Staff and Board

Johnnie Tuitel
Founder

To many, Johnnie Tuitel's (pronounced "Title") disability is a struggle. But to Johnnie, it's just the way things are. Much of his positive attitude can be attributed to his upbringing. In 1963, doctors told Johnnie's Dutch-immigrant parents that their son had cerebral palsy. "He'll be a burden," they said. "He won't be able to lead a normal life."

Ignoring doctors, the Tuitels took their baby home to love him and to raise him. They encouraged him to focus on his abilities and to try anything and everything. Yes, there were cuts and bruises along the way, but they just increased his determination and toughened his resolve. Each struggle was a stepping-stone to a higher, yet undefined goal.

The goal became clear in 1974 when Johnnie became the first student with a disability to be mainstreamed into the public school system. He not only completed public schooling, but went on to receive a bachelor's degree from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. (In 2003 Johnnie received the Hope College Distinguished Alumni Award). All this from a young man who wasn't supposed to be able to lead a "normal" life.

Speaker, author, entrepreneur, visionary, family man and world-traveler, Johnnie Tuitel is a man who thinks outside the wheelchair and helps others focus on life's potentials rather than its limitations. Learn more about Johnnie by visiting his website www.johnnietuitel.com

George Ranville
Executive Director

"I'm always in awe of the community  members, who along with our capable board and staff, are independently willing to step up and donate equipment, money, and volunteer hours to help us with our mission of getting people the wheelchairs they  need. Everyone does such a great job making sure the folks who put in requests for mobility are helped out. Our donor list is filled with great people who take action, and are not waiting around for someone else to step up. When the whole process comes together and we deliver a wheelchair to someone's home-well that's what it is all about. It makes me very proud to be a small part of the process. Thank you for making Alternatives in Motion a viable mobility option for so many people, for so many years." 

George and Johnnie have been working together since 1995 when they established Alternatives in Motion. Helping people get wheelchairs intrigued George-especially since his brother-in-law Alan had an automobile accident in 1991 that resulted in Alan becoming a quadriplegic and consequently, a wheelchair user. 

Besides his work with Alternatives in Motion, George is the General manager and Partner of the small business Taps Shoe Productions, Inc. and Cedar Tree Publishing. He has coordinated the publishing of the 7 books in the Gun Lake Adventure Series, and handles the business side of Johnnie's speaking.  He has served on local boards for church, for school, for community recreation, and for a youth soccer program. He has also coached basketball, baseball, soccer, and softball. 

Prior to Alternatives in Motion George was a partner in a firm based in Washington, D.C. engaged in international trade initiatives. George served nearly nine years as a U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer, serving both afloat and ashore reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He participated in aviation operations and exercises in the Atlantic theater, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. While ashore he spent three years as a joint Navy/Air Force instructor, and then served as a watch stander in the Washington D.C. area. He was recalled to active duty for Desert Shield and Desert Storm. 

George is a graduate of Hope College (1978) and holds a degree in business administration. Sharing George's life is his wife Gail Noerenberg Ranville, RD, MBA who is the nursing home administrator for Sanctuary at McAuley located on the Mercy Hospital campus in Muskegon, MI. He has two grown children, Danny and Kathryn. Danny recently graduated from Northwood University, and Kathryn is a senior at Hillsdale College. 

Liz Spieker
Program Coordinator

For the last eight years Liz has served as our program coordinator. Liz is the primary contact with recipients and is the one that makes our wheelchair donations possible. Along with working closely with recipients she also coordinates the inventory of wheelchairs that belong to Alternatives in Motion and keeps up with all the filing, bookkeeping, and data entry that makes the organization run smoothly. In a word, she's awesome!

Liz and her husband, Steve are in a transition period after having a very busy household with 4 kids (and five cats) to having an almost empty nest with only one teenager (and still five cats) left at home.  When there is free time Liz enjoys crocheting, bargain and treasure hunting at neighborhood sales, spending time with the kids when they are home for the weekend, and having campfires in the back yard

Matt Chapman
Marketing and Special Events Coordinator

Matt earned a B.S. degree in advertising and public relations from Grand Valley State University in 2005, and already has a significant amount of experience in project management. While still a student, he organized sixteen volunteer trips in ten states for the GVSU Alternative Breaks Program. He also served as co-coordinator of the GVSU Leadership Summit (2004-2005), and received the Thomas M. Seykora Award for Outstanding Contribution (2005) conferred by GVSU. During his senior year in college, Matt served as a public relations intern with Alternatives in Motion, and hasn't left since. Along with coordinating the organization's marketing plans and community outreach, Matt also plans special events, fundraisers, and works closely with Liz to repair new and gently used wheelchairs that have been donated to Alternatives in Motion.

Matt brings a fresh perspective and a youthful intelligence to the organization. He also brings the solid organizational and leadership skills necessary to coordinate all aspects of the creative process and bring them together to meet everyone’s goals and objectives.