“From the Publisher” – April 2016

Dear Readers,

It’s so exciting to be celebrating another spring with My City! Our team looks forward to covering all the great upcoming springtime events – and nobody does it like MCM.

This issue definitely has a spring flavor. Our Home & Garden section includes some expert “spring cleaning” tips, info about Earth Day events Downtown at the Cultural Center, and a great story about former U of M Wolverines football star, Vincent Smith, and his Team Garden Flint #Eating project.

Also exciting is the recent investment in Downtown businesses. We caught up with Dean Yeotis, a local attorney who opened Totem Books on W. Court Street and hopes to make it a gathering place for Flint. We wish him great success.

“Success” can be measured in many ways. In the “My Success” spot is my friend John Wentworth, who is enjoying great success in the real estate business. On the other end of the spectrum is tennis star, Madison Ballard, who is following up her Fenton High School success on the courts at Grand Valley State.

This month’s Arts and Music features also cover a broad spectrum. The Flint Institute of Music recently chose a winner in the 45th Annual William C. Byrd Young Artists’ Competition: Chinese violinist, Xiao Wang. MCM got a chance to chat with him about the prestigious honor. And, we have a piece by guest writer, Rob Namowicz, about Flint’s early rock scene – particularly, legendary Grand Funk Railroad co-founder, Mark Farner. It’s a fun read, especially for those of us who have fond memories from back in the day.

There’s still more Arts variety with our piece for National Poetry Month. Read how the Raise it Up! Youth Arts & Awareness group empowers local kids to express themselves and engage with the community. We can’t get enough of this great stuff!

There’s even more great stuff going on … who knew Mott Middle College has a puppet-making class and a puppet theatre called Fly-Town? And, MCC has the FabLab class, which offers prototyping, fabrication, and an amazing educational opportunity, as well as a way for entrepreneurs and inventors in the community to pursue innovation. Flint is certainly not lacking for educational variety.

In fact, Flint has one of the country’s top performing arts schools – the Flint School of Performing Arts. One man who has been instrumental in growing the FSPA to its current status is my good friend, Paul Torre, the face gracing our April cover. Paul is the Flint Institute of Music President/CEO, and will retire next month after three decades of dedicated leadership in all FIM programs.

Mailed to subscribers this month is another issue of My City Wellness, with great health articles and local connections. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading,