Recently, LinkedIn analyzed hundreds of thousands of job postings to decide which skills companies need most in 2019. How does that list compare to what West Michigan employers need? We asked a couple of them their thoughts.
The 5 most in-demand soft skills in 2019:
soft skill: personal attributes, personality traits and communication abilities needed for success in a job. They characterize how a person interacts with others.
5. Time Management
4. Adaptability
3. Collaboration
2. Persuasion
1. Creativity
“I would move adaptability closer to the top,” said Alison Giardini, caregiver recruiter, Senior Helpers. “It’s such an important skill. The more you can adapt to in the workplace, the more quickly you’ll move forward in your career.”
The best way to showcase your soft skills initially is through your cover letter. Share a story or situation that demonstrates your strengths. For example: how you buffered a conflict, received a perfect attendance award or had your idea implemented by the company. The interview will give you an additional opportunity to highlight your soft skills.
The 5 most in-demand hard skills in 2019:
hard skill: a specific, teachable skill that can be defined and measured like reading, math and writing.
5. UX Design
4. People Management
3. Analytical Reasoning
2. Artificial Intelligence
1. Cloud Computing
“All of these would make up the ideal employee,” said Joe Howard III, co-owner, Junk King. “This list is very in-tune with today’s market.”
Do you need some new hard skills? Our career coaches can connect you to trainings for high-demand careers in manufacturing, health care, construction and IT. Sometimes scholarships are available too.
Alison and Joe are hiring. Interested in taking your hard and/or soft skills to their company? Click here to see jobs at Senior Helpers and Junk King.
Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.
“I loved sugar, and I still do,” says Kelsey Haynes, a community relations specialist for Spectrum Health. (Photo by Taylor Ballek, Spectrum Health Beat)
No candy or cookies. No soda pop. No hazelnut syrup in your coffee.
The idea filled Kelsey Haynes with dread at first. A self-described “sugar addict,” she didn’t know how she could give up her sweet ways.
But three weeks into a sugar-free challenge, she likes the results. She’s lost a few pounds. She feels energized. She has broken her afternoon candy-jar habit.
“I loved sugar, and I still do,” she says. “I just don’t crave it. It’s changing my habits.”
Sugar-free challenges are popping up on the internet lately, urging folks to cut added sweeteners from their diets for a set period of time, as a growing number of health advocates identify added sugars as a prime culprit behind rising obesity and diabetes rates.
Haynes followed a suggestion from a New York Times columnist, who advised readers to try going a month without sugar.
Most sugar-free campaigns don’t target the sugars naturally found in fruit and dairy products.
They focus on the sweet stuff added to food to make our taste buds happy. Sugar lurks in some surprising places―bread, crackers, ketchup, breakfast cereal, salad dressing and pasta sauce―that don’t seem at all sweet.
Low-calorie artificial sweeteners are eliminated in the sugar-free challenge, as well, because they help fuel the sweet-tooth habit.
“A 30-day (no-added-sugar) challenge is not such a bad idea,” says Christy McFadden, MS, RDN, a dietitian and supervisor of medical nutrition therapy for Spectrum Health. “I think people can learn a lot about how much sugar is in the food that they are eating.”
Haynes meal preps her health lunches to bring to work. Picture above is her cauliflower rice recipe. (Photo by Taylor Ballek, Spectrum Health Beat)
The challenge requires people to read nutrition labels and discover the many ways sweeteners appear in prepared food. Instead of sugar, the ingredients might include honey, agave, nectar, molasses, cane juice or sucrose―all forms of added sweeteners.
“Fifty-seven things are actually sugar on a label,” McFadden says.
With sugar incorporated into so many foods, people can develop a preference for the sweet stuff without realizing it.
“We want to eat more of it or want to overeat in general,” she says. “When we go away from that for a while and make a conscious effort to avoid it, you can retrain your taste buds to prefer other foods or just not love sugar so much.”
The 10 percent guideline
Haynes, a community relations specialist for Spectrum Health, has long been interested in nutrition and fitness. She already read nutrition labels and had a good idea of the amount of sugar in food.
But she still struggled with a longing for sweets.
“When people would ask me what my favorite sugar was, my answer would be, ‘Yes,’” she says. “That sugar packet on the table―I would open it up and eat it.”
Eliminating added sugars helped her focus on more nutritious options.
“I still eat a decent amount of sugar in fruit form,” she says.
A typical morning smoothie consists of kale, ginger, chia seeds, kefir, a half-banana and an orange.
She also developed an efficient way to plan a week’s worth of meals and snacks―to keep her healthy eating plan on track. She keeps menus and matching grocery lists on file in her computer, so she can print up a list before she heads to the store.
McFadden says the focus on healthier foods is a key benefit of a short-term no-sugar challenge.
Haynes has long been interested in nutrition and fitness. With a serious sweet tooth, she wasn’t sure she could give up her sweet ways. But three weeks into a sugar-free challenge, she likes the results. (Photo by Taylor Ballek, Spectrum Health Beat)
“I think it does force you to make healthier choices for a while and be conscious of that, too,” she says.
Americans get 13 percent of their calories from added sugar. But they should keep it under 10 percent, according to federal dietary guidelines.
Going beyond that point could mean either consuming excess calories or not eating enough nutritious foods.
For those aiming to limit sugar intake, upcoming changes in food labels will help. By July 2017, the Food and Drug Administration will require manufacturers to list added sugars on the labels for most foods. The labels must state the amount of sugar in grams and as a percent of daily calories.
The ultimate goal of a no-sugar challenge should not be to avoid all types of sugar forever, McFadden says. It should be to develop a healthy diet―one that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins.
“Milk, yogurt and fruit have a lot of natural sugars. It’s not a pure evil,” she says. “But they come with all these other nutrients. In soda pop, there’s nothing there except sugar.”
GRS Symphony Music Director Marcelo Lehninger (Supplied)
WKTV Staff
This week, both the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre have announced free tickets to federal government employees who have been furloughed or are working without pay due to the government shutdown.
“The Grand Rapids Symphony is a community supported orchestra, and it’s our duty and privilege to support our community as well,” said Grand Rapids Symphony Vice President of Marketing and Communications Denise Lubey.
“Music not only is one of our greatest pleasures, it’s one of our greatest sources of comfort in trying times,” Lubey said. “Music nourishes the soul and lifts the spirts. It sustains us when we’re sad and entertains us when we need to set aside the worries of the day.”
More than 22 percent of all federal employees in Michigan totaling about 5,700 workers currently are affected by the shutdown in the Great Lake State.
For the Grand Rapids Symphony, federal employees who are affected by the shutdown may receive up to two free tickets to any upcoming Symphony concert. The exception is “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” on Feb. 1-2, which is sold out. The Grand Rapids Symphony also is offering four free tickets for any of its upcoming Family series or Lollipop concerts to affected workers and their families. Federal employees will be asked to provide their job and office or agency for confirmation.
Grand Rapids Civic Theatre presents “And Then There Were None” through Jan. 27. (Civic Theatre)
The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is offering two tickets to its current production “And Then There Were None,” which runs through Jan. 27. Federal employees must show their federal ID for the tickets.
Advance tickets are available at civic’s box office, which is located at 30 N. Division Ave., or the night of the performance. For more information, call 222-6650.
New Guinea is the second-largest island in the world, located north of Australia, from which it was separated after the last ice age. The island has a complicated history, and presently is split into two halves: the west side is divided into two provinces of Indonesia, (Papua and West Papua), and the eastern half is the independent country of Papua New Guinea. Amazingly, the just over 7 million people on the island are divided up into almost 1,000 different tribes, each with its own language. It is the most linguistically diverse spot on the planet. Corazza’s book focuses on the unique photographic depiction of these endangered cultures, with succinct commentary. Some of it just seems truly bizarre, as if the author had dropped in on another planet altogether, but maybe that’s what they would say about us. In any case, Corazza provides unforgettable images for the armchair traveler.
Caring for Your Parents: The Complete Family Guide,by Hugh Delehanty
The title says it all: this is an excellent guide put together from AARP. It covers the full gamut of important areas, from the physical, to emotional, financial, legal, support systems, living arrangements, and more. This book is a really good one to start with if you are looking ahead, or if you are involved in caregiver issues now.
The Complete Legal Guide to Senior Care, by Brette McWhorter Sember, ATT
No one wants to deal with legal issues as we or our parents get older, but we need to do it. Once you’ve taken care of some of these legalities, you’ll feel much better, and this guide will help you to understand in plain English, the best ways to protect yourself and your loved ones as we/they age.
Essential Do’s and Taboos: The Complete Guide to International Business and Leisure Travel, by Roger E. Axtell
Whether you are traveling for business or fun, this is a handy guide. The New Yorker says, “Roger Axtell is an internationalist Emily Post.” He’s written nine other books on this subject, and travels and lectures extensively on up-to-the-minute protocol and civility for other cultures.
Insects & Flowers: The Art of Maria Sibylla Merian, by Maria Sibylla Merian
Born in 1647, in Frankfurt, Maria grew up to become a renowned botanical and entomological artist. When the J. Paul Getty Museum hosted an exhibition of her work last summer, they published a small, delightful book that reproduces some of the color plates in her larger works. It’s like looking at separate tiny pieces of an amazing world. You’ll want to know all about this unusual woman and her work after taking a peek at this lovely book.
Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl, by Stacey O’Brien
Just couldn’t put this one down! Who knew that owls were so interesting to read about? Not just another “me and my pet” story, but filled with insights into animal life and intelligence. When Stacey was working as a student researcher at CalTech, she brought home a four-day owlet to raise, and it turned into a 19-year relationship, as she went on to become a research biologist. Her memoir, written after her own extreme health crisis, and the final, peaceful death of Wesley from very old age, was cathartic and healing for her, and as a completed work is fascinating for us to share. Professional reviewers and Amazon readers gave it 5 stars.
Deer World, by Dave Taylor
The only improvement here would be if this book were even bigger! It really is about a deer’s whole world, and all the other animals in it, for an entire year. For example, in the May 13th entry, Taylor begins, “The name ‘moose’ is an Ojibwa-Cree term meaning ‘twig-eater’, followed by what moose are up to in mid-May, and several photos. The photographs of deer, bear, opossums, foxes, coyotes, wolves, wild hogs (to name just a few) are very good ones, maybe because the author has written 35 books on wildlife, has guided many photo-safaris, and presently works in wildlife education in Ontario. Taylor’s many fans will delight in this new book.
