


Flushing HS Interact Students during book sorting: (left to right) Madalyn VanLandeghem (Rotary Interact President), Marty Barta (Rotary Club president), Arissa Presley and Lauren Brokaw.
The Rotary Club of Flushing recently collaborated with the Flushing High School Interact Club to set up a new book distribution center for the Rotary Area 7 Literacy Project.
Interact Club students under the direction of Rotary Club of Flushing President Marty Barta sorted through pallets of books at Future Engineering Inc. in Flushing, which is owned by Rotary Club of Flushing member Matt Catlin. Interact Club members then organized the books and arranged them on shelves, completing the project in two days (approximately five hours total). All the while, the students stayed masked up and maintained a six-foot of social distance as much as possible.
Catlin will be providing storage for the books at his company so that they can be distributed to eligible students in the area. Local Rotary clubs participating in the Area 7 Literacy Project include the Rotary Club of Flushing, the Rotary Club of Fenton, the Rotary Club of Grand Blanc, the Rotary Club of Flint, the Rotary Club of Greater Flint Sunrise, and the Genesee Valley Rotary Club.
The Area 7 Literacy Project started in 2014 with a primary focus to distribute books to kids from birth through age five. Books were given to Reach Out and Read at the Hurley Pediatric Clinic and distributed by the Salvation Army at the downtown Citadel and Beecher Corps.
After the Flint Water Crisis, Reach Out and Read secured other sources of book funding, and the Salvation Army requested that the Rotary Clubs distribute all materials through the Beecher Corps. Through 2019, 22,500 books had been distributed.
In 2020, the Area 7 Literacy Project was expanded beyond the Beecher district and adjusted its focus to include a K-6th grade reading level. This change allowed books to circulate to school districts in the Area 7 Literacy Project network rather than just the Beecher area.
While the project continues to provide 1,000 books annually to Beecher Salvation Army, it has also expanded to include the distribution of an additional 4,000 books annually by the six participating Rotary clubs. Five of the clubs will handle distribution through the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan Backpack Program, and the Rotary Club of Flushing will partner with the Bread for Life Backpack Program for distribution.
Books will be distributed four to five times a year based on the number of eligible students in each club’s school district.
The community goal of the Area 7 Literacy Project is to get children fluent in reading outside of school hours and ready to read when they enter school. Books distributed in the project network are fun books and not “assigned reading.” (Reprinted courtesy of Ben Gagnon, The Flushing View).
The Flushing Rotary Club awarded its 2020 scholarships to three Flushing High School graduates on July 23. The recipients were Flushing High School 2020 graduates Josie Willette, Landen Moore-Pierce and Landon Young.
Willette received the Gerald and Josie Knight Memorial Scholarship, Moore-Pierce was awarded the Richard and Kathy Merrill Scholarship and Young received the general Flushing Rotary Scholarship. Each student received a $1,000 scholarship that can be used for college tuition at the institution they attend this fall.
Willette plans to attend Michigan State University and pursue an education major in high school teaching. Moore- Pierce will attend Alma College on an athletic scholarship and plans to pursue a nursing major. Young will be attending Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois and is interested in a career in the healthcare field.
The Flushing Rotary scholarships are based upon a combination of factors, including academic achievement and community service. A priority is placed on service, as this is the motto of Rotary International: “Service above Self.” The Flushing Rotary Club seeks to recognize students who have engaged in active community service during their high school years.
A Rotary Scholarship committee comprised of Flushing Rotary members and non-Rotary community representatives selects the recipients. Funding is awarded from the Flushing Rotary Club Scholarship Fund and administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. The Rotary Club typically awards between two to four scholarships per year.
The Flushing Rotary Club is pleased to recognize these three outstanding students in the Flushing community and wishes them success in their academic pursuits and career paths. The Flushing Rotary also recognizes the efforts of the scholarship recipients’ parents in their important formative role.
Pictured (L-R): Marty Barta, Terry Bigelow, and Darwin Scherba.
