Dear Readers,
On the cover is our 2020 Cityzen of the Year! A true and dedicated public servant, his face is well-known to Greater Flint residents: my longtime friend, Genesee County Sheriff, Christopher Swanson. He invited My City into his home to capture a festive holiday image with his lovely wife Jamie and their sons, Riley and Jordan. The year 2020 was an eventful one for Chris.
Always helping to guide the community, especially through uncertain and difficult times, are the leaders of local places of worship. There is so much history in Greater Flint’s many churches, particularly the one featured this month in a “My Community” piece. Flint Central Church of the Nazarene is still thriving in its 100th year!
From the old to the new – last month, Downtown Flint welcomed the Hilton Garden Inn to Saginaw St., the latest project of Uptown Reinvestment Corporation. It’s a beautiful facility and when things return to “normal,” it will be a fantastic addition to the city.
Team My City always enjoys highlighting the various exceptional talents of Greater Flint cityzens, and we never seem to run out of subjects! National Violin Day is celebrated this month (I’m a big fan) and we have a “My Music” profile of Flint Symphony Orchestra Violinist, Alicia Byrd Johnson. She recently retired after 37 years of teaching at the Flint School of Performing Arts. And, the “My Sports” piece highlights two masters of the basketball court: Flint’s own stars of the 2020 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, Kyle Kuzma and JaVale McGee – it’s a pretty big deal for Flint!
At this moment, the status of air travel is certainly “up in the air” (I went there); however, Bishop International Airport has acquired up-to-the-minute technology in order to offer the community a safer experience. Check out the “My Tech” piece.
As always, we embraced the Christmas season in this issue. Last December, we featured 14 pages of faces – people attending events and supporting local charities. As we all know, those “happenings” were canceled this year. In October, the 12th annual Hurley Pink Night Palooza was a virtual fundraiser, one of the few that managed to take place despite COVID restrictions. The health crisis has hit most local charitable organizations particularly hard; as you consider your year-end giving, be as generous as you possibly can. We have a few ideas for you.
From the MCM family to yours, we wish you holidays filled with love, health and happiness.
Thank you for reading,