The Primate Family Tree: The Amazing Diversity of Our ClosestRelatives, by Ian Redmond
A beautifully illustrated guide to the more than 270 species of primates from the four main groups (prosimians, New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and apes), and a great starting point to learn more about them. Redmond’s text condenses a lifetime of experience into interesting commentaries on each animal, and it’s place in the ecosystem. His descriptions are accessible and thought provoking. For instance, he talks about primates as the “gardeners of the forest,” and all that that entails, which was a very new way of looking at primates for me. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself wanting to know a lot more about primates, and getting many more books on them, after reading this one.
No one is great at something the first time they try it. Success comes from hard work, practice and, yes, even failure. When young children are learning to walk they have to fall down again and again and again in order to master the balance they need to stand upright (and even then, they will still fall down). When learning to feed themselves, tie their shoes or master long division, children have to try, practice and learn from their missteps and try again in order to master their new skills. You can help your child learn from their failures and use those failures to work towards great successes.
Encourage your child to take risks and try new things. Trying new things can be scary, especially if we are worried that if we try, we will ultimately fail. Give your child encouragement to try things outside of their comfort zone, and attempt things they might not be good at right away. By taking risks and trying new things, your child can overcome their fear of failing and learn that when you take risks, you learn so many new things and practice new skills.
Emphasize your child’s efforts. Not every effort will result in success. When your child is trying to draw a unicorn for the first time, it likely won’t be a perfect picture. This may be discouraging for your child, but try focusing on emphasizing their efforts. You can talk about their work they put into the project, “You worked so hard on this drawing. You tried something new, you did your best! I’m proud of you for working so hard!” Remind your child that great things happen over time; even famous artists start with a rough draft.
Teach problem-solving skills. Failure often makes us feel stuck and can make someone feel like giving up. Teach your child that through hard work and effort, you can work to solve problems. If they are trying to learn a new skateboarding trick and they just can’t seem to pick it up, help them think about what they can do to solve their problem. Is there someone who knows that trick who can help them? Can they watch a video on YouTube that will help them figure out what they need to do differently? Help your child think about what they can do to keep working and trying.
Value hard work. Show your child that you value hard work by noticing it happen all around you. Notice those who work hard around you and in your child’s life. Point out the construction workers who are working hard in rain to repair the roads. Write a thank-you note to your mail carrier who works extra hard during the holiday season to help deliver gifts and goodies. Showing gratefulness and appreciation for those that work hard will show your child that hard work is to be valued.
Engage in self-praise. When children hear you praise yourself, they learn to do the same. Show off your hard work and that you can be proud of yourself for not giving up on tasks that are hard. When you work hard, say out loud, “I’m so proud of myself! I was having a hard time figuring out how to fix the TV, but I kept trying and I did it! Go me!”
Help your child adopt a growth mindset. Show your young child that making mistakes and failing is normal and something that happens to everyone. It means you tried something new. Failure doesn’t mean an ending—it’s just the beginning. You can teach your child to be a hardworking problem solver that can turn their failures into successes.
For more articles on child development, academic success, parenting and life skill development, please visit the Michigan State University Extension website.
To learn about the positive impact children and families experience due to MSU Extension programs, read our 2017 impact report. Additional impact reports, highlighting even more ways Michigan 4-H and MSU Extension positively impacted individuals and communities in 2017, can be downloaded from the Michigan 4-H website.
K&M Dodge RAM is now part of the Fox Motors family.
By Fox Motors
This week, Fox Motors announced the addition of the Chrysler family brand of automobiles – Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep & RAM to Fox’s automotive portfolio in the Grand Rapids market, with the addition of Fox Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM, formerly known as K&M Dodge RAM and Van Andel & Flikkema Chrysler Jeep. The new combined dealerships will now be called Fox Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM with the Chrysler and Jeep lines located at 3844 Plainfield Ave NE, and the Dodge and RAM lines located at 4100 Plainfield Ave NE. Fox will also serve K&M’s Suzuki service customers at the “Motor Mile” location at 4180 Jupiter, across the street from the Dodge RAM dealership, and Venom Motorsports customers at 5174 Plainfield Ave NE.
These acquisitions bring the Fox Motors portfolio to 41 automotive and powersports brands in 36 locations, and is the third Chrysler dealership for the group (current Fox Chrysler stores are located in Charlevoix, Michigan and Negaunee, Michigan). Fox Motors hired 150 former K&M and VanAndel & Flikkema employees, which brings the total number of Fox employees to 1,825 in Michigan and Illinois.
“By adding the Chrysler family of brands to our backyard, Fox Motors now offers all three domestic lines within our community, as well as a variety of imports, Harley-Davidson and over 10 different powersports brands. Whatever you are looking for, Fox Motors will have you covered in Grand Rapids,” said Daniel G. DeVos, Fox Motors Chairman & CEO. “It has been anhonor to work with the K&M owners, Hank Makarewicz, Tom Makarewicz, Jim Koning and Dave Koning, and with Van Andel & Flikkema’s, John Flikkema, and their respective teams these pastfew months. The Makarewicz, Koning and Flikkema families are iconic in the Grand Rapids automotive industry and you can see the dedication and loyalty to our community, their teams and their customers that they brought with them every day.”
“My number one piece of advice to everyone in the automotive business is, ‘work hard and be honest with people,’” stated Hank Makarewicz, K&M Dodge RAM Partner. “I know the Fox family holds these values true and will take great care of our employees and customers for many years to come.”
K&M Dodge RAM was purchased in October 1974 by Hank Makarewicz and Hank Koning. While under their ownership, they added a collision center and world recognized Mopar parts distribution center, as well as growing the team from 32 employees to 100.
“We have certainly had a great run in this business and I’ve enjoyed each season,” said John Flikkema, Van Andel & Flikkema Owner. “Our community, our customers and our employees have made this life special and I want to thank you all for your partnership, trust and memories. I will miss you all but know you are in great hands with Fox.”
Van Andel and Flikkema was established in 1932 by James Van Angel and John Flikkema Sr. The partners purchased a Desoto and Plymouth dealership in 1950.
Van Andel & Flikkema was established in 1932 by James Van Andel and John Flikkema Sr., the partners purchased a Desoto and Plymouth dealership in 1950. The Chrysler franchise was added in 1981 and then in 1991, John Flikkema III bought out the Van Andel family interest and the dealership moved to its current location.
Fox Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM joins the following Fox Motors affiliates in the Grand Rapids market:
Audi Grand Rapids & Porsche Grand Rapids (6025 28th Street SE)
Fox Acura (4330 29Th Street SE)
Fox Buick GMC (5977 Alpine Avenue NW)
Fox Chevrolet (632 E. Main Street, Caledonia)
Fox Ford Mazda (3560 28th Street SE)
Fox Honda (3050 Broadmoor SE)
Fox Hyundai Kia (4141 28th Street SE,)
Fox Nissan (4430 28Th Street SE)
Fox Powersports (720 44th Street SW, Wyoming)
Fox Shine (3120 Broadmoor, Kentwood)
Fox Shine Detail & Appearance Center (2890 Acquest Ave SE, Kentwood)
Fox Subaru (6045 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids)
Grand Rapids Harley-Davidson (2977 Corporate Grove Drive, Hudsonville)
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center (2950 Broadmoor SE, Kentwood)
Fox Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM operations will be overseen by Division Director, Jerry Moore, and General Manager, John Phillips.
K&M Wayland was not involved in this transaction and will stay with the Koning and Makarewicz families.
The Gerald R. Ford International Airport has been running at normal times but staff recommends that people get to the airport at least 90 to 120 minutes before their flight takes off. (WKTV)
With reports of some TSA officers not coming in and potentially long wait times at local airports, area residents will be happy to know things are running smoothy at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.
“The security wait times are running at normal times,” said Alicia Roberts, marketing coordinator for the Ford Airport. “We appreciate the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), and CBP (U.S. Customers and Board Protection) staff continuing to work hard to keep things at the airport running smoothly.”
Roberts statement matches what the TSA website has stated. According to the site, TSA screened 1.89 million passengers on Jan. 14. The overall wait time for 99.1 percent of passengers was less than 30 minutes with 94.3 percent of the passengers waiting less than 15 minutes. For the TSA PreCheck lanes, the average wait was less than 10 minutes.
Wait times vary at each airpot. For example, Atlanta was reporting a max standard wait time of 88 minutes with a TSA PreCheck maximum wait time of 55 minutes. For Chicago’s O’Hare, the maximum waiting time was 16 minutes and the maximum wait time for TSA PreCheck was three minutes. At the Detroit airport, the maximum wait time was 19 minutes and the maximum wait time for the TSA PreCheck was four minutes.
Roberts said that it is always recommended that passengers come to the airport early to get checked in and through security. GFIA encourages passengers to arrive at least 90-120 minutes before their flight and check flight information at www.flyford.com.
To help with moving through security, passengers should utilize the 3-1-1 rule with liquids, gels and aerosols. Put all liquids in containers with a 3.4 ounce maximum capacity, and place them in a clear, plastic one-quart zip-top bag. Each passenger is limited to one quart-sized bag.
Suntan & Sun Block Lotion:Lotions fall under the 3-1-1procedures mentioned above. As well as the aerosol spray lotions. Sunblock sticks do not fall under this rule.
Makeup:Any liquid makeup cosmetics such as eyeliner, nail polish, liquid foundation, etc. should be placed in the baggie. That goes for perfume as well. Powder makeup is fine.
Beverages:Wine, liquor, beer, and all of your other favorite beverages are permitted in your checked baggage. You can also bring beverages packaged in 3.4 ounces or less bottles in your carry-on bags in the 3-1-1 baggie.
Sporting Goods: Golf clubs, tennis rackets, baseball bats (including the mini slugger bats), cricket bats, lacrosse sticks, bows and arrows, hockey sticks, scuba knives, spear guns, etc. are all prohibited from being carried onto the plane. However, you can have them checked as luggage.
Due to safety concerns, the FAA yesterday recalled thousands of furloughed inspectors and engineers back to work. It happened after unions representing aviation safety inspectors and air traffic controllers raised concerns that the shutdown was eroding the safety of the nation’s air travel.
All FFA TSA and CBP employees are working without pay during the government shutdown.
CNN recently compiled a list of impacts from the government shutdown. Click here to read more.
From Grand Rapids to Sundance. A young man finds his passion in digital storymaking. In the process, Shane McSauby discovers his Native American roots and a drive to empower others.
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
When Dr. Jen first laid eyes on the strikingly stunning Leonard, she was impressed with how composed and sure of himself he was considering we were the third facility he had been in since June of 2018. Initially, he was transferred from Calhoun County to Focus on Ferals where it was discovered that he was FIV+. Having a bigger heart than space for these viral-bound cats, Gina committed to keeping him in her program with the hopes that someday soon there would be an opening for him at our sanctuary; luckily for them both, we were able to open our doors to the debonair Leonard Purrnstein in early August.
