and
Bethany. Jennifer is a senior at Hope, and is a fifth
generation Hope student.
The Hope College Alumni H-Club consists of Hope
alumni who were athletic letter winners and other honorary
letter winners as approved by the H-Club's Board of
Directors, and currently has more than 2,800 members. The
previous recipients of the "Hope for Humanity Award" were:
Ekdal J. Buys of Holland, a 1937 Hope graduate (1994);
Robert N. DeYoung of Holland, a 1956 Hope graduate (1995);
Mary Dykema of Holland, a 1973 Hope graduate (1992); the
late Herman Laug of Coopersville, a 1929 Hope graduate
(1990); George Moger of Fort Gratiot, a 1978 Hope graduate
(1991); and Ross Nykamp of Fennville, a 1980 Hope graduate
(1993).