Flushing resident Terry Bigelow has been named the Flushing Rotary Club’s Service Above Self Award recipient for 2020.
Bigelow, who is the program manager for the Flushing Christian Outreach Center (FCOC), received her award at the Rotary Club’s weekly breakfast meeting on February 6. She was presented the award based on her outstanding professional achievement within her occupation and for contributing her time and energy to the problems and needs of society.
Bigelow, a 1974 graduate of Flushing High School, attended Michigan State University to pursue a career in teaching. During her junior year at MSU, she auditioned and was offered an acting role with The Young Americans Broadway Tour. After a nine-month tour, Bigelow returned to MSU and resumed her education, where she received a B.A. in Elementary Education in 1979.
Bigelow began her teaching career in the Los Alamitos Unified School District in California. She was involved in many aspects of education, from classroom teacher to directing student musicals and drama programs.
With the help of a colleague, Bigelow founded the Los Al Players—a youth performance troupe that developed into what is currently known as the Orange County School of the Arts. The California charter school currently enrolls 2,000 students in grades 7-12 and prepares students for higher education and a profession in the arts.
In 1986, Bigelow returned to Flushing and taught middle school writing in Montrose. She also served as the afterschool drama coach.
In 1989, Bigelow received her Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Eastern Michigan University. She would go on to hold the position of Montrose Middle School Assistant Principal and Montrose Alternative Education High School Director from 2003 to 2010. She retired from Montrose Schools in 2010.
Shortly after her retirement, Bigelow became the program manager for the FCOC, which provides food and clothing for 400 to 500 individuals each month. FCOC has become an efficient resource for those in need within the Flushing community, serving every client with dignity and grace. The FCOC is supported by many of the Flushing churches.
Bigelow oversees around 100 volunteers at FCOC and coordinates a variety of programs at the center. She has become well-regarded for bringing compassion and expertise to the FCOC vision and for having a genuine concern for the wellbeing of the community’s most vulnerable members.
In addition to her role with FCOC, Bigelow has been instrumental in providing food for school-aged children within Flushing Community Schools through weekend distribution. As a certified trainer for Bridges Out of Poverty, she has also given presentations across the state and the country regarding the hidden rules of poverty, the barriers of poverty and how communities can help neighbors in need to become self-sustaining.
The Rotary Club of Flushing’s Service Above Self Award reflects Rotary International’s motto and seeks to recognize someone in the Flushing community who goes above and beyond (Service above Self) in their service to the community and beyond, thereby exemplifying the Rotary motto. The recipient is always a non-Rotarian.
Rotary has contributed more than $2 billion to fight polio, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and countless volunteer hours since launching its polio eradication program, PolioPlus, in 1985. In 1988, Rotary formed the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year. Today the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent. Polio is closer than ever to being eradicated.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has just renewed (January 2020) its matching donation program up to 450 million with Rotary International. Donations made through Rotary to eradicate Polio will be matched 2:1 by the Gates Foundation.
Anyone can be a part of the fight to end Polio and have their donation to Rotary matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Visit endpolio.org to learn more and donate. Please share this important information with others who may want to help Rotary end Polio.
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. We connect 1.2 million members from more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. Visit Rotary.org and endpolio.org for more about Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio.
(Left to right): Andrew Schmidt, Rich Willette, Josie Willette, Tina Willette, Lauren Quigley and Kevin Foltz.
Flushing High School senior Josie Willette has been selected as the Flushing Rotary Student of the Month for January.
Willette received her recognition alongside her parents Rich and Tina Willette and her favorite FHS teacher, Lauren Quigley, at a recent Flushing Rotary Club meeting. Josie is ranked eighth in the senior class with a 4.02 GPA and is currently taking AP Chemistry and AP Calculus classes.
After graduation, Willette plans to attend Michigan State University to pursue a degree in elementary education. She said she would like to stay in Michigan for the time being and job shadow teachers while in college. Eventually, she hopes to continue her education with a master’s degree.
