My City January 2022

MYLOOKBACK

April cont.

Building on Tradition: Flint United Basketball Basketball and Flint go hand-in-hand and its reputa- tion for the game is legendary. “Basketball is a sport syn- onymous with Flint and we want to continue the tradi- tion," said Kevin Mays, Team Market Owner of the Flint United Basketball franchise. Flint and sports have always

been a big part of Mays’ life. He was a standout athlete at Carman-Ainsworth, an athlete at Central Michigan University, spent time as the director of sales for the Flint Firebirds and worked with the National Champion Flint City Bucks. He loves the city and has always wanted to contribute to its growth. “A pro- fessional team in Flint just made perfect sense,” Mays added.

her mother Debra is also involved in the organization. Well of Hope’s largest undertaking is “Blessed To Be A Blessing,” a free „anksgiving Dinner open to all Flint residents. “I had a literal dream,”Chia Morgan shares. “In 2009, I dreamed about a „anksgiving dinner with all of the xings that we served to the com- munity. I woke up and told a friend about it, that I was going to make my dream happen.”And, she did!

Well of Hope: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

„is Flint nonpro…t was found- ed in February 2005 and incor- porated in 2006. Since then, the organization has oŒered programs that help break down barriers to education for children and unify families.„e group is run by the Morgan family: Chia Morgan is Program Coordinator and Treasurer; her father Will is the president and

may

Country Artist, Miko Marks At age ve, Marks was a regular on stage at Flint’s Church of God in Christ, belting out beloved gospel songs. “I would close my eyes when singing in church because I would look out and see people crying,” she says. “I didn’t quite understand it at the time, but later realized they were only happy tears and that God was using my voice to reach them.” Marks’ passion for using her singing talent to entertain, touch hearts and soothe souls was born. She spent the next 25 years honing her gift. In March 2021, she released Our Coun- try , her rst album in 14 years.

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