This muscular, 14-lb. lug (born in early 2014) was hungry for affection and couldn’t wait to repay our attention in kind with head butts and cuddle sessions. We’ve discovered that his favorite thing in the whole, wide world is wet food, wet food and more wet food—even more than people! In fact, he has become our little garbage disposal, cleaning up every single plate and bowl that the others leave behind. When he isn’t hanging out in the food prep area in our free-roaming shelter begging for handouts, he can be found snoozing away high upon a cat tree as, after all, a food coma is secondary to a full tummy.
Leonard really doesn’t care for the other cats, and at times he gets a bit too big for his britches and causes commotion, but he is surrounded by 49 other cats, so who can blame him. However, he has also has shown us his mellow, softer side so we feel that placing him in a home with a laid-back cat would be acceptable to him. Since FIV+ is transmitted through bite wounds, it is no wonder that being in close quarters with so many of the feline kind gets him a bit rattled, but food is an easy way to diffuse any tense situation with him.
Hopefully, he won’t leave our place much heavier than he arrived, but we figure he deserves a little spoiling given all that it took to get him here to us! We feel he would thrive in a home with kids and lots of things to climb; he may be part monkey, as the higher up he can get the happier he is. Overall, we adore Leonard, are enthralled by his intense good looks, and are thoroughly enjoying having him as an official Sid’s Kid until we find him his fur-ever home.
More about Leonard Purrnstein:
Medium
Domestic Short-haired Tabby (Tiger-striped), White
Adult
Male
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
Neutered
Not declawed
Good in a home with other cats, children
Want to adopt Leonard Purrnstein? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
Any adult or youth who has participated in an interview can recall the ever-popular question, “Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.” But how do youth gain insight into those characteristics without on-the-job experience and feedback from superiors? The Real Colors personality inventory can be a helpful tool for youth to explore their personality traits and potential individual strengths and weaknesses.
Real Colors is an assessment and training rooted in the work of well-known social science researchers including Carl Jung, Isabel Myers, Katharine Briggs and David Keirsey. The Real Colors personality inventory uses self-assessments to break down personality types into four basic color groups, making the tool easy to teach and remember in future applications. The training helps youth and adults discover their primary “colors,” each associated with a personality type, and gains insight into areas their personality type may excel or struggle in their work in groups. The training is conducted over the course of two hours to a full day and is carried out by trained instructors.
By participating in a training, youth and adults gain perspective about the tasks they may consider easy in their lives, but present challenges to others based on the way others think or approach the task. For example, organizational skills and meeting deadlines may come naturally to some people, but others may need to work harder at achieving the same results. Likewise, some people can read and analyze numbers or see how a problem fits in with a broader context, while others may not draw those connections as easily. Similarly, some people excel in groups and teamwork, and others prefer to work alone.
Understanding what makes individuals unique can help groups identify individual strengths and areas that they could improve. It also provides perspective into how individuals participate as part of a team. Michigan State University Extension educators are trained in facilitating the Real Colors personality inventory, appropriate for adults and youth. Contact your local MSU Extension office or the 4-H Leadership and Civic Engagement Work Team at 4-hleadership@msu.edu for more information.
Since the 2016 elections, we have seen conservatives and liberals pretty much sparring with each other at what seems like a moments notice. But over the past year, a quiet movement has taken place with those of opposing views sitting down and just listening to each other. It is a movement that Schuler Books & Music is joining starting tonight with its program the “Open Discussion Project.”
Starting at 7 p.m at the bookstore, 2660 28th St. SE, and led by moderators, each meeting will be centered on a book of the group’s choosing. Attendees are encouraged to invite a neighbor, colleague, or friend – especially if they hold different political views. Attendees should be committed to having civil discourse where all opinions are treated with respect.
“I think people are tired of being angry and not being able to have a conversation,” said Schuler Books Marketing Coordinator Alana Haley. “You see where the political situation has ended up and I believe people just want to sit-down and have an open discussion.”
The concept is not new. In fact many have been following the “Hands Across the Hills project that brought a group of liberal voters from Massachusetts to meet with conservatives in Kentucky just to talk.
Schuler Books & Music is one of six book stores participating in the pilot program Open Discussion Project. (WKTV)
“At last year’s American Booksellers Association (ABA) conference, there was a bookstore, Quail Ridge Books (in Raleigh, North Carolina), that mentioned it was hosting a civil discourse program where it was trying to bring people together to discuss the issues that divide them,” Haley said.
From there, the discussion lead to launching the program nationally. Before doing that, it was decided that six independent bookstores would participate in a pilot program to help determine the best way to launch the national program, Haley said. Quail Ridge Books as well as Schuler were selected along with a bookstore in Washington, DC, Naperville, Ill., Concord, NH, and Pasadena, CA.
There are a few guidelines and a booklist provided by ABA. Each bookstore determines how it will operate its program. For example, the one in Washington DC, sent out invitations to a variety of panelists to talk about the books with the goal of getting a mix of conservatives and liberals, Haley said.
Schuler Books opened its program to the general public with response being fairly positive.
“We weren’t really sure what the response would be and so far it has been very positive,” Haley said. “We put it on social media and it took off with most people tagging it and sharing ti with others. There really has been no negative.”
For the first meeting, the book “Think Again: How to Reason and Argue” by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, was selected. There will be sheet available with a list of points from the book that will be discussed so anyone can participate.
The next programs, which are the third Tuesdays of the month (Feb. 19, Mar. 19, April 16, May 21, and June 18) will be focused on a book. The goal is to have those who attend tonight’s meeting to decide which books they would like to include, Haley said.
“It is an opportunity to meet with people who think very differently from you and to understand where they are coming from and why they feel the way they feel,” Haley said. “And hopefully they will do the same.”
In June, the pilot program will be reviewed with a national rollout set for later in 2019. The Open Discussion Project is sponsored by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) in partnership with the American Booksellers Association (ABA) and the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD).
Country Music Hall of Famer Alan Jackson will bring a night of hits to Michigan with a concert at SMG-managed Van Andel Arena on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, at 7:30pm.
Tickets and information are available at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000, at the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place box offices or by visiting alanjackson.com/tour, where you can find information about Alan, his tour schedule, music and more.
Alan Jackson’s concerts find the country icon performing hits that have gained him legions of longtime fans, songs that continue to draw new crowds as a younger generation discovers his music. Jackson’s repertoire stands the test of time; it has impacted a field of artists who cite Jackson as an influence. It’s these same songs – many written by Alan – that earned him his place alongside country music’s greatest names and cemented his place in its history with membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Recently inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Jackson’s membership among music’s all-time greats is part of a long line of career-defining accolades that include three CMA Entertainer of the Year honors, more than 25 years of membership in the Grand Ole Opry, a 2016 Billboard ranking as one of the Top 10 Country Artists of All-Time, induction to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Heritage Award as the most-performed country songwriter-artist of ASCAP’s first 100 years.
The man from rural Newnan, GA has sold nearly 60-million albums worldwide, ranks as one of the 10 best-selling male vocalists of all-time in all genres. He has released more than 60 singles – registering 50 Top Ten hits and 35 #1s (including 26 Billboard chart-toppers). He has earned more than 150 music industry awards – including 18 Academy of Country Music Awards, 16 Country Music Association Awards, a pair of Grammys and ASCAP’s Founders and Golden Note Awards. Jackson is one of the most successful and respected singer-songwriters in music.
He is in the elite company of Paul McCartney and John Lennon among songwriters who’ve written more than 20 songs that they’ve recorded and taken to the top of the charts. Jackson is one of the best-selling artists since the inception of SoundScan, ranking alongside the likes of Eminem and Metallica. He’s also the man behind one of Nashville’s most-popular new tourist stops, AJ’s Good Time Bar, a four-story honky-tonk in the heart of downtown (along a stretch of Broadway known as the “Honky Tonk Highway”) featuring daily live music and a rooftop view of Music City.
A tremendous amount of outpouring of love could be seen on Facebook as members of the Grand Rapids theater community remembered friend and colleague Rob Thomasma.
Thomasma died over the weekend. His contributions to the theater were well known ranging from make up to performing on stage. He started in the theater as a child with his first production being “The Wizard of Oz.” Since then, he has appeared on stage or behind the scenes at Civic Theatre Jewish Theatre, Heritage Theatre, Circle Theatre, Opera Grand Rapids, Actors’ Theatre, and Grand Valley State University.
His last role was as General MacKenzie in the current Grand Rapids Civic Theatre production of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None,” which opened on Friday. Many people noted they saw him at Friday’s opening.
“Rob loved theater and his 50-year career has made a lasting impression in our West Michigan community theatre and opera,” said Nancy Brozek, the director of development and community relations for the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre. “He was a talented actor and an extraordinary hair and make up artist.”
Brozek said Thomasma had enjoyed his role as General MacKenzie with many commenting on social media that he said he was happy to return to the stage.
Jack Gillisse will reprise his role as General MacKenzie for the rest of the show’s run, which is through Jan. 27. Gillisse was in the Shadblow Theatre’s summer production of “And Then There Were None,” with Wyoming resident Cathy Van Lopik.
“We dedicate our production in celebration of Rob’s full and artistic life,” Brozek said. “He is greatly missed.”
For more information about the show, visit grct.org.
Oh, I loved The World’s Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette’s, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family — it’s so touching and funny, even as the author describes what could have been a total disaster of a life. Working in a library, I was naturally attracted to a memoir with “librarian” in the title, but I didn’t expect it to be such a cliff-hanger. It has all the necessary elements: a mystery, a challenge, eccentric characters, a boy who manages to overcome extreme trials and adventures to grow up and become a good man.
Josh Hanagarne has the literary talent to take the stuff of life and turn it into a wild ride with the Mormons, women, strength training, (and libraries). Complicated at every step by a severe expression of Tourette Syndrome, which manifested very early in his life.
Works by faculty members Dellas Henke, Anthony Thompson, Hoon Lee and Brett Colley (Images supplied)
By Grand Valley State University Art Gallery
Within an artist’s drive to create is the instinct to repeated look back on past artwork, methods and practice. Through this reflective and repetitive process, new technologies and ideas are married with the artist’s experiences. The results, driven by an exploration of the past and reshaped by the application of renewed energy in the present, are often works of surprising depth and balance.
