Amid the sounds of dribbling and squeaking sneakers, Keno Davis, first-year coach of the second-year Flint United professional basketball team, outlined his vision for the program.
A familiar face around Greater Flint, Lelsie Toldo has been a meteorologist with Mid-Michigan NOW since May 2015. “I’ve been reporting the weather in mid-Michigan since 2004,” she says. She got her start reporting the weather in Casper, WY and worked in Detroit for seven years, in Jackson, MS and at another mid-Michigan station for a total of 31 years in the field of broadcasting.
On December 21, 2021 founder of GoodBoy Clothing Oaklin Mixon passed away. As Christians worldwide began to celebrate the birth of the Light of the World, our community began to mourn the loss of one of its brightest lights.
Appointed executive director in 2014, Tauzzari Robinson has held various key roles with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Flint since 2009. Having been a Club member as a kid in Ohio, he credits that experience as having a significant impact on his life.
Cheryl Golidy has a knack for identifying the needs of her community and helping the underserved. As a nurse and caregiver, her goals are always met with compassion, understanding and the drive to support those in need. So, when she attended a conference and training session on human trafficking in Detroit, the next step for her to take in life was revealed. “I had to learn more. I had so many questions,” she states. “I spoke to the head of the organization who gave the presentation and asked for more information. They invited me to take part in their outreach program, learn how to identify those being trafficked and how to help them. I was with the program for six or seven months.” After her training, Golidy returned to Flint with a mission. “Human trafficking is a problem and a big problem in Flint,” she explains. “I’ve seen all kinds of things during training and as I ride down streets in Flint, I can spot the problem quickly.”
When the Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, the soldiers and members of the upper ranks slowly journeyed back to their homes and returned to normal daily routines. When they returned to Flint, the lumber and milling industry was booming and storefronts were opened up and down Saginaw Street selling wares from dry goods to textiles. With the addition of the railroad, Flint was becoming a destination for commerce. Near the end of the 1860s, the carriage business began booming with other companies joining the Randall Carriage Company (est. 1858) in the market, setting Flint on its path toward becoming “Vehicle City.” During this time, the mayors of the city were an odd mix of professionals and businessmen from lumber barons to doctors and war veterans.
On February 12, the Flint Symphony Orchestra will continue the 2021-2022 season’s Classical Concert Series, “RENEWAL The Timeless Healing Power of Music Inspired by Nature.” The FSO and Maestro Enrique Diemecke will be joined by multi-award-winning Steinway Artist, Alessio Bax.
From her first enthusiastic “hello” to her closing “stay beautiful and stay safe,” Heather Maxwell’s love for African music and culture fills each and every episode of “Music Time in Africa” as well as every day of her life. “I love the rhythm of African music and how it is used and appreciated in the community,” she says. “For Africans, music is a very communal thing. There, people view music as a natural extension of being human.”
They may be few in number, but their energy levels, enthusiasm and dedication are seemingly limitless.
Passionate, creative, and learner. Whether it’s my work at the AAHC or organizing in my community, I have found that my passion not only brings more meaning to my work but also sustains it. This passion has also allowed me to bring forward creative solutions to the challenges that arise within our organization and with my work on the ground. In every role I take on, I have learned that when we tap into our community’s expertise, talent and ideas, we can bring forward meaningful change that will allow us to build a transformative and sustainable future together. My passion, creativity and commitment to lifelong learning have better positioned me in my work as an organizer and my future as executive director.
After the establishment of the Michigan School for the Deaf, the building of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, and 44 years after Jacob Smith built his trading post at the Grand Traverse of the Flint River, the growing village of Flint became a city. After reaching a population of 2,000 in 1855, Flint was quickly becoming a center of commerce and industry in Michigan. Soon after being incorporated as a city, the first municipal elections were held on April 2, 1855 in the city’s three early wards. The next day, Grant Decker became the first Mayor of Flint.
In May of 2018, G.H.O.S.T. (Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team) was initiated by Genesee County Sheriff (when he was undersheriff) with authority granted by then-Sheriff Robert Pickell. The County Sheriff had been involved with a West Coast international organization that supports enforcement of human trafficking laws and the rescue of sex trafficking victims through the use of special forces. A year prior, he took a trip to Haiti where he worked with an intel-gathering group. Some women from Europe had been promised employment at a five-star resort in the Dominican Republic and instead, their passports were taken from them, they were put on a bus and shipped to Haiti where they were trafficked for sex 24 hours-a-day.
