On April 1, Mott Community College will present author and award-winning journalist John Quiñones as the first lecturer of the 2021 Ballenger Eminent Persons Lecture Series.
How were you affected by the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd? While some buried their heads in the sand and took to the streets to protest, the partners of Community Roots went to the drawing board. The partners – Sylvester Jones, Jr., Patrick McNeal, Willie Smith, Jr., and Todd Womack – committed to using this time to catalyze change in their hometown of Flint and Genesee County.
After spending the last 20 years working tirelessly as Bishop Airport’s Chief of Public Safety, Chief Christopher Miller was ready for retirement. It was time to relax and enjoy life. “I had worked professionally non-stop for almost 39 years,” he says. “I was ready to slow down, do some traveling with my wife, Kimberly.” When Mayor Sheldon Neeley gave him a call out of the blue, he didn’t know what to expect. “He congratulated me on my retirement and told me that the city would be holding a Martin Luther King Day celebration honoring five people with the City of Flint Lifetime Achievement Award and a key to the city,” Miller recalls. “When he told me that I would be one of them, I was humbled. I had no idea. He told me that it was the highest award a citizen can be given and I am deeply honored to receive it.” At the ceremony, Miller spoke about his life in law enforcement and the people who got him there. “I didn’t do this all by myself. A lot of people helped get me to this point and I owe a lot to them,” he says. “It started with God, my mother and my father. They instilled good moral values and taught me how to communicate with and respect others the right way. Those lessons kept me out of trouble growing up.”
Since the city’s beginning, African Americans have been an important part of Flint’s growth. They have made and continue to make significant contributions to the advancement of civil rights, education, culture, arts and the community as a whole for every citizen, regardless of color or national origin. In honor of Black History Month, My City Magazine would like to honor some of the many African American leaders and trailblazers, past and present, who have worked for the betterment of the city and its people.
In the Scouting organization, becoming an Eagle Scout is the highest honor and quite an accomplishment. In October 2020, Breanna Nicole Trecha of Fenton Township obtained the rank of Female Eagle Scout. She is the first female in Genesee County to have gained the title and one of ten in the State of Michigan. The door opened for females to join Boy Scouts in February 2019.
Craig Coney has always held Flint and its citizens close to his heart. Throughout his life, the city was there to support him spiritually, socially and financially. He has lived his entire life here and owes a lot to the mentors and institutions that helped keep him on the right path. The thought of leaving the city has never crossed his mind. “The Flint community has always been good to me,” he says. “It made me who I am. My family was here and I always wanted to be close to them.”
“Our mission is to promote connectivity and empowerment to female leaders, founders and entrepreneurs,” says Flint’s Future is Female Co-Founder, Rachel Johnson. “One of our goals is to encourage a new generation of females to get involved in their community and its organizations. You can be a decisionmaker at the table.”
Athena McKay was in a quandary. While working as a Flint community liaison with Michigan State University, she and other members of the Flint Eats Project steering committee agreed with MSU researcher, Dr. Joshua Introne, that the Flint Eats App they were developing would be best owned and operated by a non-profit organization in Flint. The trouble was, they couldn’t find an organization with the necessary resources and skills. So, they did the only thing they could think of: they started their own. The steering committee became the board of directors for Flint Innovative Solutions (FIS), a 501c3 non-profit. McKay was named executive director with Kathy Roberts as acting board president. “We started out of necessity,” says McKay. “We needed an organization to handle developing and implementing the Flint Eats App, and everything else expanded from there.”
It was a sad occasion for the city of Flint. St. Michael Catholic Church, Genesee County’s oldest Catholic church, permanently closed its doors in December 2020. “It was such a significant church,” says Father Tom Firestone, who has been Pastor of the City (St. Michael’s, St. Matthew’s and St. John Vianney churches) since 2015. “I’m sad. I tried so hard to keep it open. It was the Mother Church of the region dating back to 1843. It was the only Catholic parish in the city of Flint for 67 years.”
John Rhymes, Founder of the Institute of R.H.Y.M.E.S. has been a mentor for many years, making a positive impact on Flint’s young people. Founded in 2002, the nonprofit organization sees the value in everyone. “We want to be a catalyst for positive change,” he says. “Our goal is to equip the future generation with tools and resources to be productive and effective in life.” R.H.Y.M.E.S. stands for Reaching and Helping Young Minorities Excel and Succeed.
The Flint Central Church of the Nazarene has spent the year joyfully celebrating its 100th anniversary! And according to Chief Pastor Rob Prince, while celebrating the past is significant, the best days are ahead! “We are excited about our great past but we have an even better future,” says the pastor. While an official celebration of the milestone was postponed due to the pandemic, a three-day event filled with festivities is set to take place in May 2021.