Included in this exhibition are four artists who serve as faculty members in the GVSU Department of Visual & Media Arts — Dellas Henke, Anthony Thompson, Hoon Lee and Brett Colley. Each artist recently completed a sabbatical leave, which functioned as a dedicated opportunity to focus on creative exploration in their field of study. This intentional period of research and production allowed for reflection, revival and reshaping of their work.
Opening Reception
Thursday, Jan. 17 5-7pm
Grand Valley State University Art Gallery
Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, 1121 Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus
Very few people will be surprised that in a study of popular New Year’s resolutions in the United States, getting more exercise topped the list, along with eating healthier and spending less money. For aging adults, getting active can be a difficult goal, but it’s an important one. If you’re pursuing active senior living in 2019, but are feeling discouraged, we’ve got a few tips on how to get back on track.
1. Have Fun With It
Exercising isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but getting active doesn’t have to be a chore. The key is to pick an exercise or activity that is fun and interesting for you. Ideally, you should think of something that will get you excited to get going; for example, if you love the feeling of slipping into a pool, try swimming every day, or if you’ve always enjoyed being out in nature, go for a walk or short bike ride whenever you can. Alternatively, explore some fun exercises that are new to you, like dance fitness, spinning classes, or yoga.
If you can’t find anything that speaks to you, incorporate hobbies and activities that you love into simple exercises. Try listening to audiobooks, music, or podcasts while you run or lift weights, or help out friends and neighbors with dog-walking.
2. Start Slow
One of the big reasons that people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions is that they set goals, then get discouraged when they don’t see immediate results. Whether your goal is to lose weight, run a 5K, or simply pursue active senior living, it can’t happen overnight. Ease into daily exercise by starting with five or ten minutes of activity, and gradually increasing to 15, then 20, then 30 minutes every day. Starting slow will also help you stick to it — jumping in at 30 minutes a day gets exhausting when your body isn’t use to that much exercise, leading to procrastination, frustration, and avoidance.
3. Keep Your Doctor Involved
It’s not empty advice — you really should talk to your doctor before you begin a new exercise routine. Not only can they evaluate your heart, lung, muscle, and bone health so you have a good baseline to start from, but they can also recommend activities that will be the most beneficial for your body, age, and goals.
4. Make It Part of Your Daily Routine
Making a lifestyle change is never easy, which is why you should try to incorporate exercise and activity into your daily routine from the moment you set your goal. Set aside time before breakfast, or right before you shower at night. Maybe you want to do strength exercises while your favorite show is on TV. Whatever time makes sense for you, just be sure to hold yourself to a schedule until exercising becomes routine.
5. Get Others Involved
Getting active is so much more fun when you do it with friends. Get together with others who have resolved to achieve active senior living in 2018 and come up with a few things you can do together, like weekly jogging or a community fitness class. Even having one fitness buddy can help you stay motivated and enthusiastic about your goals. Share your progress, get feedback, and make exercising part of your social life.
Keeping your resolution to get active in 2019 may seem hard now, but by starting slow and having fun, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll be able to achieve.
Kids with summer birthdays, especially those who spend long hours playing on smartphones and tablets, might be at greater risk for vision problems, a new study suggests.
Nearsightedness, also called myopia, is on the rise worldwide. It’s what eye doctors call a refractive error, meaning the eyes can’t focus light properly. The result: Close objects look clear; distant ones, fuzzy.
It’s most often caused by continuously focusing on close objects while the eyes are still developing—as in reading, for example. But the growing use of electronic devices seems to be making the problem worse, researchers report.
“As ever, everything should be done in moderation,” said lead researcher Dr. Christopher Hammond, chairman of ophthalmology at King’s College London in England. He urged parents to limit kids’ use of electronic devices.
That appears to be especially important for kids born in the summer, the study suggests. That’s because they start formal schooling at a younger age than kids born in winter so they are exposed to more reading sooner. And that increases myopia risk, the researchers said.
The researchers added that, while their study doesn’t prove smartphones, tablets and computer games cause nearsightedness, those devices may lead kids to spend less time outdoors. And less time outdoors also appears to increase myopia risk.
“We know that time outdoors is protective, and so kids should spend probably up to two hours a day outside,” Hammond said.
Myopia can be corrected with glasses, laser surgery or contact lenses. Later in life, however, sufferers are more likely to develop sight-robbing conditions such as cataracts or glaucoma, the researchers said.
Experts predict that by 2050, nearly 5 billion people worldwide will have myopia. That compares to about 2 billion in 2010.
Genes have been linked to a person’s risk for the condition, but even if it has a genetic component, that doesn’t account for the dramatic increase, Hammond said.
For the study, his team collected data on nearly 2,000 twins born in the United Kingdom between 1994 and 1996.
The researchers reviewed results of eye tests, as well as social, economic, educational and behavioral data on the twins between the ages of 2 and 16. They also had questionnaires completed by parents and teachers.
On average, children started wearing glasses for myopia at age 11. About 5 percent had amblyopia (“lazy eye”), and about 4.5 percent had a squint. Overall, 26 percent of the twins were nearsighted, the study found.
Kids who had college-educated mothers, those who were born in summer months and those who spent more time using electronic devices had a higher likelihood of nearsightedness, the study found.
The findings were published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Tien Wong, medical director of the Singapore National Eye Center, is co-author of an editorial that accompanied the study.
“Evidence supports a link between device screen time and myopia, which includes time on phones and tablets,” he said.
This is concerning in view of how many young kids have access to these devices, Wong said. Evidence shows 2-year-olds spend up to two hours a day using digital devices.
“Managing your child’s device screen time and increasing their outdoor play can help reduce the risk of developing myopia,” Wong said. “We must better monitor our children’s device activities, even during their preschool years.”
Surprisingly, the researchers said children born as a result of fertility treatment had a 25 percent to 30 percent lower risk for myopia. They said that may be because many are born premature and have developmental delays, which could account for shorter eye length and less myopia.
For WHO fans everywhere, the announcement of a brand new tour means only one thing: the world’s most untamable rock band is about to deliver the goods once again. Never ones for nostalgia, singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend will be unleashing the combustible force that is The Who, with symphonic accompaniment this summer and fall in 2019. Produced by Live Nation, The Who’s North American MOVING ON! TOURwill bring their indelible brand of powerhouse rock to 29 cities beginning in May. The kickoff date is Tuesday, May 7 at 7:30 PM at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI with the band wrapping up the first leg of the tour June 1 in Toronto, ON. A much-anticipated series of fall dates will launch on September 6 in St. Paul, MN and conclude on October 23 in Edmonton, AB.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Jan. 18 at 10:00 AM. Tickets will be available at the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place® box offices, online at Ticketmaster.com, and charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. SeeTicketmaster.com for all pricing and availability.
The Who will also be releasing their first album of new songs in thirteen years later this year. On stage, the line-up will be rounded out by familiar Who players featuring guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend, keyboardist Loren Gold, bassist Jon Button and drummer Zak Starkey, and complemented by some of the best orchestras in the U.S. and Canada.
The Who’s fan club presale starts Wednesday, January 16 at 10:00 AM local time and runs through Thursday, January 17 at 10:00 PM local time. The venue presale will run Thursday, January 17, from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Every pair of tickets purchased online includes a redeemable code for a CD copy of The Who’s forthcoming album when it’s released. This offer is available to US and Canada customers only and not valid for tickets purchased via resale. In addition, $1 from each ticket sold for the MOVING ON!TOUR will benefit Teen Cancer America.
The tour is their first return to the states since their 2017 Las Vegas residency. That same year they did a limited run of shows following 2016’s rescheduled leg of their acclaimed 50th anniversary celebration. The band also drew praise for their extended 2012-2013 North American run, a 36 city Quadrophenia tour with the band performing their 1973 rock opera in its entirety.
Commenting on what WHO fans can expect on the 2019 MOVING ON!tour, Pete Townshend stated: “The Who are touring again in 2019. Roger christened this tour Moving On! I love it. It is what both of us want to do. Move on, with new music, classic Who music, all performed in new and exciting ways. Taking risks, nothing to lose. Looking forward to seeing you all. Are you ready?”
Commented RogerDaltrey: “Be aware Who fans! Just because it’s The Who with an orchestra, in no way will it compromise the way Pete and I deliver our music. This will be full throttle Who with horns and bells on.”
The Who are one of the top three greatest rock legacies in music history. Their music provoked explosive change and spanned what many critics declare is rock’s most elastic creative spectrum, with Pete Townshend’s songwriting moving between raw, prosaic, conceptual, and expressively literate. Their visionary sense of stagecraft headed by Roger Daltrey’s soaring vocal prowess is topped off by the band’s blistering rhythm section. With both Roger and Pete delivering their own memoirs in recent years (Pete’s Who I Am was released to much acclaim in 2012, and Roger’s autobiography, Thanks A Lot Mr. Kibblewhite; My Story, was embraced by critics in 2018) it’s fitting that the two remaining WHO members have shared their incredible legacy in literary fashion, for few bands have had a more lasting impact on the rock era and the reverberating pop culture than The Who.
Emerging in the mid-1960s as a new and incendiary force in rock n’ roll, their brash style and poignant storytelling garnered them one of music’s most passionate followings, with the legendary foursome blazing a searing new template for rock, punk, and everything after. Inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990, the band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, placing 27 top-forty singles in the United States and United Kingdom and earning 17 Top Ten albums, including the 1969 groundbreaking rock opera Tommy, 1971’s pummeling Live At Leeds, 1973’s Quadrophenia and 1978’s Who Are You. The Who debuted in 1964 with a trio of anthems “I Can’t Explain,” “The Kids Are Alright” and “My Generation.” Since then they have delivered to the world hits such as “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Pinball Wizard,” Who Are You,” and,” You Better You Bet.”
In 2008, they became the first rock band ever to be awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. The Who has performed all over the world including global music events for the Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show in 2010 and closing the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The Who continued their charity work by playing a concert in January 2011 to raise money for trials of a new cancer treatment called PDT. In December 2012 they performed at the Hurricane Sandy Benefit in New York. In January 2014 they played a set on the U.S. television special to support the charity Stand Up To Cancer. In November 2012 Daltrey, with Townshend at his side, launched Teen Cancer America. The charity is now established in the USA, with offices in Los Angeles and devoted Teen Cancer units being opened in hospitals all over the U.S. TCA’s work has impacted over 5,000 young people and their families nationwide during the last six years.
Two speakers, an expert on the influence of race in urban education and an alumna who speaks to the hearts of difference makers, will give presentations that highlight Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week at Grand Valley State University.
With the theme, #BreaktheSilence, Grand Valley’s events will run Jan. 21-26.
