Tammy Hall has been named the Employee of the Month for January. Hall has worked at McLaren Port Huron for three years and is a care management analyst in Appeals and Denials.  Hall was nominated by her peers because she lives the hospital values. She is always ready to take on a challenge and does so with a positive attitude. She is a great asset to her department, always ready to lend a hand. Hall assists during vacations and other absences to keep the workflow in her department going. Her attitude and demeanor make her very approachable. She is patient, kind, upbeat, and always has a smile.  This employee recognition is given to individuals who consistently live the values, mission and performance standards of McLaren Port Huron. Honorees are nominated by a co-worker, physician, volunteer, and/or customer.  To learn more about McLaren Port Huron, visit www.mclaren.org/porthuron.

Chakira McCain is the PR and Marketing person for Discount Rx Pharmacy, a privately owned pharmacy,  located inside the Lake Huron Medical Center in Fort Gratiot at 4190 24th Avenue, Suite 100.  The pharmacy is a member of the Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce in Port Huron and have been in our area for about two years.  While the main store is in Flint, Chakira talked with WGRT’s Cathie Martin about the services Discount Pharmacy offers at this location. She says they are a full-service pharmacy, and along with regular prescriptions, they offer free delivery, free vitamins once a month for both adults and children and compliance packaging means they will package all of a person’s medications in a daily blister pack — so they don’t have to juggle pill bottles or spend time moving meds from their vials to pill boxes.  The packaged meds come with information about what the meds are, which doctor prescribed them and how they are to be taken – all this at no extra charge.   On Tuesdays, she says, it is Senior’s day – all seniors sixty years of age and older receive a 15% discount on over the counter items.  Charkira states that they accept prescriptions from all doctors, not strictly those with offices in the building.  Regular pharmacy hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Content was sponsored through the Blue Water Chamber of Commerce)

The Annual St. Clair County 4-H Council Auction is on Saturday, February 23 at Goodells County Park!  The sale starts at 10 am and goes until all items are gone.  All proceeds stay in the county to support 4-H programming.  A community service project called “Operation 4-H Cares” – Mission Feeding our Community is an ongoing project that you can help with.  Here are two opportunities for 4-H to give back to our community.  Number one is, Kiss the Mini Horse Challenge.  Someone will kiss the mini horse named “Boozy” for a good cause. Kiss the mini horse challenge will take place at the 4-H Council Auction. How does it work? 4-H Council Board Member Tim Warchuck and President of the Fair Board Rob Usakowski will compete to see who can collect the most money (votes) to kiss “Boozy” the mini horse. All proceeds will be donated to Mid-City Nutrition Soup Kitchen.  Number two is, Operation 4-H Cares non-perishable food collection.  Please bring your non-perishable food item to the auction. Items will be collected at the auction and donated to Mid-City Nutrition Soup Kitchen. Wish list items include but are not limited to the following.

Paper products like paper towels and toilet paper
Dish soap
Bottled water
Sugar
Fruit snacks

St. Clair County Community College will hold its 17^th annual Free College Day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 16, on its Port Huron campus.  This college-wide community outreach program offers a day of free, hourlong classes for children and adults covering a wide range of subjects, including science, technology, arts, business and much more. Classes will be led by SC4 faculty, staff and community members volunteering their time to share their expertise and experiences with the community.  Classes begin at 9 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. While each class is completely free and open to the public, pre-registration is required. Those interested in attending can find full class details and register online at sc4.edu/freecollege.
There also are drop-in sessions that require no registration, including hands-on activities in the Experience Center and its Dr. Bassam H. Nasr Natural Science Museum, opportunities to climb the SC4 Tower, and chances to experience the artwork at the SC4 Fine Arts Gallery.  The SC4 cafeteria will be open during the events. To maximize class time, attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch or preorder a lunch through the link on the Free College Day website.   For questions about Free College Day, contact Debbie Sta Cruz at 810-989-5709 or dstacruz@sc4.edu.

McMorran Place Sports and Entertainment Center has the opportunity to host a preseason NHL game and win $150,000 in upgrades by winning the Kraft Hockeyville USA grand prize.  Established in Canada in 2006, 2019 marks the fifth year for the Kraft Hockeyville USA competition. Ice arenas across the country compete in the contest to earn the title of Hockeyville USA by showing the community’s true devotion to hockey. Community members may participate in the contest nominating McMorran by adding or reacting to a story, photograph, video, adding a note or sharing to Twitter.  Eighty percent of the scoring relies on the community story score. Hockeyville has dedicated a large percentage of the scoring to the each arenas’
story because without stories the context to the added photographs and videos is lost. Stories include answers to the questions: “Tell us about your community spirit and passion for hockey.” “Can you describe an example of how this came to life?” “Tell us about your rink. Why is it important to your community and how would the $150,000 be best used to upgrade the rink?” and “Why should your community be the next Kraft Hockeyville USA 2019?” Adding a story
is 10 points whereas reacting to a photo, video, story or adding a note is one point. The more points McMorran has the better chances of becoming a top four finalist.  The deadline to nominate McMorran is March 2. If the judges select McMorran as one of the final four arenas with the possibility of winning the grand prize a voting round will open March 30 at 7 a.m. and will close on March 31 at 11 a.m.  The grand prize winner is awarded $150,000 in arena upgrades and an opportunity to host a preseason NHL game with possible coverage from NBC. First runner up will receive $30,000 in grants and two second runner up will receive $10,000 in grants.  McMorran Place arena came close to winning Hockeyville’s grand prize in 2018 placing in the top 10. Lakeview Arena in Marquette, Mich. won the 2016 Hockeyville grand prize using the winning to purchase exterior signs, rebuilding the compressor which is necessary to create ice, and repairs to the Zamboni and lights.  McMorran Place, located in the heart of Port Huron’s downtown, is a civic center for the arts and community providing entertainment at an
affordable cost. Hosting several elegant and successful conventions, trade shows, concerts, banquets, ice shows, corporate meetings, seminars, and hockey for all ages, McMorran is the one stop spot for thrilling events, memory making rentals, and thriving community events. The McMorran Complex is owned by the City of Port Huron. The complex consists of an arena, an auditorium and multi-purpose rooms for rent. For more information please visit mcmorran.com or call (810) 985-6166.