My City August 2021

PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEF Vince Lorraine

F R O M T H E P U B L I S H E R

E D I T O R I A L MANAGING EDITOR Sherron Barden

A R T & D E S I G N GRAPHIC DESIGNER Brett LaCross

DEAR READERS, Remember being a kid in the summertime ... having fun at a carnival without a care in the world? I feel that the cover photo (by Tim Jagielo) captures that nostalgic, childhood innocence. It was taken at the 6th Annual Flint Water Fest, which was a great success! (See p.58) The word on the street is that Downtown is happening! I look forward to attending the annual events and also publishing photos of people enjoying life in Flint. If you haven’t been Downtown in a while (or ever), we have a sample of the cool things a visitor can experience (p.12), and check out our “Can’t Miss” list of happenings on p.62. On the facing page, the Genesee County Fair highlights their Youth Livestock Auction and the other great grandstand events on the week-long schedule. It’s August and school is back! It’s an exciting time for students pursuing higher education. On many occasions, MCM has highlighted the abundant, top quality academic opportunities right here in Flint. We asked the teams at Kettering University, Mott Community College, Michigan State University Extension and University of Michigan - Flint to provide overviews of their new programs for this year. Whether or not you have someone in your life who is going to college, it’s interesting to read how curricula at these local institutions are evolving to meet the demands of emerging technology and an ever-changing world. See p.18. To complement our “School is Back!” piece, we are introducing a new feature: “7 Questions with …”We begin with a group of local education leaders who agreed to step into the spotlight and share some “personal data” with our readers – just for fun (p.26). No stranger to the spotlight is newly-crowned Miss Michigan’s Outstanding Teen, Rylie Dewley. Read about this Grand Blanc High School student’s journey to fulfilling her dream of pageant success on p.34. Finding success by following the talent and passion he found early in life is our “My Arts” subject, artist James Thigpen, Jr. – his story starts on p.38. Rounding out the August content are food, history, happenings, our great variety of contributed columns and some “furry fun” (p.46). Enjoy! Thanks for reading,

ASSISTANT EDITOR / WR ITER Peter Hinterman

WEB DEVELOPER / GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jonathan Boedecker

STAFF WR ITER Cheryl Denni son

PHOTOGRAPHY Tim Jagielo

FREELANCE WR ITERS Mark Spezia

O P E R A T I O N S

ACCOUNTING/CI RCULATION Kim Davi s

CONTR IBUTING WR ITERS Ed Bradley Er in Caudel l Dr. Christopher Douglas Vera Hogan Joel P. Lagore Alexandr ia Nolan Les l ie Toldo

NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Dan Garman

S A L E S

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Terese Al len

5152 COMMERCE RD. FLINT, MI 48507 810.230.1783 - MYCITYMAG.COM ISSN#1559-3436 is published monthly by My City Magazine, Inc., 5152 Commerce Rd., Flint, MI 48507. Canadian Mail Agreement #41971515. For back issues, inquire for availability. Editorial Cor respondence: Address product information and inquiries to: Editorial Department, My City Magazine, 5152 Commerce Rd., Flint, MI 48507, phone 810.230.1783. To authors, photographers, and people featured in this publication: All materials, articles, reports and photographs in this publication are the property of My City Magazine and cannot be used without written permission. The opinions and conclu sions recited herein are those of the respective authors and not of My City Magazine. My City Magazine is not responsible for returning unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or other materials. Every effort will be made however, to return rejected manuscripts, etc., if they are accompanied by sufficient first-class postage, but the publisher will not be responsible for any loss of such material. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. | Printed in U.S.A.

VINCE LORRAINE PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEF VINCE@MYCITYMAG.COM

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM JAGIELO