David Sovell
David Stovall, professor of African American studies and criminology, law and justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will give an address on January 21 in the Fieldhouse Arena beginning at 1:30 p.m. Stovall studies the influence of race in urban education, community development, and housing. His work investigates the significance of race in the quality of schools located in communities that are changing both racially and economically.
Stovall will also speak at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids at 6 p.m. on January 21, highlighting the 33rd annual King community program. The event is sponsored by GVSU, Grand Rapids Community College and Davenport University. It is free and open to the public, doors will open at 5:30 p.m.
Shannon Cohen
Grand Valley alumna Shannon Cohen, ’99 and ’11, will give a presentation on campus on Jan. 23 in the Kirkhof Center, Pere Marquette Room, at 4:30 p.m. Cohen is the founder and principal of Shannon Cohen, Inc., a boutique firm specializing in providing emotional health strategies to leaders and difference makers. She is a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network Fellow, and is the co-founder of Sisters Who Lead, a talent and wellness affinity group for women of color.
Highlights are below and more information is online at gvsu.edu/mlk. Most events are on Jan. 21, which marks the seventh year classes have been canceled on the national King holiday, allowing more students, faculty and staff members to participate.
Monday, Jan. 21
• 9:30-11:30 a.m.: Upcycling, Kirkhof Center, Pere Marquette Room
• 10:30-11:30 a.m.: Workshop: Back to Reality: Finding Our Freedom through Storytelling, Kirkhof Center, room 2215/2216
• 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.: Free Campus Lunch, Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room
• 1 p.m.: Silent March to Fieldhouse, assemble at Zumberge Hall
• 1:30 p.m.: Keynote Presentation by Dr. David Stovall, Fieldhouse
• 2:30-3:30 p.m.: Panel Discussion, #BreaktheSilence, Kirkhof Center, rooms 2215/2216
Wednesday, Jan. 23
• 4:30 p.m.: Keynote Presentation by Shannon Cohen, Kirkhof Center, Pere Marquette Room
• 6 p.m.: Democracy 101 Series: “This is What Democracy Looks Like! #Breaking the Silence and the Living Legacy of MLK,” Mary Idema Pew Library, multipurpose room; sponsored by the Community Service Learning Center.
Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf present on Thursday, Jan. 24.
Thursday, Jan. 24
• 7 p.m.: Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf: Jefferson, Slavery, and the Moral Imagination, Eberhard Center, room 215
Presented by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies: Thomas Jefferson, the most revered philosopher of the early Republic’s Enlightenment ideals, was deeply involved in the nation’s original sin of slavery. Historians Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf will explore how to find common ground at the troubled crossroads of race and American memory. Visit hauensteincenter.org to RSVP.
Saturday, Jan. 26
• 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.: MLK Jr. Day of Service and Solidarity: Coordinated by the Community Service Learning Center, students will meet at the Cook-DeWitt Center and hear a keynote presentation then participate in service projects with area partners.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) just announced today that by popular demand, the exhibition, Ralph W. Hauenstein: A Life of Leadership is being extended. Visitors can now experience the life and legacy of Ralph W. Hauenstein through April 14, 2019.
COL Hauenstein was a leader in the West Michigan community, remembered for his role as a journalist, his military and intelligence service, his dedication to the Catholic faith, his entrepreneurship, and his philanthropy in Grand Rapids. Hauenstein left a lasting legacy in the United States and around the world.
The exhibition highlights Ralph’s extraordinary life, his contributions to our nation and community, and his legacy of leadership. Interactives allow visitors to test out writing a headline for the newspaper on an antique typewriter and try their hand at cracking a secret code. Photography from around the world bring visitors face-to-face with Ralph’s impact globally.
“We’re thrilled to offer this exhibition for a few more months to the community,” said Kate Kocienski, VP of Marketing and PR for the Grand Rapids Public Museum. “Visitors as well as school groups have enjoyed the exhibition’s focus on COL Hauenstein’s impact and his inspiration to future leaders.”
Ralph W. Hauenstein: A Life of Leadership is included with general admission to the Museum, and is be located on the Museum’s third floor.
This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of: The Hauenstein Family and The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University. Images and objects on loan courtesy of Brian Hauenstein unless otherwise stated. The images in this exhibition were first digitized for public display by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University. Thank you also to the National Cryptologic Museum, NSA, Washington D.C.
Ralph W. Hauenstein
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1912, Ralph’s family moved to Grand Rapids when he was 12 years old, where he graduated from Central High School in 1931. He was a public servant from his early years starting as a boy scout. Ralph was curious, inquisitive, and an exceptional storyteller, which led him to his first job as a police reporter for the Grand Rapids Press and later as a city editor with the Grand Rapids Herald.
Ralph joined the U.S. Army in 1935, serving first with the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1941 he began working as an intelligence officer in Iceland and rose to the rank of colonel. During World War II, he was promoted to Chief of Intelligence for the European Theater of Operations under General Dwight D. Eisenhower. An important part of his experience was the liberation of the German concentration camp at Dachau. His WWII experiences opened his eyes to the need for ethical, effective world leaders.
Ralph saw first-hand that many countries face food shortages. After the war he returned to Grand Rapids and became an entrepreneur in international trade and food equipment manufacturing, designing equipment to make Goldfish Crackers. His success in business allowed for substantial philanthropic contributions in Grand Rapids. He gave generously to many local causes and established the Grace Hauenstein Library at Aquinas College, Mercy Health Hauenstein Neuroscience Center and the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University.
The New Year is a great time to reset goals and create healthy habits. Have you made any resolutions yet? Here’s a list of popular goals and how they can help your job search:
Exercise more — Exercise releases endorphins which make you feel happier. Exercise will improve your sleep, reduce stress and help you stay healthy. Schedule time to exercise into your job search schedule.
Save more, spend less — All of West Michigan Works! job search services are free; don’t ever pay for a resume review or interview prep.
Read more — Pick a work or hobby related topic you’re interested in. Find books at the library or credible online resources. If you choose a work topic, reference your learning in interviews.
Learn something new — Keep your brain sharp and your day productive. Consider something fun like woodworking or painting, or something that relates to your job. Our Career Coaches can connect you to job training. Scholarships might be available too.
Get organized — Make sure your resume is up-to-date. Start a job search spreadsheet (if you haven’t already) that tracks where you’ve applied and the status of the application. This will help you follow up on applications and write timely interview thank you notes.
Get more sleep — Sleep improves your immune system, decreases your chance of depression and improves concentration and productivity. Job searching is hard work, so reward your body each night with at least 7 hours of sleep. You’ll wake up rested and ready to give 100% to your job search.
Spend time with family — Networking is a very important part of your job search, so start with your friends and family. Then begin reaching out to your extended personal and professional networks.
Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.
With the aging of baby boomers, chances are there will also be an increase in the number of informal caregivers. Michigan State University Extension recognizes that caring for an aging parent may seem like a natural progression of life; however, many are ill prepared to deal with the social, emotional, physical and financial decisions that will arise. If you’re caring for a loved one, a family caregiver meeting can help you navigate the many decisions that need to be made.
If you are making these decisions on your own (for example, if you are an only child), then your scope of consulting would mostly fall between you and your parent. It may be helpful to include a social worker, your care receiver’s medical care providers and perhaps their religious advisor. The final decisions, however, are up to you and your parent.
If you have siblings, your decision-making circle is much larger and has the potential to be highly emotional. It may include a variety of opinions and be loaded with family relationship baggage. Siblings can be a major source of support and a major source of stress. Not everyone thinks alike or has the same amount of time or talent to devote to caregiving. For these reasons, you may want to consider having a family caregiver meeting. A family caregiver meeting can help you work on specific problems, give people a chance to share thoughts, make a list the needs of your loved one and opens discussion about who can best fill those needs and how.
Whom you invite depends on your own family dynamics. You may want to consider being more inclusive rather than being exclusive. You may assume someone is not interested or involved enough; however, that person may end up being someone who really has the time and would love to pitch in. More hands tend to make less work. If possible, be sure to include your loved one, as they are the expert on their thoughts, wishes and needs. If relationships with your siblings are typically contentious, you may want to invite a social worker or religious leader to help mediate.
A caregiver family meeting should not be much different from staff meetings at work to address tough issues or lawyers meeting to discuss a plea bargain. Both situations have the potential to be emotionally charged. However, the difference is in the planning. Imagine a lawyer going into a plea bargain meeting unprepared, with no notes, no facts, and just relying on raw emotion. You could be almost sure their client would not be getting the best representation that they need or deserve. A lawyer or a boss goes into a meeting at a set date, time, place with certain people invited. There is an agenda, rules of communication to follow, there is productive discussion, notes are taken, decisions are made, and subsequent meetings may be scheduled. Caregiver family meetings can be run the same way.
Whether you have no siblings or many, a planned and organized caregiver family meeting can help you all make the best decisions possible for your loved one. For more information about caregiving, you may wish to consider signing up for a Powerful Tools for Caregiver class. During six lessons, groups of caregivers explore and share tools for focusing on self-care in order to be able to provide the best care possible to a loved one. To find a class near you visit www.msue.msu.edu and search for Powerful Tools for Caregivers. You can also call your local Michigan State University Extension Office to inquire about starting a class in your area.
Photos (except where noted) by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
With the wind in her face and the reins in her hands, Shanna Ruffner guides Jag, her quarter horse, through corkscrew-like barrel racing drills at a farm near her Otsego, Michigan, home.
Ruffner, 39, has been steering horses through barrels since age 2.
She’s always felt freedom and exhilaration aboard a horse’s back. Until last year.
After many repetitive motions at work, she felt pain.
The pain in her hands started like a slow walk, waking her up at night about this time last year. By November, the sensation had galloped into her daily life, affecting just about everything she attempted to do.
Taking a toll
Ruffner has worked for years for General Motors in the Lansing Delta plant, assembling Traverse and Enclave vehicles.
“I do a lot with the main wiring harness for the motor, plugging in different things and bolting things to it,” Ruffner said. “I also torque down the strut, tie bar and hub on the front end and attach radiators to the undercarriage before it gets married to the body.”
It’s important work, but repetitive work. And it eventually took a toll on her.
“I started experiencing numbness in my fingers about a year ago,” she said. “It finally got to the point in November that I could no longer sleep because it was waking me up. My hands would completely go numb in the middle of the night. They would go numb and they would burn. It was just unbearable.”
It became increasingly more difficult to work, and also risky to ride.
“It made it difficult to ride a strong, powerful horse because my hands would go numb while I was riding,” Ruffner said. “I ride a very powerful gelding. It’s a good thing we have a good bond because if it were any other horse, I don’t think I’d be able to ride.”
