By Staff reports
Holland, MI — Dutch-American influence in West Michigan was recognized recently at the annual Dutch-American Heritage Day celebration Thursday at the Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville.
More than 400 people attended on Nov. 18, including the consul general of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, from Chicago, who presented the 2010 West Michigan Dutch-American Leadership Award to Henry I.
Witte, founder of Witte Travel and retired honorary Netherlands consul for West Michigan.
Keynote speaker C. Carl Pegels, professor emeritus, School of Management at the University of Buffalo, spoke about his genealogical research and extensive investigations into the effect of the Dutch in American history.