As a student at FHS, Willette is no stranger to the spotlight. Last fall, she was crowned the 2019 Flushing Homecoming Queen and played a key role in leading the senior team to victory in the Homecoming Powderpuff game. She has also been a three-time captain of the Flushing Girls Varsity Soccer team at Flushing and has been named to the All-League Academic team in all four years of high school.
Willette belongs to several clubs at FHS, including the National Honor Society, the Science National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, the Student Leadership Organization and Varsity Club (where she is a Media Specialist).
Willette also fills her spare time with volunteering. She has dedicated many hours to serving with the Special Olympics, the Flushing Candlewalk, soup kitchens and food drives. Additionally, she tutors kids from Central Elementary School every week and serves with the “Chain Gang” for youth and sub-varsity football games through Flushing High School’s sports officiating class.
Although she is focused on grades and athletics, Willette earns some extra money by babysitting and using her painting skills to create welcome signs to sell. For hobbies, she enjoys watching movies and TV (her favorite movie is “The Proposal”) and hanging out with friends, family and cousins.
Willette said that her favorite time at FHS was attending classes when her older sister Logan was a senior at the high school. Namely, because Willette — a freshman at the time—got to hang out with her sister and her friends.
Willette has designated her $100 Rotary donation to be given to Special Olympics, which she has enjoyed being associated with as a volunteer since seventh grade.
(Reprinted from The Flushing View, January 30, 2020, by Ben Gagnon, with permission)
Pictured (L to R): Andrew Schmidt, Rotary President, Sarah Paschack, Allison Paschack, Amy Paschack, Kevin Paschack, Kevin Foltz, FHS Assistant Principal, and Lauren Quigley, FHS teacher.
Flushing High School senior Allison Paschack has been chosen as the Flushing Rotary Club Student of the Month for November.
Paschack, who will graduate with honors this spring, is seventh in her class with a 4.034 G.P.A. She has held the positions of vice-president of the National Honor Society, president of Mu Alpha Theta and president of the Science National Honor Society. She was also a member of FHS Rotary Interact Club in ninth grade through 11th grade and was the club’s treasurer in her junior year.
In addition to studies and club affiliations, Paschack plays varsity tennis, serves as a personal tutor to several FHS students and works part-time as an associate at Kohl’s on Linden Road. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music, particularly Indie.
Paschack’s volunteer experience includes taking part in a service project trip to Peru, where she and other volunteers helped to build a community center in the small town of Cusco.
Paschack has designated her $100 Rotary Club scholarship to be given to the Rainforest Alliance, a global organization that helps to support and protect rainforests around the world. She said that her donation decision was heavily influenced by her service project trip to Peru and the time she spent in the rainforest.
Paschack received her recognition alongside her parents Kevin and Amy Paschack and her younger sister Sarah, who is a freshman at Flushing High School.
The Flushing Rotary Club has also recognized eighth grader Drew Tunnicliff as the Flushing Middle School Rotary Student of the Month for November. Drew (far left) is pictured alongside his family: Dr. Steve Tunnicliff, Allyson Tunnicliff, Melissa Tunnicliff and Braeden Tunnicliff.
(Story reprinted with permission from The Flushing View, December 5, 2019, by Ben Gagnon).
(Pictured L-R: Dave Bennett, Rotary Club of Flushing President; Dr. James Cantwil, DDS; Darwin Scherba, Rotary Service Above Self Award Coordinator).
Dr. James K. Cantwil, DDS, has received the Rotary Club of Flushing’s distinguished Service Above Self Award for 2019.
Cantwil, who has owned and operated a dental practice in Flushing for 12 years, was presented with the honor at the Rotary Club’s breakfast meeting last Thursday. He received the award based on three qualifications: exemplifying outstanding professional achievement within his occupation; contributing his time and energy to the problems and needs of society; and demonstrating high ethical standards.
From a professional achievement standpoint, Cantwil has received several comprehensive dental and surgical certifications.
He also serves as a trustee on the Michigan Dental Association board (MDA) and has served multiple terms on the Genesee District Dental Society Board of Directors.
