Promise Week III: November 7-15

Don’t miss Promise Week III, the annual recognition and discussion of progress in making the Kalamazoo Promise a reality for many. Throughout the week of November 7 through 15, community members and leaders will highlight continuing efforts to build the Kalamazoo Promise, plans for future community building efforts and economic development potential, opportunities to revitalize the urban core, provide support for young people throughout the community and improve the quality of life in the Greater Kalamazoo area.

Promise Week III is supported by a broad coalition of interests who seek to engage the community in providing outstanding education and a path to success for all students, to revive the area and to create a “region of choice” for economic development. This year, Promise Week will address these important questions:

• What has happened since the Kalamazoo Promise scholarship program was announced three years ago?

• What does it mean to me, regardless of whether I am not among those who send their children to Kalamazoo Public Schools?

• How can I get involved in the “Promise of a Greater Kalamazoo,” an effort to build on the gift of the Kalamazoo Promise and stimulate the vitality of the region through education and quality-of-life initiatives?

Promise Week III is a continuation of the ongoing effort to build on the promise of a Greater Kalamazoo! Don’t miss any of the exciting events listed below. For more information, please visit: www.promiseweek.com or call the Special Events Line at (269) 345-1913.


Promise Week III: Leadership by Example
Events Calendar, November 7-15, 2008


Art Hop
Friday, November 7th, 2008
Downtown Kalmazoo | 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm (times may vary)

This month's Art Hop features several exhibits with educational themes, including the work of Kalamazoo Public Schools students, alumni, and teachers at Kalamazoo Communities In Schools/Kalamazoo Promise (125 W. Exchange Place); K/Resa - Education for the Arts Teaching Artists Showcase at the Epic Center (359 S. Kalamazoo Mall), and performances by youth from the ACT OUT program at the City of Kalamazoo Youth Development Center (230 E. Crosstown Parkway). To download a map, visit the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.


Marketing Kalamazoo and its Promise
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Radisson Hotel - Kalamazoo | 7:30 am - 9:00 am

A panel discussion of how area business and organizations can leverage the Kalamazoo Promise to support their mission or goals. Will include speakers from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo County Chamber of Commerce, Southwest Michigan First, and Allen Edwin Home; Blaine Lam (moderator).


Arts Education and Community Success
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts | 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Organizations that are aligning their activities with the broader goals of the Kalamazoo Promise will be featured. Speakers include area arts students as well as representatives of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Theater, and Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers.


Business/Education Roundtable
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Radisson Hotel - Kalamazoo | 7:30 am - 9:00 am

A community conversation around what businesses are doing to connect with education. Will include speakers from Monroe-Brown internship program, Pfizer's Partners in Education, BASIC, Eaton Corp's Big Brothers Big Sisters in Business program, and small business rep. Ron Kitchens (moderator).


What the Promise Means to You
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Ecumenical Senior Center, 702 N. Burdick (at North Street) | 12:00 - 3:00 pm

Join members of the Kalamazoo Junior Girls Organization and Ecumenical Senior Center in a celebration of Promise Week. The afternoon event will include youth entertainment, refreshments, networking, an open discussion of the Kalamazoo Promise, and display of the Kalamazoo Promise Traveling Exhibit. For more information, call 344-2330.


Meet Author/Illustrator Kadir Nelson
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Kalamazoo Public Library - Eastwood Branch | 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Hear from this year's featured children's author about his stunning illustrated history, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. Books for sale and signing. Refreshments served.


31st Annual Mary Caletto Rife Children's Literature Seminar
Friday, November 14th, 2008
Fetzer Center, Western Michigan University | 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Kadir Nelson, author of picture books about Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois, Duke Ellington, Michael Jordan, and Henry Brown, the slave who literally mailed himself to freedom, is the featured author at this annual celebration of great books for children. Registration required; $35 fee includes lunch | students $5 without lunch, $15 with lunch. Call 553-7804 or register online, here.

Leadership Kalamazoo Breakfast features Celebrated Speaker

Leadership Kalamazoo will host a breakfast featuring Bill Strickland on Thursday, November 6, from 7:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Radisson Plaza Hotel.