Still, the pain sometimes outweighed the fun. It was a crushing blow for Ruffner, who followed in her dad’s hoofprints so many years ago.
Her dad, George, who died in 1996, rode competitively and taught his daughter all he knew about barrel racing.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
As a child, Ruffner competed in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Texas.
But in the last year, she felt like her condition was holding her over the barrels.
“It made it hard to pull and made it hard to hang on,” she said. “It just didn’t feel quite right. I didn’t have as much control as I would have liked to have.”
A horse wasn’t the only thing that became difficult to steer. She experienced trouble driving a car.
Ruffner’s commute from Otsego to Lansing spans an hour and 15 minutes. About 10 minutes into her drive, her hands would go numb. And eventually, they’d be numb before she even turned on the ignition.
She enjoyed taking her sons, Trenton, 18, and Brady, 15, to the movie theater for family outings. But the numbness closed the curtain on those outings, too.
“I got to the point I didn’t want to go to the movie theater because I knew my hands would bother me by the time I got there,” she said.
‘It was simple’
Last spring, with pain and numbness continuing to canter, Ruffner saw a specialist in Lansing for a nerve test.
“They basically hooked up different electrodes to see how the nerves react,” she said. “The nerve testing came back that I needed surgery on both my hands.”
In June, she consulted with Peter Jebson, MD, a Spectrum Health Medical Group orthopedic hand and upper extremity surgeon.
“It was simple,” Ruffner said. “I felt a little pressure when they were cutting (the ligament), but as far as anything else goes, the worst part of it was the shot of the local (anesthetic) to numb my hand. It was a piece of cake.”
Ruffner needed only Tylenol to keep the pain at bay.
“It’s felt really good,” she said.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Dr. Jebson said he’s pleased with Ruffner’s progress.
“With carpal tunnel, you have pain, particularly at night,” he said. “You can have bothersome numbness and tingling and also functional loss. She had the entire constellation of symptoms. But she’s already experiencing 100 percent pain relief and 90 percent of the tingling has improved. She is doing very well and the incision looks good.”
Dr. Jebson said carpal tunnel release surgery has come a long way in recent years. It used to be performed in an operating room in a hospital or outpatient surgery facility, under general anesthesia, which is significantly more expensive. The new technique, developed in Canada, saves patients money, pain and healing time.
“It also used to be a larger incision,” he said. “The patient used to be casted or splinted after surgery. We’ve progressed to where we now do minimally invasive incisions.”
Dr. Jebson and his Spectrum Health Medical Group team of hand specialists—Drs. Kevin Chan, Randy Lovell and Levi Hinkelman—perform about 750 in-office hand surgeries each year, including carpal tunnel release, trigger finger, trigger thumb, De Quervain’s tendonitis release, simple tendon laceration repairs and ganglion cyst excisions.
Dr. Jebson estimates performing procedures in the office suite saves patients and health care insurers $2,000, “which is significant with the increasing shift of financial responsibility to patients with higher co-pays and deductibles,” he said.
“Not only does it save patients a significant amount of out-of-pocket expense because they’re not using anesthesia and they’re not at a surgical center, patients don’t have to go for any preoperative testing, which saves them a lot of time,” Dr. Jebson said. “And this doesn’t require IV antibiotics.”
Office-based surgery is also environmentally friendly, producing only one bag of waste for a day’s worth of surgeries versus one bag for every procedure.
“It’s a significant savings to society in general,” he said. “It’s a multiple win and provides true value for patients. It’s the future—it will be the standard of care in three to five years across the country. We’ve been doing it for four years now and happen to be a nationally recognized program.”
Ruffner is pleased—especially that she’ll be able to return to work soon.
“I’m a self-admitted workaholic,” she said. “Being home all the time is difficult for me.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
It may be a bit before she bounces back to barrel racing—her saddle weighs 19 pounds and she has a 5-pound weight restriction.
But she has plans beyond lifting saddles. She aims to have surgery on her left hand, too.
“By the time this journey is all said and done, I will have had surgery on both hands,” Ruffner said. “I want to get it done and over with and be pain-free and resume a normal life.”
She hopes to be running barrels again by mid-September, with both hands healed and weight restrictions lifted.
“It’s a rush,” she said of barrel racing. “I love the adrenaline. You get to go out and run as fast as you can around three barrels without hitting them on a 1,000-pound animal that has a mind of their own. They have a personality and temperament all their own. You learn the true meaning of teamwork. It’s one thing to be a team with another human. It’s entirely different to be a team with an animal.”
But Ruffner said she truly appreciates the teamwork with Dr. Jebson and other Spectrum Health staff, in getting her back to where she wants to be.
“Anybody that is fearful of having carpal tunnel release surgery done should know, the way Dr. Jebson does it, they shouldn’t be fearful,” Ruffner said. “Have the surgery and take care of it as opposed to waiting until your hands are completely numb all the time. This experience has been so easy.”
Flush and wash and be on your way? It might seem as simple as that, but fifth-graders from Southeast Kelloggsville Elementary recently learned a thing or two about the messy business of making clean water, and they now know there’s much more than meets the eye.
Lynnea Roon, science teacher at Southeast Kelloggsville Elementary, uncaps ‘wastewater’ to demonstrate how water is cleaned
It started with a trip to the City of Wyoming’s Clean Water Plant where students toured the facility and asked questions, such as, “Is there PFAS in the water?” They followed the same path 15 million gallons of water take each day to get clean – plugging their noses at times and watching in amazement as microbes cleaned bubbling swaths of water.
Back in the classroom, they saw the big picture of what happens – flush to finish – thanks to a hands-on model of a town with a clean water plant. The model, used by science intervention teacher Lynnea Roon, drives home lessons the students learned at the clean water plant.
Students crowded around and watched intently as Roon demonstrated the path of wastewater through the miniature town.
Students from Southeast Kelloggsville Elementary watch as microorganisms clean the water at the City of Wyoming Clean Water Plant
Where water goes and flows
The model has all the components students need to understand water treatment: houses, drains, underground pipes, rivers, and more. Using water and “wastewater” –really just chocolate-tinged water — Roon showed students how what they saw at the clean water plant fits in with how they use water at home.
“It shows the whole process really nicely,” said Roon. “I love doing hands-on learning where they can actually see things. I love how it has the little roads and houses and how you can really see the dirty water moving through in places they normally can’t see.”
As a science intervention teacher, Roon isn’t assigned to a single class. Rather, she makes the rounds and meet with many classes once a week, augmenting lessons in the science curriculum. When she gets a chance to use a special piece of equipment or prop to teach a lesson, it’s well-received.
To many students, said Roon, waste “goes down the drain and disappears.” The model shows water’s pathway through the system and back into the water cycle again. “It’s a pretty amazing lesson.”
The Holland Area Arts Council (150 E. 8th St., Holland, MI 49423) presents Seeing Through Dutch Eyes, an exhibition featuring the work of Dutch-American artist Chris Stoffel Overvoorde beginning Friday, Jan. 11 with an opening reception at 6pm.
Seeing Through Dutch Eyes, recognizes a natural pattern. Overvoorde was born in the Netherlands (Capelle aan de IJssel) to two Dutch parents. It is therefore essential to recognize, that the artist, can only see through the eyes he has been given at birth. But, it is not just the mechanics of seeing, that is important, it is also the cultural and spiritual vision that will modify his perception of the world.
Overvoorde left the Netherlands at age of 22 and is now 84, which means he has lived 62 years in the US and yet he is still a Dutchman in the way he looks at this world. The exhibition is divided into several components: ‘Early Years/The Shipyard’, ‘Learning Period/Drawing’, ‘Transitions/Acrylic and Oil Paintings’, and ‘Self Portraits’.
The artist grew up with the sounds of the shipyard. His grandpa den Braber and his uncles Dirk, Jan, and Chris were ship-carpenters. From age 14, he worked in a large shipyard as a metalworker and later as a diesel mechanic. Shipbuilding was an integral part of his growing up. Many of his early works are drawings.
Today, drawing is an essential part of his creative process for it is the basis for his paintings. He almost always starts by making a drawing first and then works from the drawing. Drawing is a way of learning, of seeing, of discovering, and a way of defining.
Watercolor has become a playful exploration in capturing the rain loaded clouds of the Dutch skies when he returned for a study period and studied the Dutch 19th Century landscape painters in the late ’70s.
Later, the switch to acrylic and oil followed as he began to explore the Midwest landscape and sky in the 1980s, searching for the spiritual in nature. That search continues in the 90 in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada on the edge of the mountains and the open spaces of the prairie. Space and light have become his companions.
The last works in the flow of the exhibit are explorations of these Dutch eyes that look at this world with the mind and soul of a Dutchman and smiles in between.
The exhibit will open with a reception on Friday, Jan. 11 from 6-8pm complete with light snacks and refreshments. The exhibit will be on display through Feb. 25. The opening reception and the exhibition are free and open to the public.
“If you place your head in a lion’s mouth, then you cannot complain one day if he happens to bite it off.” - Agatha Christie
Mayhem and Murder
Did Emily Brent do it in the library with the candlestick?
Join Cathy Van Lopik, aka Emily Brent, and the rest of the Grand Rapids Civic cast for a little murder mysteries by one of the best, Agatha Christie. Civic Theatre presents “And Then There Were None Jan. 11 – 27 at its theater, 30 N. Division Ave. Tickets are $18 – $29 with student tickets $26.
Some Local All Stars
East Kentwood High School lead the way for the AP All-State listings for the state of Michigan.
This past football season lead to four local high school players earning the title of first team AP All-State in the state of Michigan. East Kentwood, somewhat unsurprisingly, lead the way with three of those All-Staters coming from their team after a tremendous season from the Division 1-2 Falcons finishing the season 9-2. A student also came from South Christian High School and Wyoming’s Tri-Unity Christian had two seniors for 8-man football.
Something Funny’s Goin’ On
Getting their funny on: Brian Borbot (center) with comedians Stu McCallister (left) and. Matt Harper (right).
Brian Borbot, part of the Sunday Night Funnies, talks with area comedians about the art of being funny. The podcasts are part of a new feature at the WKTV Journal. To check them out, click here. Sunday Night Funnies is at 8:30 p.m. every Sunday at Woody’s Press Box, 5656 Clyde Park Ave. SW.
Fun fact:
Oymyakon, Russia
That is consider the coldest inhabited place in the world. In Oymyakon, the winter temperatures are known to average -58 F (-50C). Water freezes at 32 F. About 500 people live in the area. And while many Michiganders treasure having remote start to warm their cars, those in Oymyakon have to run their cars 24/7 to make sure the batteries do not die. The community earned the title in 1933, when a temperature of -90 F was recorded. The city beat its own record in 2013, when a -98 F temperature was recorded. Now that’s cold.
