George James

The former CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce (DRC), Richard E. Blouse, will be coming to the Blue Water area with a Business Leader Series program in the coming weeks. Blouse, who is nationally recognized in organizational management, will bring panel speakers with him who will share their expertise, as well. 

Thelma Castillo, CEO and President of the Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce and a former employee of Blouse, said, “Dick was a boss that empowered his employees to do the best to their abilities, and he gave them the tools to be successful. He invested in his employees, and wanted them to have the best work environment.” Castillo was managing and overseeing the human resource department at the DRC under Mr. Blouse.  She added, “During his leadership the Detroit Chamber he grew it to be the largest chamber in the country.” The Business Leader Series will take place at the Doubletree on Thursday, October 24th beginning at 11:30. Tickets are available through the Blue Water Chamber office.

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley.

St. Clair County Community College’s Board of Trustees has filled a vacant board seat.  The vacancy was filled at a special meeting on Tuesday evening at the college with Brad Gudme of Emmett being appointed to fill the seat. Gudme is the Superintendent of Memphis Schools, and was selected from the 13 who applied for the position. 

Gudme is slated to serve for approximately 15 months with his term expiring on December 31st, 2020. Gudme said, he is “honored and very excited to have been selected for the SC4 Board of Trustees.” He added that he hopes his “experiences in education and interactions with the college through dual enrollment and the Blue Water Middle College Academy will bring value to the board.” Gudme finished by saying his aim is to increase awareness of SC4 and all of the outstanding resources it has to offer to the community.

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley.

The Council on Aging, Inc. serving St. Clair County has a program to help seniors eat a healthy meal at a local restaurant while spending time socializing with one another. The program,called Friends Eating and Socializing Together (FEAST), if for those that are 60 and  older. Participants can stop by the Council’s downtown Port Huron location and obtain a coupon to eat at the Four Star Grille Restaurant in Marysville. 

The suggested donation for the voucher is $3 and can be used on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 to 2 pm at the Four Star.  Associate Administrator for the Council on Aging, Jyme Hager said, “several seniors take advantage of the program, and they don’t even have to be a St. Clair County resident.” Family members or friends under the age of 60 can join the senior, but are responsible to pay the full price. Hager explained that money from the council makes up a portion of the payment to the restaurant, and the seniors are asked to leave a tip. Hager ended by saying, “The program helps the seniors get a good quality meal at a good price.”

Reporting for WGRT, Mike Smith.

On Monday, Astronaut Captain Mark Kelly was in Port Huron as  the featured speaker at the first Port Huron Town Hall of the year.  Kelly spoke about his 50 days in space during his four missions. Rosella Mirabelli, President of Port Huron Town Hall, shared with WGRT highlights of Kelly’s speech. She said many of  Captain Kelly’s stories focused on the experiences he shared with his family. 

He shared about his twin brother Scott was also an astronaut and spent nearly a year in space as well as their parents who were both police officers. Kelly said his mother decided later in life to become a police officer, and Kelly watched her work hard to achieve her goals. According to Kelly, that is what fueled him to always work hard toward his own goals. Kelly also spoke about his wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who was shot in an assisination attempt in 2011. He spoke of how the experience forever changed their lives. Kelly’s last assignment was as the Commander of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. When asked about Kelly’s speech, Mirabelli said, “He was fabulous.” The Port Huron Town Hall series will continue next month with broadcast journalist, Steve Hartman.

Reporting for WGRT, Mike Smith.

The Harvest Gathering encourages employees at McLaren Port Huron to collect food items and funds to donate to the needy in the area every year. The collection has been held for several years, and this year a record was broken. McLaren Port Huron Volunteer Coordinator, Mary Lou Kraft said the group of employees collected almost 17,000  pounds of food along with $2600 in cash. Kraft weighed the donated food several times to make sure the amounts were correct. To encourage donation efforts, the local hospital divided up into teams for a friendly competition to see which team could collect the most. Team McKenna beat out Team World by over 4000 pounds. Kraft said she was overwhelmed with the generosity and was extremely grateful

The original goal  was to break 15,000 pounds in donated food. The food and cash were donated to Mid-City Nutrition and the Blue Water Community Food Depot.

Reporting for WGRT, Mike Smith

The Council of Michigan Foundations held the 47th  annual conference this week at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. Six board members and three staff members from the Community Foundation of St. Clair County attended the event. The conference focused on equity, partnership, and impact. Community Foundation Vice President Jackie Hanton said “impact investing” was one of the hot topics at the conference. She explained that impact investing is a financial tool that compliments grantmaking at the foundation. 

In terms of “impact investing” at the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, Hanton  said, “The Community Capital Club, which is part of the foundation, leads local impact investing and contributes to the general prosperity of the region by helping worthwhile early stage and growth companies succeed.” Hanton said the group from the foundation that was at the conference was “busy learning, and sharing stories of philanthropic leadership through impact investing and connecting with peers in their field.”

Reporting for WGRT, Mike Smith.