Bill Strickland is a nationally renowned speaker and social innovator. His captivating story involves personal and community transformation from poverty and defeat to strength and success. For more than 30 years, Strickland has inspired thousands through his powerful words, ideas, and the creation of a job training center and community arts program in his hometown. According to Strickland, “success is the point where your most authentic talents, passion, values, and experiences intersect with the chance to contribute to some greater good.” To learn more about Bill Strickland, visit http://www.bill-strickland.org/.

Tickets are $40 for the general public and $30 for Leadership Kalamazoo members. Click on the link to reserve your seat today!

Everything Autumn

I woke up this morning to the remnants of a huge party in my back yard. Mother Nature must have hosted a welcoming celebration for autumn during the night. And as I drove to work, it appears that all of Kalamazoo was invited. Fluorescent leaves are scattered like confetti across the county, and a few trees are displaying the season’s most vibrant hues of red and orange.

For me, waking up to fall in Michigan invokes a child-like excitement similar to waking up to snow and Santa Claus on Christmas. I wondered how my obsession with this season began, so I journeyed through the autumns of my youth and a few images came to mind:

Fall is the sweet smell of the final cut of hay. It is a Harvest Moon grinning low in the sky like a giant jack-o-lantern. It is rows of golden corn crackling beneath the groan of a dusty combine.

Fall is a hayride and a bonfire. It is children running through an orchard for cider and donuts. It is a herd of ewes retreating from the pasture—their bellies bulging as they prepare to have their lambs.

Fall is the smell of a wood-burning stove. It is catching leaves as they float from the trees. It is a swinging rope hanging from the rafters—or burlap sacks of wool piled to the ceiling of our old barn.

Fall is the screams of a haunted house and the stomachache from candy corn. It is the laughter from a game of football in my grandma’s front yard. It is the memory of my grandfather’s charming face, blackened by the soot of his harvest.

Fall is the heralded “trick or treat!” The beauty of autumn arrives quickly, almost unexpectedly. And like an awe-inspiring display of fireworks, its celebration is brief. I believe Michigan may host the nation’s most beautiful finale to nature, so I always make a point to enjoy the “treat.”

Winter Heating Tips

With the winter fast approaching, and energy costs still on the rise, Kalamazoo area residents are looking for ways to stay warm this winter without breaking the bank. Finding ways to scale back your heating not only saves money, but it is better for the environment as using less heat is less of a draw on our energy resources.

So, this winter, how exactly do you use less heat, but stay just as warm? Here are a few tips:

Don’t Use Unnecessary Heat
Don’t unnecessarily heat rooms that you don’t use often, such as guest rooms. If possible, turn back thermostats in those rooms, or keep the door closed to prevent heat drifting in.
Additionally, if you tend to be gone for long stretches during the day, scale your thermostat back a little before you leave. Then return it to normal as soon as you get home. Be sure not to turn your thermostat higher than your desired temperature in an effort to heat the house faster when you return. This doesn’t heat your home any faster, but makes your furnace work harder, and possibly use more energy than needed.

Wash Clothes in Cold Water When Possible
Not all clothes need to be washed in warm or hot water, but it’s easy to leave the dial set as such. Check clothing tags for clothes that can be machine washed cold, and change your dial accordingly.

Keep Your Chimney Flue Closed When Not In Use
An open flue is like leaving a window open. The hot air escapes right out the chimney. Be sure to keep this closed when you are not using your fireplace.

Take Advantage of the Sun’s Natural Warmth
Open the shades and blinds of south facing windows on sunny days. Additionally, close them at night to reduce the chill from cold or frosty windows.

Check Your House for Energy Leaks
Look and feel around doors and windows for drafts, leaks or holes. Use weather stripping, caulk, or door sweeps to prevent heat loss this winter.

Cut Your Shower Time
Hot water can be a major influence on your energy expenditures, especially in big families. Ask everyone in your family to cut back on their hot shower time by a few minutes. Shorter hot showers can save up to 33% of your hot water heating costs.

At-Home at Homecoming?

Two years ago I sat along a curb in East Lansing, waving to Kermit the Frog as he rolled by in a white convertible. Moments later, massive draft horses with green manes and hooves pounded the pavement as they trotted down Grand River Avenue. Another Homecoming parade was passing before me as quickly as the year had passed since I graduated.

Each fall I drive into Michigan State’s campus and read the imaginary banner above Spartan Stadium that screams, “Welcome to the Happiest Place in Michigan!” Sure, I admit I’m biased toward my alma mater—but every time I step foot on campus toting a grill and wearing a signature hooded sweatshirt, I feel like I’ve been welcomed to the largest extended-family reunion known to man. It’s a celebration I have most appropriately termed “Tailgation Nation.”

