At the helm of one of the country’s most respected junior college programs stands Steve Schmidt, Head Coach of the MCC Men’s Basketball team for more than three decades. This spring, he was nominated for induction into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame – the only Junior College representative on a ballot.
After four grueling weeks of rehearsals, months of design and more than a year of imagining the production, the Flint Repertory Theatre will raise the curtain on its first performance of “Ragtime” this month. “Yes! It’s very exciting!” exclaims Producing Artistic Director, Michael Lluberes. “It will be unique – it won’t look like any other ‘Ragtime’ production.”
As the 2022-2023 high school athletics schedules wrapped up for the year, we invited the 25 Genesee County high schools to choose two athletes – one each from their men’s and women’s sports teams – who excelled in both athletics and academics. The responding schools took care in selecting young people who worked hard to earn awards and accolades for their accomplishments.
When Santiago Albiar speaks of golf, his passion for the sport is obvious.
My Bees Nest LLC is the City of Flint’s first local apiary/beekeeping business and is owned and operated by Jason Bey. And what began as a hobby has become a successful enterprise and a life-changing journey for the Flint native. “My hobby turned into a business,” he says with a smile.
Twelve years ago, David Higby was presented with a new challenge. The carpenter and owner of D&H Finish Carpentry was on a job when his client offered him a surprise. “They had an old, rundown wooden boat out back,” he remembers. “They offered it to me and I was interested, so I took it. That’s what started it all.” He took the boat home and started the process of refurbishment (a process still ongoing and finally nearing completion). Intrigued and wanting more, he began researching the history of wooden boats, found a culture he identified with and fell in love with the hobby. That love led to the establishment of Maiden Michigan – an extension of his current business that offers restoration of and/or building of classic and new wooden boats. Today, Higby has restored and rebuilt several historic wooden boats for clients, finished multiple projects of his own, won multiple awards for his work and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. “I guess it all ends when I do,” he says with a chuckle.
Thriving Schools. Thriving Families. Thriving Communities. Thriving Kids. These components make up the core of the new Flint Center for Educational Excellence. And Ja’Nel Jamerson EdD, Executive Director, is working hard to help kids in Flint thrive. The Center, which is expected to be up and running in July, leads and coordinates six cooperative efforts, according to Jamerson. The Center supports two sites and has a partnership with GISD. “We want to make sure Flint kids have access to the highest quality education available,” he says.
Let’s face it – for many of us the care-free, feel-good days of our youth are in the rear-view mirror. Our bones are starting to creak and pop a little, recovery is taking a little longer than we are used to, and we are starting to slow down. We are getting older and understandably, our bodies are beginning to show a little wear and tear, here and there.
When you’re considering a move, determining where you’d like to be isn’t always as easy as it seems. In our local area, we are fortunate to have so many options. Whether it is lake life, downtown living, suburban family life, or the highly-coveted natural setting on a large private rural parcel, there is something for everyone.
Yes, it was a trip of a lifetime. In March, ten lucky students of the Mott Community College Culinary Arts Institute traveled to Spain to study at the Culinary Institute of Barcelona (CIB) for ten days. “This was the first study-abroad trip for Mott Culinary students,” states Chef Mark Handy, an MCC instructor who accompanied the group on their amazing trip.
The crime of human trafficking is at an epidemic level and the statistics are concerning. It is the fastest growing organized crime, estimated to generate $150 billion globally including an annual $32 billion in the United States. There are an estimated 4.8 million victims of sex trafficking in the U.S., 99% of whom are women and young girls. Just over one quarter are children. “The average age of a victim at the onset is between 12 and 14 years old,” says Ashley Chandler, Director of Finance for Prism Project, “and it happens in every zip code.” The outcome for victims of sex trafficking is extremely dire. “The average life expectancy of a victim is seven years,” Chandler adds. “Their deaths could be the result of physical abuse, drug overdose or suicide. Almost 45% of victims die by suicide.” The problem is immense and it is happening right now all over the country.
Heather Hebner’s chicken journey began around ten years ago.
