IM Writer of The Month
Judge Mark T. Boonstra, we are delighted to announce that you are the Writer of the Month for February 2024. You have impressed us with your creativity, originality, and skill in crafting essays.
Statement from our Review Board:
Mark Boonstra, we are delighted to announce that you are the Writer of the Month for February 2024. You have impressed us with your creativity, originality, and skill in crafting engaging and captivating essays for the IM Christian Writers Forum. Your work, “Battle for America’s Soul,” is a masterpiece of well-crafted writing that showcases your talent and vision. Mark, this piece received rave reviews from readers and critics alike and significantly increased our subscriber base. We are honored to have you as part of our publishing family and look forward to your future works.
Judge Boonstra was appointed to the Court of Appeals in March, 2012, and he was subsequently elected in 2012, 2014, and 2020. In addition to his appellate duties, Judge Boonstra served a two-year term on the Michigan Court of Claims, by appointment of the Michigan Supreme Court, from May 1, 2015 to May 1, 2017, where his docket included cases arising out of the Flint Water Crisis. Prior to serving on the Court, Judge Boonstra was a senior principal in the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C., where he practiced law for 27 years, including serving as a Deputy Chair of the firm’s Litigation practice group and as Co-Chair of its Appellate Practice section. At the time he joined the Court, he was recognized in Best Lawyers in America in the areas of: Antitrust Law; Appellate Practice; Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Antitrust; Litigation - First Amendment; and Litigation - Securities. He previously also served as a Law Clerk to Hon. Ralph B. Guy, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan from 1983 to 1985.
Judge Boonstra graduated from the University of Michigan in 1983 with both Juris Doctor and Master of Applied Economics degrees. He is also a 1979 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Michigan State University, with a B.A. in Political Science. A native of Muskegon, Michigan, Judge Boonstra graduated from Western Michigan Christian High School in 1975.
Judge Boonstra has been active in the State Bar of Michigan, including serving in the Representative Assembly (2005–2011), as Chair of the Section on Antitrust, Franchising, and Trade Regulation (2000–2001), and as a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. From 2015-2020, he also served as Chair of the Michigan Supreme Court Committee on Model Civil Jury Instructions. He has served as Vice-Chair of State of Michigan Retirement Board and as Chair of the Michigan Judges Retirement Board, and has also served numerous other community organizations, including as Chair of the Washtenaw Economic Club and board president of the Christian Montessori School of Ann Arbor.
Judge Boonstra and his wife Martha proudly share four children, five grandchildren, their love of the Friesian horses they raise, and their three-volume work entitled In Their Own Words: Today’s God-less America … What Would Our Founding Fathers Think?
Judge Boonstra’s 3- volume work, “In Their Own Words: Today’s God-less America . . . What Would Our Founding Fathers Think?” details the religious lives and beliefs of all 118 signers of America’s 3 founding documents—the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution—both biographically and “In Their Own Words,” and contrasts it with examples from modern-day America. Our country having strayed far from what our Founding Fathers intended it to be, Judge Boonstra posits that the fundamental, underlying reason is that we have lost God, and he provides information enabling the reader to answer for themselves — what would the Founders think of where we are today in America? ORDER HERE.
We welcome Mark to the “Wall of Fame” IM Christian Writers Association. He will continue to be a regular contributor to our present “Identity Politics Series” - written by Dr. Stephen Phinney, Mark Boonstra, and a select group of authors.
Mark, working with you within the IM Christian Writers Forum is an honor. Getting to know you as a friend has also been a privilege. You are a valuable asset to our platform. We look forward to accomplishing the mutual goals of returning America to its core values. Founder | Dr. Stephen Phinney
Out of many of our nearly 700 subscribers, we have dynamic Christian writers. We encourage you to apply to be a writer for the IM Christian Writers Association. Send me an email, and we will start the process. corporate@iomamerica.org