Andy and Susie Rent recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary. “We like to think we give people hope,” Andy says, reflecting on how love found them later in life. Though they’d known each other for more than forty years, only in recent years did friendship turn into something deeper.
Their love story is uplifting—but when you look closely at their individual lives, you find a shared devotion to family, community, and service. Today, we’re sharing Andy’s story. Susie’s will follow next week.
For more than fifty years, Andy has been a familiar voice in Grand Rapids broadcasting. In a field that often pulls people from city to city, he stayed rooted—raising his seven children and building a life in the community he loves. “Michigan is just a beautiful place to live,” he says.
Beyond the microphone, Andy has always believed that his voice should serve a purpose. He lends it to organizations working to strengthen Grand Rapids, and CASA of Kent County is one that holds a special place in his heart.
Andy first encountered CASA when the executive director invited him to join a marketing committee. She was looking for someone who could help amplify CASA’s mission—someone whose voice people trusted. A few years later, Andy joined CASA’s board of directors, ultimately serving for thirteen years. As his term came to an end, he helped implement term limits to ensure the board would continually welcome new voices and new ideas.
Stepping off the board didn’t quiet Andy’s advocacy. Instead, it opened space for him and Susie to use their voices together. They attend CASA’s fundraising events, hosting tables and inviting friends who need to understand the mission. They share children’s stories—reminding guests what a CASA can mean for a child in foster care—and they ask, “How do we make this better? How do we ensure that when a judge says a child needs a CASA, we can answer the call?”
Andy knows that children in foster care need someone to speak up for them. They need a steady voice, a trusted voice, a voice that won’t give up. And in every way he can—on the air, in the community, at events with Susie by his side—Andy uses his to call others into the work.
“It’s a no brainer,” he says. “Kids need a voice. If I can help people hear that, then I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.”
This post is part of our 2025 Humans of CASA of Kent County campaign. Click here to check out the campaign webpage and read more featured stories.
For Chad Kirkpatrick, service has never been a pastime—it’s what guides every part of his life. As the VP of Operations at Broadway Grand Rapids, he calls his role his “dream job,” not for the title, but because nonprofit work feeds a part of him nothing else ever has. His commitment to community extends beyond his job, reflected in the many ways he invests his time in volunteer roles.
Music has always been part of Trudi Huizenga’s life. It shaped her career, her outlook, and—perhaps most importantly—her service to others.
Patty Sabin’s journey into advocacy began long before she ever volunteered with CASA. It started at home, helping her two children navigate school with their own unique learning styles. Supporting them through those challenging years taught her how to speak up, ask questions, and persist—skills that would become the foundation of her life’s work.
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