A future educators can point students toward

What’s Next for Walk the Beat

A year-round engine for live local music, student-powered at its core. This is where students plug into a real working future.

See what’s next

Earn through the affiliate pathwayBuild skill, responsibility, and income through real work.

Step toward next seasonAuditions create a visible on-ramp for emerging talent.

Grow with the venue networkLocal relationships become year-round opportunities.

Help shape community hubsMusic, learning, enterprise, and belonging come together.

Prepared for Mary Jane Evink

Real work.
Real pay.
Real coaching.

An earn-and-learn, teach-and-earn network that connects Grand Haven learners and mentors with real business and community work.

Start the conversation

The front door

Find your next right choice — walk the Pathway.

Ten stops. Ten choices. Student to builder to expert — walk it on your phone right now.

Walk the Pathway

01The problem

The experience gap starts before the first interview.

Students graduate with knowledge but no proof they can do the work. Employers want experience. Schools want career-connected learning. Most programs offer one or the other — rarely both, and almost never with a paycheck attached.

02The model

Two affiliate roles. One shared path.

The network has two distinct but fluid categories. Both welcome people ages 18–70, and people move between them based on what they are learning and what they are ready to teach.

Student Affiliate

The learner — earning while learning.

Anyone who can communicate, ages 18–70
Onboards local merchants to the RezConnect platform
Completes the 10-module training
Builds practical experience toward agency ownership

Expert Affiliate

The mentor or instructor — teaching while earning.

Anyone with expertise to share, ages 18–70
Sits on path panels and mentors student affiliates
Shares knowledge and earns for the mentoring contribution
Can participate in a focused role — including a retired professional mentoring four hours a month

“We’re all students, and every student is an expert in something.”

The categories are fluid. A student affiliate learning digital marketing might also serve as an expert affiliate in culinary arts. The role changes with what a person is learning and what they are teaching.

$40/moto the student affiliate for each active merchant on the $97 monthly plan

$400paid upfront to the student affiliate on each $997 annual signup

$7/modirected to Walk the Beat to keep the mission moving

A 30-day attribution window gives the student affiliate credit for the relationship they initiated. Payouts begin once earned commissions reach the $50 threshold.

30-day attribution$50 payout thresholdIncome tied to active accounts

Not a simulation. Not an internship fetching coffee. Real businesses, real revenue, real accountability.

Income potential

Beyond the Mailbox: Student Income Potential

The $40 recurring split is the foundation. Project work and account growth expand the opportunity as a student affiliate builds capability, trust, and a book of business.

Tier 1

Mailbox Money

$40/mo

Per active merchant, recurring. This is the dependable foundation beneath the larger earning picture.

Tier 2

Project Money

$50–$100/hr

Build-out and scope work. The merchant chooses to do it themselves or hire the student; an average engagement is 4–8 hours per month per merchant.

Tier 3

Agency Revenue

$10K–$100K/mo

Potential as affiliates recruit accounts, expand delivery capacity, and scale toward an agency-level operation.

Four growth scenarios

Starter5 merchants

≈ $1,550/mo

$200 mailbox + $1,350 projects
3 merchants × 6 hrs × $75

Builder20 merchants

≈ $5,300/mo

$800 mailbox + $4,500 projects
10 merchants × 6 hrs × $75

Agency50 merchants

≈ $13,250/mo

$2,000 mailbox + $11,250 projects
25 merchants × 6 hrs × $75

Empire100 merchants

≈ $26,500/mo

$4,000 mailbox + $22,500 projects
50 merchants × 6 hrs × $75

How the project math works: Each scenario uses the $75/hour midpoint × 6 hours per month. Student affiliates handle standard build-outs; expert affiliates take on complex scope requiring deeper expertise.

What determines the result: Project work is optional and scope-based. Actual revenue depends on the number of active accounts, merchant demand, hours approved, rate, expertise, and delivery capacity.