Home pregnancy tests are commonplace, but that doesn’t mean that every type of self-test for health issues is reliable.
And even if results are accurate, you shouldn’t forgo getting advice from your health care provider, especially if the condition is life-changing and requires very targeted treatment.
Some kits that let you test at home are fast and inexpensive. They can uncover problems before symptoms start, allowing for early treatment and lowering the risk of later complications. Others help you monitor your health.
Home glucose test—some of the most common—show how well you’re controlling diabetes, but even these everyday tests require input from your doctor. So take precautions when using a home test, and remember that they don’t replace regular health-care visits.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers home tests medical devices and, in light of this rapidly growing category, is working to set standards for the tests and establish rules on how to regulate them.
Many home tests are reliable, including those for hepatitis C and HIV.
But some are more problematic, like DNA tests—genetic testing for your own disease risk and for genes associated with disorders that could be passed on to a child.
Before you buy a store kit, look for the words “FDA-approved” on the package. Be sure to read any disclaimers to understand a test’s limitations and heed the advice to get health counseling for positive results.
And no matter what type of test you do, always discuss results with your doctor, even if you get a normal finding. Most results should be evaluated along with your medical history and a physical.
Also, many DNA home kits do not test for every possible genetic mutation, so you can get false negatives as well as false positives. Take your findings to your doctor and discuss whether more comprehensive testing will help you get more accurate answers.
Beginning Friday, Feb. 8 at Krasl Art Center, 707 Lake Blvd., Saint Joseph, MI 49085, viewers will see incredibly moving stories of the people left behind after cameras have moved on from a war zone in the photography exhibit, Aftermath: War is Only Half the Story. Drawing on photographs from over 50 photographers, these personal and often poetic post-war views unveil not only another side to the devastating effects of war, but also tell the stories of people coming together to rebuild and heal.
The exhibition is a 10-year retrospective of the work of the groundbreaking documentary photography program, The Aftermath Project. Founded to help change the way the media covers conflict — and to educate the public about the true cost of war and the real price of peace — The Aftermath Project has discovered some of the most groundbreaking photojournalists in the world — as well as internationally acclaimed photographers Stanley Greene, Nina Berman, Davide Monteleone, Justyna Mielnikiewicz, and Jim Goldberg, among many others – working on post-conflict themes.
Aftermath: War Is Only Half the Story is originated by The Aftermath Project, Los Angeles, and toured by Curatorial Assistance Traveling Exhibitions, Pasadena, California.
About The Aftermath Project
The Aftermath Project is an outcome of photographer and writer Sara Terry’s five-year-long project, Aftermath: Bosnia’s Long Road to Peace, about the aftermath of the 1992–95 war in Bosnia and Hercegovina. She completed her work in 2005, convinced that a broader public understanding and discussion of aftermath issues was crucial in a world where the media regularly covers war, but rarely covers the stories that follow the aftermath of violence and destruction. Sara founded The Aftermath Project as a way to help photographers tell these crucial stories
The Aftermath Project is a non-profit organization committed to telling the other half of the story of conflict — the story of what it takes for individuals to learn to live again, to rebuild destroyed lives and homes, to restore civil societies, to address the lingering wounds of war while struggling to create new avenues for peace. The Aftermath Project holds a yearly grant competition open to working photographers worldwide covering the aftermath of conflict. In addition, through partnerships with universities, photography institutions and non-profit organizations, the Project seeks to help broaden the public’s understanding of the true cost of war — and the real price of peace — through international traveling exhibitions and educational outreach in communities and schools.
Gallery Opening Party
Friday, Feb. 8
6-8 pm
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Join us as we welcome Aftermath: War Is Only Half the Story to Krasl Art Center. Allow inspiration to take over with KAC’s Education Department leading an exhibit-themed workshop. Small bites from Bistro on the Boulevard and a cash bar available.
Panel discussion hosted by Aftermath curator, Sara Terry
Saturday, Feb. 9
10am-12pm
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Join Aftermath: War is Only Half the Story curator, Sara Terry, who will lead an engaging panel discussion with regional community members on the themes covered in this exhibition. Sara Terry is an award-winning documentary photographer and filmmaker best known for her work covering post-conflict stories. She founded The Aftermath Project in 2003.
Coffee with the Curator
Wednesday, Feb. 13
12 noon
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Gain insights to the art on view and the connection to the art world at large in this gallery tour with KAC Deputy Director and Curator, Tami Miller.
By Karolee Gillman, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
In the the world of high fashion, Miranda Priestly is queen. Miranda is the editor of Runway magazine. She expects perfection from everyone, including her newly hired assistant, Andrea Sachs. Andrea wants to be a writer for The New Yorker, but has left her resume at every publishing house. Runway offers Andrea a job “that a million girls would die for”.
The job is actually salaried servitude. Miranda has one demand, often near impossible, after another for Andrea to complete during the day. Andrea pushes friends and family aside as she tries to keep up with those demands. During a trip of a lifetime to Paris Fashion Week, Andrea realizes what is really important in her life, and abruptly quits her job.
The way Andrea quits makes news in the society pages, making her a minor celebrity. Afraid that she has been blacklisted in the publishing industry, Andrea moves back home with her parents, and begins writing short-story fiction. One of these stories is picked up by a national teen magazine, and her career really begins.
“I love you too much to deny you the privileges of making mistakes.” – Kathy Lee Gifford, The Gift That I Can Give.
If your goal as a parent is to protect your child from getting hurt or avoid confrontation, then you are parenting from a fear-based perspective. This can create anxiety for a child attempting to explore their world and learn from their mistakes. It is difficult to let “stuff happen”, as a parent’s natural instinct is to protect their children. We don’t want our children to feel distressed so we protect them. However, is parental protection worth missing out on some of the valuable life lessons a child can learn when they are given the opportunity to explore and make mistakes on their own?
When children are able to process their emotions related to good or bad decisions, parents may not need to say or do anything else. Instead of jumping in and protecting children, learn to trust natural consequences to do much of the teaching for you. Dealing with frustration is a building block for coping skills in life.
When you constantly remind your child what to do, such as pack their backpack or put their dishes in the sink, you are teaching your child they are not capable of being responsible without you telling them what to do. This parenting technique will not teach your child to respect themselves or develop necessary confidence skills to be successful later in life. When we allow our children to attempt something new and fail at a young age, the consequences are far different than when they make a similar mistake later.
For example, allowing them to negotiate on their own for a turn on the swing or deciding to do something against the rules of the school just because they want to be liked by their friends are both scenarios that will teach valuable lessons for the future. The worse possible outcome is they are sad because they did not get a turn on the swing or sent to the school office for a few hours of detention. Next time—and there will definitely be a next time—they will be a better negotiator or able to stand up to their friends and say “no” when they are making bad decisions. These lessons would not have been learned if a parent or caregiver was hovering and guiding their child’s every move.
Fast forward when they are 18 years old and have not developed a strong sense of self because they have been protected their whole life. They may get into a bad situation where the outcome is much more severe and possibly has life-altering consequences.
While it is hard thing to witness, when we allow a child to fail frequently early in life, they will build strong resiliency skills that will allow them to deal appropriately with letdowns and sticky situations in the future. According to pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Cunningham, young children are more resilient than we think and cannot grasp the gravity of situations like adults can and don’t dwell on things to the same extent.
When a child makes a mistake, help them reflect the situation as well as the part they played in the scenario. Focus on the moment they made a decision to participate or make a bad choice and discuss alternative options that would have had a better outcome. We want our kids to feel equipped and competent. It can be a great feeling for parents when they feel they have raised young adults who are responsible, trustworthy and resilient.
Michigan State University Extension suggests helping the child process their decision by asking what happened, how it happened and why it happened. In the future, they will think about this process, make better decisions and take responsibility for their actions. It will encourage them to think things through next time. With some thoughtful, compassionate guidance, we can turn unhappy events into a valuable learning experience that will help the child make better decisions in the future.
To learn about the positive impact children and families experience due to MSU Extension programs, read our 2017 impact report: “Preparing young children for success” and “Preparing the future generation for success.” Additional impact reports, highlighting even more ways Michigan 4-H and MSU Extension positively impacted individuals and communities in 2017, can be downloaded from the Michigan 4-H website.
It’s wintertime West Michigan, but things are about to heat up downtown in DeVos Performance Hall. The Grand Rapids Symphony presents the rich and fiery flavor of Latinx music and dance in Rhythm of the Dance.
From Argentina to Spain, Rhythm of the Dance showcases music from both sides of the Atlantic and gives a taste of the classic favorites as well as a contemporary imaginings of Latin-American music. The program will include such classic works as Joaquin Rodrigo’sConcierto de Aranjuez, the most popular work of all time for guitar and orchestra, with guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas.
Dancers from Grand Rapids Ballet will join the orchestra for the vibrant rhythms and irresistible melodies of Two Tangos by Astor Piazzolla.
The concert in the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series, led by Music Director Marcelo Lehninger, will take place at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 18-19 in DeVos Performance Hall. Concert sponsor is Warner Norcross + Judd. Villegas’ performance is sponsored by the Edith I. Blodgett Guest Artist Fund.
The Grand Rapids Symphony’s Brazilian-born Music Director will lead the orchestra in Spanish composer Manuel de Falla’s Suite No. 1 from The Three-Cornered Hat and in Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera’s Four Dances fromEstancia.
The Symphony will also perform Three Latin American Dances, a contemporary work written by Gabriela Lena Frank, a Grammy Award-winning American composer of Peruvian descent.
Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, which includes one of the most hauntingly beautiful English horn solos in the symphonic repertoire, is sure to be a highlight of the program.
Having lost his sight at the age of 3, Rodrigo was a virtuoso pianist and gifted composer. Though he was not a guitar player himself, several of his works for guitar and orchestra raised the profile of the instrument within the world of classical music.
Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas, winner of the Andres Segovia Award and Gold Medalist in the first Christopher Parkening International Guitar Competition, will join the Symphony to perform the concerto that made Rodrigo famous.
Born and raised in La Rioja, Spain, a region full of wineries and bodegas in northern Spain, Villegas is praised as a charismatic performer with singing tone and consummate technique that conjures the passion, playfulness and drama of his homeland’s musical heritage.
‘I never heard the guitar sound the way that you play it.’ is a comment guitarist Villegas often hears.
