Along with Olivet’s Weber Leadership Center, the Center for Law and Culture sponsored a luncheon and student forum on November 15 featuring Martin (“Marty”) Ozinga III. At the luncheon, attended by almost 80 community leaders, faculty, staff and students, Professor Charles Emmerich interviewed Mr. Ozinga about the inspirational story of Ozinga Bros., Inc., a highly successful family-owned concrete business entering its fourth generation.
“We live in the greatest country on the face of this earth,” said Ozinga. “I’ve traveled many places around the world, and whenever I return, I feel like kissing the ground. We are so blessed, and we are so free. This is the land of opportunity.”
At the close of the luncheon, Olivet’s president Dr. John Bowling presented Mr. Ozinga with a letter of appreciation and a framed portrait of Abraham
Lincoln. In the letter, Dr. Bowling also recognized Mr. Ozinga’s wife, Ruth, who went home to be with the Lord in 2010. Ruth was passionate about awakening Christians to be virtuous citizens, writing in 2008 that she longed for “a renewal of the godly truths upon which our nation was founded.”
After the luncheon, Marty III and two of his sons inspired a gathering of students with reflections and advice about incorporating Christian principles into business and every facet of life. “Young people, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, that it’s too hard,” said Ozinga. “Go for it. Change the world. That’s the only way the world will ever change.”
