For David Custer, presenting the truth is everything – both as a journalist and personally. As the head news anchor at WNEM TV5 since 2016 and an openly gay man, he has hidden nothing from his viewing audience. Every night, Custer, alongside his friend and co-anchor Meg McLeod anchors the 5pm, 5:30pm, 6pm and 10pm broadcasts, providing up-to-date news bulletins and stories ranging from tragic to inspiring. His reporting has earned him seven regional Emmy Awards, several Associated Press and Michigan Association of Broadcasters Awards, and the Great Lakes Bay Region’s Ruby Award as one of the brightest professionals under the age of 40. His personality, style and local storytelling has won him the coveted My City Magazine City’s Choice Award for Best News Anchor for the last six years. (As of this writing, Custer was nominated for 5 more Emmy Awards.)“It is the job of the journalist to seek the truth, to hold people accountable and expose corruption,” he states. “It is our responsibility to accurately tell a story as it is and hold nothing back.” This is always true of Custer: even when the story is his own.
When I was in kindergarten, I distinctly remember wanting to be a doctor! I even remember dressing up as one for career day. That dream changed in middle school after I visited the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a friend. (Her parents were alumni.) If you have seen the U of M law campus, then you know: it’s gorgeous. I fell in love and decided at that moment I was going to be an attorney. My parents thought this was a great choice, as I loved to argue with them!
A 15-time World Kuk Sool Association (WSKA) Grand Champion and 5th Degree Black Belt (Master), Kenneth Wright has traveled the world practicing and honing his art. He has trained at the Baek Dam Sa Temple in South Korea, in Seoul and in GyeongJu, in Canada and across the United States. He has taught side-by-side with Kuk Sool martial arts founder and Grand Master, Hyuk Suh. But of all his accomplishments and accolades, the one that means the most to him is obtaining the title of Kwan Jahng Nim which gives him the ability to correct – to teach. That, and his unwavering faith, gives him true purpose. “Teaching and working with my students are in the wind for me to do,” he smiles. “I feel it is my calling in life from God. My goal is to help people change their destiny in a way they are proud of.”
For many years, Shelley Spivack has been an advocate in the legal system for children and their families. Recently, Voices for Children Advocacy Center recognized her dedication with a special award – the Roy E. Patterson Caring Adult Award – sponsored by Hurley Medical Center. The honor is given to adults who go beyond the call of duty to provide services for youth in Genesee County.
The time period between 1901 and 1912 was characterized by an explosion of population and industry in Flint – the fastest growing city in the nation. Buggy, road cart and car production dominated business. In 1908, Billy Durant and friends started the General Motors Corporation and propelled the city’s economy into the stratosphere. Flint was overrun with migrant workers from all over the United States, each arriving with the hope of gaining and maintaining steady employment. In 1905, the Golden Jubilee Celebration marked the city’s 50th anniversary which brought out every major player in the city including mayors – past, present and future.
Kay Schwartz, Director of the Flint Public Library (FPL), remembers February 29, 2020 like it was yesterday. “That was the last day the old FPL was open to the public. It was two weeks before the start of the pandemic and we served nearly 2,000 people that day,” she shares. The next day, the FPL was closed and a complete overhaul and renovation of the facility began.
Warm weather has settled in and it’s time to hit the road with the fam! Michigan is home to a great variety of destinations for any interest and there are many out there that most people have never visited or even knew existed. We have gathered a list of day trip (or weekend) suggestions that are sure to encourage some fun photo ops and memories. Hold onto your hats … adventure awaits!
She became interested in art at a young age, watching her grandfather and father create art with cut glass and stained glass. “I saw creative work being done,” she remembers. One day, while in elementary school, Denise Willing-Booher was reading the comics and on a whim decided to draw “Dennis the Menace.” “And, I did!” she exclaims. “I amazed myself. I just kept doing it. It is a God-given talent, I believe.”
As the century ended, Flint was poised to explode in both vehicle production and population. Carriages were going strong and utility companies were beginning to spring up around the city offering power to businesses and individual households. The mayors of this time period acted as stewards to the city’s upcoming growth and economic strength. At the turn of the century, an automobile hit Saginaw Street for the first time and forever change the city’s future, while one mayor would add something that would become iconic and central to Flint’s character.
Aside from the usual “kid jobs” of shoveling driveways and mowing lawns in my neighborhood at a very young age, I got my first job when I was 14 years old. I sorted bottles and cans, bagged groceries and retrieved shopping carts from the parking lot at Double D Supermarket, which was located in Flint near the corner of Pierson and Jennings Roads. It was a great job for a young kid. I made a game out of most of my job duties, which helped pass the time. It’s important to have fun at work and that’s a view I still hold to this day for myself and my team at ELGA Credit Union.
A group of like-minded Christians, the Flint Mission Network operates with the goal of enacting systemic change within the community. Their mission: “Proclaiming the Gospel, empowering neighbors, and lifting one another up.” And according to Assistant Director Rachel Siemen, this is accomplished by offering compassionate care, skill-developing programs and Gospel-centered teaching. The Network is comprised of two missions: Franklin Avenue Mission, York Mission and partner ministries Mercy House and the Luke Clinic.
