Lyndenite heads Chicago printing firm

Calvin Bratt
Tribune editor

Janice Van Dyke

CHICAGO -- Janice Van Dyke didn't plan to become the CEO of a company. She came into it upon the death of her first husband, Bill Van Dyke Jr., at age 44 in 1993.
  But the Lynden native is now being recognized for her success in directing the big transition and subsequent growth for Darwill, her family's 140-employee Chicago-area printing and distribution business.
  Under Janice’s leadership, the company has nearly tripled in size -- from $10 million annual sales to $30 million -- despite the formidable challenges in a rapidly changing printing industry.
  Van Dyke, a 1966 graduate of Lynden Christian High School, said she gives the credit to God because she could never have foreseen the opportunities and roles that she would be put into.
  "We just don't know how God is preparing us to do the things that he wants us to do," she said in a phone interview. "The biggest thing is staying in the will of God, doing what he wants us to do each day."
  Janice is remarried to John Zeilstra, who owns an accounting firm with Darwill as one of its clients.
  She is quick to credit the impact of the two oldest of her four sons, Troy and Brandon Van Dyke, as well as a first cousin of Bill, Howard Van Dyke, for the path of success. They and two others, all in their various specialties, comprise the active management team for Darwill.
  "I set the five-year plan for the management team," Janice said. But, she adds, "Everyone pitches in here. I have smart people around me."
  Son Troy had gone to Silicon Valley in the early 1990s and could see how digital technology was transforming the printing field. He continues to be the visionary while brother Brandon actually develops the software systems that have propelled Darwill to the the technology forefront.
  The fact that Darwill is 51 percent owned by a woman qualifies it as a Women's Business Enterprise National Council member, and that distinction helps to attract significant national corporate attention. Among the customers are Sears, Borders (signs) and McDonalds (menu boards).
  The company was begun in 1951, as Bill Van Dyke Sr. found a niche making signs for Florsheim Shoes. The name is a blend of the names of his daughter and son.
  Based on 2005 revenue of $23 million, Darwill ranked 22nd largest among women-owned companies in the Chicago area.
  Even now, Janice said, the business is outgrowing its 60,000-square-foot operations center in suburban Chicago, and an expansion is on the drawing board.
  She grew up in Lynden, a daughter of John and Katie Roosma. She still returns frequently to see many relatives here, and she will be on an Alaskan cruise this summer with friends who are also turning 60, Janice said.
  In January, Janice and her sister Sharon Worthen of Lynden went to Uganda to see the work of the Uganda Orphans Relief Fund, one of some 100 charities that Darwill supports.
  Van Dyke is also on the board of trustees of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., where she and Bill met as students, and they as a couple endowed a scholarship that is given to a Lynden student at Calvin each year.
  She is also on an advancement committee for Elim Christian School, in facility management for her church, on the University of Illinois Chicago Family Business Council, and a member of the Committee of 200, an invitation-only professional organization of women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.
  E-mail Calvin Bratt at editor@lyndentribune.com.