My City June 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, This month marks our eighth anniversary – nearly 100 issues (ac tually, more than 100 when you count our quarterly Wellness maga zines.) Our team is dedicated to creating a quality publication and the feedback we get confirms it. Last year, our seventh anniversary passed without fanfare due to lockdown – we couldn’t produce a June issue. That sure seems like a long time ago. We’re always excited to reveal the winners of our annual City’s Choice Awards (p.10). If you were one of the many who took the time to vote, thank you! If you or your company are a winner, congratulations! I’m sure you have seen the many Hurley Medical Center billboards in the area proudly displaying the MCMWellness Awards crest.We encourage the City’s Choice winners to reach out to our team if they want to use the “Winner” crest in their marketing. Simply email graphics@mycitymag.com. Speaking of winners, the Genesee County Jail I.G.N.I.T.E. initia tive is winning at addressing generational incarceration. Started less than a year ago, the education, re-entry and rehabilitation initiative has involved over 1,000 inmates with nearly 500 enrolled in the Michigan GED program this school year. Fantastic! Read more about it on p.18. It’s definitely time for stories about great things to do outdoors in Michi gan. “My Hobby” takes me back to my fly-fishing days ... maybe I can make time for that again someday. Check out the piece on the Charles A. Fellows Chapter of Michigan Trout Unlimited and their very noble purpose (p.36). Shifting gears from a quiet river to a busy recording studio, our “My Mu sic” piece profilesTha Beast Lani – ten-year-old Milan Reaves – a little girl chasing a dream of being a hip hop star (p.26). Check out our history piece on Flint Northern High School, “Home of the State Champions” (p.44) and the local nonprofit, Clara’s Hope, is highlighted on p.20 in “My Outreach.” Our outreach pieces are always so inspiring; this led us to create My City Cares last year. The second annual publication is included in this issue. So, when you finish reading this letter, flip your magazine over and upside down … cool, right? We’re excited to report that “Happenings” are starting to return, including many listed in the Cares pages that local charitable organi zations have scheduled for the coming months. Of course, MCM was on hand for the action at the Flint City Bucks home opener AND a brand new Back to the Bricks kickoff event. Things are happening again in Greater Flint – get out there and 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 EXECUTIVES Terese Al len Vincent Turchi

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 DHANU3182 / STOCK.ADOBE.COM