$7/mo $84/year

On monthly plans, $7 each month goes to Walk the Beat. On the $997 annual plan, that contribution becomes a $97 annual donation to Walk the Beat.

03What student affiliates learn

Training that follows the work.

A 10-module sequence moves student affiliates from understanding the program to serving a real business relationship with professional follow-through.

01Earn-and-learn orientation
02Understanding the product
03Understanding the offer
04Finding local merchants
05Making the pitch
06Merchant onboarding
07Delegation framework for working with business owners
08The nonprofit connection
09Getting paid
10Professional follow-through

Student affiliates learn communication, sales, marketing technology, client management, and how to use a delegation framework with business owners. Expert affiliates coach them through real work — they are not placed and abandoned.

“Many times people fail because they are not coached.”

04The living lab

Walk the Beat turns theory into timing.

Walk the Beat, the local live-music nonprofit, is where student affiliates do real work now — supported by expert affiliates who can coach from experience.

Student affiliates encounter the parts of professional work that a worksheet cannot recreate — listening to a business owner, adjusting a message, meeting a deadline, and following through after the first conversation.

The classroom teaches the theory. The Beat teaches the timing.

See the Walk the Beat directors’ briefing

05Curriculum fit

Career readiness with visible evidence.

The program gives educators practical outcomes to observe, discuss, and measure — while student affiliates apply business and communication skills and expert affiliates make their knowledge visible through mentoring.

Career readinessProfessional communication, ownership, and workplace expectations.

Work-based learningReal roles with real local businesses and accountable deliverables.

Applied learningSales, marketing, technology, and client management in practice.

Measurable outcomesMerchants onboarded, revenue earned, skills demonstrated, and mentoring contributed.

This is career-connected learning with a 1099 spirit — student affiliates can point to businesses they helped and money they earned.

The research

The Research: Why Music Education Matters

NAMM Foundation research connects music education with academic achievement, cognitive development, and the social skills students carry into school, work, and community life.

Higher academic performance: Music students score higher in English, math, and science than their non-music peers, according to University of British Columbia research.
Higher graduation rates: Graduation rates are 20% higher for students with at least one year of music, and 30% higher for those with more than one year, according to a University of Kansas / Music Makes Us Nashville study.
Fewer suspensions: For each additional year of arts education, students are 20% less likely to be suspended, according to a University of Maryland longitudinal study.
Greater language fluency: Music students show greater fluency in learning a second language, according to University of Toronto neuroscience research.
Stronger speech and reading skills: After two years of music education, students show stronger neural processing of speech and improved reading scores.
Social development: Music education supports conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and learning to give and receive constructive criticism.

The student earn-and-learn program isn't just job training — it's built on a foundation of evidence showing music education drives student success.

Read the NAMM Foundation research

06Shared mission

The Kiwanis connection is youth development.

Kiwanis serves youth; this program employs and mentors them. The shared purpose is not simply preparing young people for a distant future, but giving them supported responsibility now. The education vision also has a personal beginning: it traces to a chance conversation with GHAPS educator Robin Spring.

Inside Kiwanis, that commitment to growing leaders has a name: Kiwanis Amplify, Kiwanis International’s online leadership program. Its seven modules — leadership, communication, leading a team, inclusive leadership, strategic thinking, self-care, and overcoming obstacles — are taken at your own pace and end with a capstone experience. Graduates earn a Kiwanis International certificate of completion, and more than 2,000 Kiwanians have taken part. Clubs, divisions, and districts can sponsor participants.

Michael comes to this work as a Kiwanis club member and a Kiwanis Amplify graduate — by his account, the only local participant to complete the program. His aim is to help bring that same standard of leadership to clubs here at home and all over the country, through sponsorship and encouragement.

See the Kiwanis Wrap

Student affiliates learn, earn, and give. Expert affiliates teach, mentor, and earn. Each monthly merchant relationship also directs $7 to Walk the Beat.

