SPIRIT LAKE, IA – Recent headlines include the sad news of the passing of Bill Northey, former Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Iowa, and a dear part of the GoServ Global family. Bill Northey played an important part in the history of GoServ Global. In 2011, then Iowa
Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds and Bill Northey, then Secretary of Agriculture of the State of Iowa, co-chaired a project to help raise awareness of GoServ Global and their desire to partner with Sukup Manufacturing to use modified grain bins for housing in Haiti. A three-month project was launched in December by Reynolds and Northey under the name “Homes. Help. Hope. For Haiti.” that would raise awareness and funds to create the Village of Hope out of these structures. Under the project, then Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds and Bill Northey as then Secretary of Agriculture of the State of Iowa were given numerous promotional opportunities, even getting the chance to speak during Governor Branstad’s Monday morning news conference.
The goal of “Homes. Help. Hope. For Haiti.” was to raise funds to build 48 modified grain bins, called the “Safe T Home®,” over three months. The story of GoServ Global and their goal to put up 48 Safe T Home® structures hit the newspapers, the farm journals, and television, and within those three months, enough money was raised to buy, ship, and build 64 homes! By February 2012, teams of workers and tools were sent down and construction was underway for the Village of Hope.
GoServ Global Executive Director, Paul van Gorkom, says, “For GoServ Global, Bill was a great friend and Board member. He loved what we do and continued to support GoServ Global.” He shares that Bill, for years before joining our Board of Directors, always visited our booth at various fairs and other agricultural events where we had erected a Safe T Home®. Bill Northey joined the GoServ Global Board of Directors in 2021, bringing his passion for people and agriculture alongside like-minded individuals to be used for delivering hope globally. Thanks to God’s provision and grace, the Safe T Home® ministry continues to grow, both within Haiti, having over 600 structures, as well as in Peru, Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, and more opportunities to come.
“We will deeply miss Bill’s humble spirit, his wisdom and his contributions to GoServ Global. We know Bill had given his life to Christ and therefore are confident that he has met his Savior and will be spending eternity with Him.”
We thank you so much, Bill, for the time you spent with GoServ Global, and we mourn the loss of more time with a truly wonderful person. Please keep Bill’s family and friends in your prayers.