Tailgation Nation is more than a parade, high-fives, the smell of hot dogs and the blast of a sportscaster on an AM radio. Exceeding the celebration of a football game, Tailgation Nation is the celebration of community and the sense of family developed during one of life’s greatest periods of transition. My college years taught me astronomy, biology and ethics and communication theories. But the greater education was about myself—about love and friendship, heartache and triumph. I left East Lansing with more than a degree—and each time I return I can’t help but celebrate the place that nurtured me and fostered my growth from a shy farm girl to a confidant woman.

Although I didn’t go to Kalamazoo’s Western Michigan University, I’m guessing it has a group of graduates and enthusiastic fans similar to what I experienced at MSU. In the midst of another exciting season of college football, I am convinced that Tailgation Nation is a universal phenomenon. And if it’s not—it should be. Our community can learn from the universities: perhaps a stable and lifelong sense of community results from providing a supportive environment that evolves and transforms the individual.

No matter where I wind up in life, I have the comfort of knowing my alma mater will always welcome me home. I’m confident that Kalamazoo can do the same.

tax credit copy

Did you know that the federal government has made home ownership more enticing for first-time buyers?

For the remainder of this year and the first half of 2009, the government will give a tax credit of up to $7,500 to eligible couples. The tax credit is worth 10% of the purchase price of the home. The tax credit amounts to an interest-free 15-year loan for first-time homebuyers.

In the words of Kieren Quinn, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association: “This is the most important piece of housing-related legislation that we have seen in more than a generation.” The new legislation has helped put many young couples in Allen Edwin Homes.

Because the tax credit is for people who purchase their primary residence, individuals may qualify for the tax credit even if they own a vacation home or rental property as long as those properties were not their primary residence for at least three years preceding the purchase of their new home.

The credit is phased out for individuals with modified adjusted gross income between $75,000 and $95,000. For married couples filing a joint return, the phase out range is $150,000 to $170,000.

The credit is fully refundable, meaning taxpayers will be able to obtain an additional federal tax refund of up to $7,500 even if they have no other tax liabilities. Taxpayers will be able to claim the credit on their 2008 tax return for homes purchased in 2008. For homes purchased in 2009, the IRS will allow the purchasers to file an amended 2008 return to claim the credit.

Then the credit will be repaid as an additional tax on tax returns for the next 15 years. For the maximum $7,500 credit, this works out to annual repayments of $500 per year.

Meet The Young Professionals

Working in education and fund development, Brooke Nobis Buys wasn't bumping into that many young professionals in her daily work. So, like a number of other people not too long out of college, she checked out Kalamazoo Area Young Professionals.

Attending art exhibits, programs and social events, Buys has bought into the "live, learn and grow together" motto of the informal group, organized through the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce.

"I work with a lot of people whose networks are established and careers are fixed. It's good to interact with young people who are facing the same issues you are," says Buys.

Among the people she's met is Callie Gaines, a young professional herself who provides some Chamber of Commerce staff support for the volunteer board which sets the direction of the group.

Gaines says the group has a lot of fun, and their monthly events have included presentations from CEOs and college professors, wine tastings, tailgating at WMU football games, and attending new art exhibits. Sometimes, she says, members just get together at a restaurant for lunch, or for an after-work drink. While there are a lot of things to do, in the end it’s really just about getting people together. “We try to emphasize the networking aspect of it,” Gaines said.

“Definitely bring your business cards.”

Despite ‘young’ being in the group’s name, there are no age restrictions when it comes to joining. The majority of the group tends to be in their twenties, thirties, and young forties, and often in the early stages of their careers or looking to start them. Thus the desire for networking. Anyone, however, that is just looking to get out in the community and meet an energetic group of local people is welcome. “We do require that people be at least 21 because there is alcohol served at some events,” Gaines says.

Getting involved is easy, painless, and free. Interested people may sign up for the e-newsletter by contacting Gaines at the Chamber.

There are no dues or initiation fees, although members are expected to cover their own food, drink, and admission at events. The group meets about once or twice a month and the event planners love to get input from the group as to what type of events people are interested in.

More information is available at The Chamber's Web site.