Dean Nash’s model gives us the right blueprint: build through the programs Kiwanis International already has instead of inventing another structure. Michael’s own proposal was explicit: “I am particularly keen on collaborating with Key Clubs and K-Clubs within Kiwanis International to onboard Digital Marketing students and present a proposed pathway for eager learners.”

Builders ClubService begins in middle school.
Key ClubsLeadership grows through high school.
K-ClubsThe progression continues within Kiwanis International.

Local coalition

Michael named Mary Jane Evink, a GHAPS Cabinet member and fellow Tri-Cities Kiwanis member; GHAPS Superintendent Kristen Perkowski; and the CareerTech Center’s Hands-On Learning initiative in Ottawa County. Together, they are exploring the impact of service leadership.

His vision is a pathway for digital agency growth that enables students to build white-label SaaS solutions — starting locally, expanding to other school systems, and collaborating with small businesses while they are still in high school.

See Mary Jane Evink’s Education Pipeline Portfolio

A full circle: learners give back, and experienced mentors help them move forward.

07How we win together

One program, three wins.

GHAPS wins

Career-connected learning, documented student outcomes, and deeper community partnerships.

Affiliates win

Student affiliates gain pay, practical skills, coaching, and resume proof. Expert affiliates earn while sharing knowledge that matters.

The community wins

Stronger local businesses, vibrant venues, and young people invested in the local economy.

The full circle

Everyone contributes. Everyone benefits.

“We’re all students, and every student is an expert in something.” Both roles welcome people ages 18–70, and the path panel connects what each person is learning with what someone else is ready to teach.

Student affiliates

They learn and earn: $40/month for each active merchant, $400 upfront on annual signups, and $7/month directed to Walk the Beat. By doing the merchant work, a student affiliate can grow from one client to five, then ten — building toward agency ownership.

Expert affiliates

They teach and earn by sitting on path panels, mentoring student affiliates, and sharing practical knowledge. A focused contribution counts: a retired professional mentoring four hours a month is an expert affiliate.

Alumni serve

Grand Haven High School alumni can return as expert affiliates, bringing decades of experience into the panel while giving back to the next generation.

Roles stay fluid

A student affiliate learning digital marketing might be an expert affiliate in culinary arts. People move between roles based on what they are learning and what they are teaching.

Student affiliates learn and earn. Expert affiliates teach and earn. Alumni return as expert affiliates. The path panel connects them — while local businesses grow and nonprofits receive support. That’s the full circle.

Funding resources

Funding resources for students

As part of onboarding, every student affiliate is connected to available funding sources, with an expert affiliate available to help evaluate the right fit. These are built into the process — not an afterthought.

Grand Haven Schools Foundation

Mini Grants up to $500 for classroom and program initiatives. Application deadline for the current cycle: October 9, 2026. Learn more at ghsf.org.

Grand Haven Area Community Foundation

Broader community grants supporting youth development, education, and workforce initiatives.

Student affiliates are guided to these resources during onboarding. The student affiliate agreement includes a funding step where they can identify which sources fit their project and begin the application process with expert-affiliate coaching support.

Funding shouldn't be a barrier to participation. By connecting students to existing resources, we make the program accessible and sustainable.

08The ask

A pilot conversation.

The next step is a working conversation — not a commitment. Together, we can determine:

Which student and expert affiliates are the right fit
What timeline makes sense
How it fits the school calendar
What success should look like
School participation and supervision safeguards
No insurance burden on affiliates

Schedule a conversation

YOUR STEPS TO GREATNESS START HERE

Walk the path. Build your profile.

You’ve read the case — now take the step. Answer ten questions, one at a time, and receive your own Growth Partner Profile card: your place in the pathway, in your hand.

1 · The case ✓ 2 · Your profile 3 · Your card 4 · Your door

Build Your Growth Partner Profile

Ten questions. No cost, no obligation.

09His pathway

Meet the Founder

Follow Michael Rutherford’s 50-year pathway from apprentice to mentor.

Michael Rutherford — The Apprentice Becomes the Mentor