Villegas told Billboard Magazine in 2016, “When I play a concert, people always say, ‘I never heard the guitar sound the way that you play it.’ And that is exactly what I am looking for. We’re talking about an emotional connection through the music using the guitar. For me, the guitar is the most wonderful and expressive instrument.”
An evening of Latin music would not be complete without a tango or two by “The Great Astor.”
On his ninth birthday, Piazzolla received his first bandoneon, an instrument related to the accordion, from his father, who bought it from a pawn shop for less than $20. Piazzolla soon became a prodigy on the instrument, learning the music of Bach, Mozart and Schumann and, of course, the tango.
Intending to become a composer of classical music, Piazzolla for 10 years wrote symphonies, piano concertos and chamber music. After winning a composers’ competition, he was given the opportunity to study with the famed pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, mentor to such composers as Aaron Copland and Philip Glass.
In a 1988 interview with the Washington Post, Piazzolla recalled presenting his work to Nadia Boulanger, “…all of a sudden she says, ‘Why don’t you play a piece of the music you write in tango? I’m very much interested.’ I played eight bars and she just took my two hands and put them against her chest and said, ‘This is Astor Piazzolla, this is the music you have to go on writing, not that. Throw that into the garbage.’”
“And that’s what I did,” he continued. “I threw 10 years out of my life into the garbage. Now I write classical music, or symphonies, but always with a tango taste in it, trying the most to be Astor Piazzolla always.”
Inside the Music, a free, pre-concert, multi-media presentation sponsored by BDO USA, will be held before each performance at 7 p.m. in the DeVos Place Recital Hall.
Tickets for the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series start at $18 and are available at the Grand Rapids Symphony box office, weekdays 9 am – 5 pm at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across the street from Calder Plaza). Call (616) 454-9451 x 4 to order by phone. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum).
Tickets are available at the DeVos Place ticket office, weekdays 10 am – 6 pm or on the day of the concert beginning two hours before the performance. Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.
Sit back and experience the wonder of the cosmos with the wonder of music! Kick off the New Year with Concerts Under the Stars at the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) featuring the sounds of dark folk music with Fiona Dickinson on Thursday, Jan. 17.
This site-specific performance will combine shoegaze and dream-pop with ethereal interludes to create two seamless sets that flow into familiar song structures and out into meditative drones. Musicians Dan Fisher, Shane Tripp, and Ben Wiessenborn will assist on the project as a backing band. Accompanying Fiona with live visuals on the planetarium dome will be Meghan Moe Beitiks.
“Fiona Dickinson is a great start to the 2019 Concerts Under the Stars series,” said Kate Kocienski, VP of Marketing and PR for the GRPM. “Although each concert is a different genre, so you would need to see all of them for the full experience.”
Concerts Under the Stars will begin at 7:30 p.m., with Museum doors opening at 6:30 p.m. New this year, performers will play two sets, with a short intermission in between. Refreshments, beer and other beverages will be available for purchase.
Tickets are $12 for GRPM members and $15 for non-members if purchased in advance, and $15 for members and $18 for non-members on the day of the concert. Tickets are currently on sale at grpm.org, by calling 616-929-1700 or at the Museum’s front desk.
The 2019 Concerts Under the Stars series will continue on Feb. 7 with psych rock from Frankie and Myrrh, Feb. 28 with ambient R&B from Bronze Wolf, and will conclude on Mar. 21 with the electronic sounds of Pink Sky.
Fiona Dickinson is a British songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and music educator currently residing in Grand Rapids. Along with her work arranging strings for the ambient noise project, Saltbreaker, Fiona has a lengthy list of collaborations on stage and in the studio. She also has a background in composition for independent film and live score for site-specific performance with dance, video, and analog projection.
Meghan Moe Beitiks, has designed lights for the California Academy of Sciences, the Asian Art Museum, SF Sketchfest, and Atom-R. She is an artist working with associations and disassociations of culture/nature/structure, analyzing perceptions of ecology through the lenses of site, history, and emotions in order to produce work that interrogates relationships with the non-human. She was a Fulbright Student Fellow in Scenic Design to Latvia and a recipient of the Edes Foundation Prize for Emerging Artists. She received her BA in Theater Arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz and her MFA in Performance Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Grand Valley State University, and has designed media for previous Concerts Under the Stars in 2018.
Cathy Van Lopik reprises her role as Emily Brent in the upcoming production of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre.
Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Was None” is one of Cathy Van Lopik’s favorite plays. So when she learned that both Jenison’s Shadblow Theatre and Grand Rapids Civic Theatre had included the famous murder mystery in their 2018-2019 season, it was a given that Van Lopik was going to audition.
“I knew I was going to audition for both shows in the hopes that I might get into one,” said the Wyoming resident. “There was a chance I might not get into either, but I was going to try.”
She ended up landing a part in both shows, portraying Emily Brent this past summer for Shadblow Theatre’s production and a role she will reprise for the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s, which opens Jan. 11 at the theater, located at 30 N. Division Ave.
“When I came in for rehearsal, they were like ‘You already know your lines, right? You’re off book already,’” Van Lopik said with a laugh.
With a different director comes the opportunity to explore the character of Emily Brent from another viewpoint.
“You see a different aspect to the character,” Van Lopik said. “(Director) Bruce Tinker has a different take and will say something like she could be responding to something this character said and it gives you a new perspective as to why why she is saying this particular line.”
Brent is one of 10 seemingly normal people who are invited to stay at the isolated Solider Island off the Devon coast of England. Once a gramophone announces the group’s sins to all the other occupants, things start to get interesting and people start to disappear.
“Basically you put 10 strangers in a room and give them a crisis and watching how each of these people deal with it is very interesting,” she said. “Each of these 10 people have an individual way of handling this situation making it a compelling look at human nature and how people react.”
Van Lopik is a familiar face to the theater scene in Grand Rapids, having worked with Master Arts Theatre for several years, currently serving as the director of the group’s traveling troupe. She also has performed and directed a number of shows, including the 2017 Van Singel Fine Arts production of “Willy Wonka The Musical.” However, this is the first time Van Lopik will perform on the Civic stage.
“It just hasn’t worked out before,” Van Lopik said. “I’ve had other things going on or it just didn’t work.
“I have auditioned before and there is so much talent in the area, that you just don’t get the role. Having been a director, I know how it feels when you have two or three people who would be great but you can only pick one.”
Van Lopik will be back in the director’s chair after “And Then There Were None” wraps. She will be directing “Sunshine Boys” at Holland Civic Theatre, Feb. 11 and 12; and “Around the World in 80 Days” for Master Arts Theatre, June 6 – 22.
That’s of course is if Emily Brent survives the island escapades in “And Then There Were None.” To find out if she does, you’ll have to catch the show, which runs Jan. 11 – 27. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $18 – $29, with student pricing $16. For more on this production or other shows at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, visit grct.org.
Reyna Orellana Masko shares some of the unspeakable horrors of life, violence, and death in her native El Salvador. A U.S. citizen today, she calls for the national administration to reinstate Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for the 200,000 Salvadorans at risk of being sent back to a land of estrangement and danger. Relatedly, she calls for Ottawa County residents to create a more welcoming community that is able to attract and retain diverse workers who are the global doers of tomorrow.
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
We felt it best in this case to relay the story of who this fine fella is and how he came to be in his guardian angel’s own words, as Grey Catsby (born in August of 2013) came to us under different circumstances and under the assumption that he was feline leukemia-positive (he retested negative several times). Here is his story in Augusta’s words:
“Grey is a big boy, but he’s not overweight and doesn’t overeat, he is just big-boned at 16 pounds. He’d make a great companion as he is pretty chill, but he would prefer to be the only cat in the place. His brother must have harassed him quite a bit as he wouldn’t eat or have a treat for a long time until he’d made sure no other critter was around.
“He’s smart and trainable, a big fan of Greenies, catnip, chicken and Lickables, though he isn’t a huge fan of canned food. He has excellent litter box manners and likes cuddles with people he bonds with, which I think he would do fairly easy with anyone who is consistent, gives him lotsa crunchy treats for basic good behavior, and only uses a loud or stern voice when he is doing something wrong (that doesn’t happen very often). He will be quite shy at first as he has been through a lot, and I don’t believe he had ever had a treat or toy in his life before I got him; he is just starting to get what toys are and feel safe enough to play.
“Until he has bonded with you, he won’t like you messing with the top of his head; he is OK with petting. but toys that are catapulted over his head or sudden, unexpected movements can freak him out. Honestly, I’ve worked with a ton of cats and this dude is really sweet. In the morning, he will wait for me to get my coffee and when I sit down with it, he will come over, look me in the eye and gently tap my arm with his right paw to ask for some cuddles; it is as if he has missed me while I was sleeping (even though he slept with me on the bed all night).
“I believe that feeling safe and secure is something he hadn’t much of, and that is probably as much to do with his nature as a nurturer. He becomes much more worried when there is a man and a woman in the house, though two woman are fine; add a man to the mix and he gets a bit skittish. He witnessed a great deal of verbal and some physical abuse in his former home, so he will just need consistency and kindness to allow him to start shining again.
“I can say with certainty that he now has the basic, but perhaps fragile, trust in believing in humans, and is learning that they can do right by him. In spite of his upbringing, he is not a lot of work, he’s cuddly without being clingy, and he’s getting happier by the day.”
Once you know his background, you can understand his demeanor with us since his arrival, and you are instantly SO PROUD of how far he has come in such a short period of time: Grey Catsby had a hard time adjusting to the hustle and bustle of shelter life but is doing much better. He still spends most of his time observing the action from the top of the catwalk, but if you call him, he will come down for pets. He will make an excellent cat for a family once he warms up to his new home. He could live with or without other cats. He is the perfect gentleman, and also very handsome.
Grey Catsby likes people but isn’t crazy about being the center of attention. Once he comes down from the catwalk, though, he enjoys being near you — although he’s a bit shy at first. Anyone looking for a cat that has his quiet mannerisms will be very lucky. He may need a little extra time adjusting to new surroundings but would do just fine in no time.
When Grey was sick with calicivirus, he got extra one-on-one attention, and we think that helped him be more comfortable with us (strange as that may sound). He would be perfect for any home with older kids, another cat, or a small dog.
Well, there ya have it folks, Grey Catsby in a nutshell. We are thoroughly enjoying watching him become brave and more self-assured every single day that he is with us. Augusta did a fantastic job laying the groundwork and Grey is coming in to his own with purpose and grace.
More about Grey Catsby:
Extra-large
Domestic Short-hair, Gray & White
Adult
Male
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
Neutered
Not declawed
Prefers a home without dogs
Want to adopt Grey Catsby? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