In many instances, Cantwil has given of his time to take care of the needs of others. He has participated as a coordinator for the Give Kids a Smile Foundation, volunteered as an oral health presenter in the Flushing, Swartz Creek and Clio school districts (1994-2014) and served as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector at local Catholic parishes (1980 to the present).
Cantwil has also completed several volunteer medical trips with the Haiti Dental Mission to the mountain village of Delatte, Haiti. As part of the team, he has helped to provide dental care and surgery to over 360 people in an impoverished region.
Cantwil will return to Haiti this month, where he will bring a pre-med college student along to get hands-on experience and receive the spiritual reward of serving others.
The Rotary Club also wishes to recognize Cantwil for his commitment to high ethical standards. As a convenience store employee from 1979-1988, Cantwil observed abuses in the use of state aid and food stamps. That experience has led him to remain politically active in regard to reforming the use of the state’s welfare programs.
Cantwil graduated from the University Of Detroit’s School Of Dentistry in 1988 and practiced as an associate dentist until 1989, when he began his own practice in Flint Township. He would later move his office to its current W. Pierson Road location in 1997.
Cantwil has been married to his wife, Elisa, since 1986 and has three children: Elizabeth (born 1989), Olivia (born 1992), and Roselyn (born 1996).
The Rotary Club of Flushing’s Service Above Self Award reflects Rotary International’s motto and seeks to recognize someone in the Flushing community who goes above and beyond (Service above Self) in their service to the community and beyond, thereby exemplifying the Rotary motto. The recipient is always a non-Rotarian.
The Flushing Rotary Club instituted this award in 2011 and has awarded it in each subsequent year to a Flushing area resident who demonstrates this level of selfless service. It is among the highest annual recognitions awarded by the Flushing Rotary Club.
(Reprinted from article by Ben Gagnon, The Flushing View, February 7 2019)
Pictured L-R: FHS Assistant Principal Kevin Foltz, Quincy Davis and Flushing Rotary President Dave Bennett.
Flushing High School senior Quincy Davis has been chosen as the Rotary Club of Flushing's Student of the Month for January 2019.
Davis received the award on January 24, 2019 at the Rotary Club of Flushing meeting with her parents, Jason Davis and Kristy Lord, siblings Mason, Brooklyn and Chandler, and grandparents Karen and Andy Suski, in attendance. She has designated Hurley Medical Center's Children’s Miracle Network to receive her $100 donation from the Rotary Club in her honor.
Davis, an honor student at FHS, is set to graduate this spring. Her plans include studying business management at Mott Community College on a volleyball scholarship and entering the family’s automotive dealership business upon graduation.
At Flushing, Davis is a three-sport athlete and has been named to four Academic All-State teams. She was the team captain for the 2018 Raider volleyball team, which captured a regional championship, a district title and a conference championship this fall. She is also a two-year varsity member of the girls basketball team (which is in season) and will begin her fourth year of varsity tennis this spring.
Davis has taken active involvement in varsity clubs, belonging to the Student Leadership Organization (SLO), the National Technical Honor Society, the Varsity Club and the COLT Squad.
For community service, Davis has read to kindergartners at the Early Childhood Center; assisted at the Mobile Food Pantry for three years; operated a Speed and Agility clinic for first to sixth graders at the 2018 Flushing Harvest Festival; set up for the Flushing Candlewalk with the Student Leadership Organization; and volunteered at a local soup kitchen for the past three years.
In the summer of 2017, Davis took a mission trip to Cincinnati to help remodel a building into a school for underprivileged kids. The trip was made possible through her home church, Flushing Community Church.
As for hobbies, Davis enjoys sports, travel and spending time with family. Her favorite trip was just this past year on Disney’s Alaskan Cruise.
Davis’ favorite memories at Flushing including winning the volleyball regional and being crowned Homecoming Queen this past fall. Her favorite teacher is Mrs. Harden, who she credited with pushing her to succeed in math.