Flushing High School senior Ella Schmidt has been named as the Flushing Rotary Student of the Month for February.

Schmidt, who will graduate with high honors this spring, is carrying a 3.6-plus GPA. She is involved with the Rotary Interact Club, the National Honor Society, and the Future Farmers of America (FFA), where she holds the position of Sentinel.

Through Rotary Interact, Schmidt volunteered to make s’mores at the Flushing Candlewalk and participated in blanket making for Hurley Medical Center, a Very Special Art Day, the Huge Indoor Garage Sale and Area 7 Literacy book delivery to Flushing Middle School. She has also volunteered her time at a local daycare, volunteered at the Burton Police Department and worked at the soup kitchen through NHS.

Schmidt has played three years of varsity tennis at Flushing High School and will be entering her fourth year of tennis overall this spring. One of her favorite FHS memories is competing at the Flint Metro League Championships at the Midland Tennis Club in her junior year.

Schmidt’s main hobby involves horse-riding and showing horses, especially her own horse named George. Moving forward, her vision is to have a side hustle as a horse trainer/breeder for the horse show circuit.

Schmidt plans to study crop and soil sciences at Michigan State University but she’s also interested in becoming a Michigan State Trooper and pursuing something in the criminal justice field. She currently works at the Flint Farmers Market Apple Cart and is a farmhand at Xanadu Farms.

Schmidt credits Skye McWilliams and Tracey Groom from Genesee Career Institute (GCI) for introducing her to a variety of career fields related to agriculture. She’s especially thankful to her GCI instructors for pushing her to do things outside of her comfort zone through the agricultural program and giving her the total FFA experience, like showing pigs and raising chickens.

Schmidt also enjoys traveling. In fact, her family has set a goal of visiting all 50 states (Alaska this June will be their 50th state). She is the daughter of Andrew and Brandi Schmidt, and her brother Drew is a ninth grader in the Flushing School District.

(Article courtesy of Ben Gagnon, The View Newspaper Group, Inc.)

The Rotary Club of Flushing has awarded scholarships to two Flushing High School students for going above and beyond with acts of community service.

On June 17, the club presented scholarships to Megan Kassuba and Ashleigh Whaley, who both graduated this spring. Kassuba received the Gerald and Josie Knight Memorial Rotary Scholarship, while Whaley received the Richard and Kathy Merrill Rotary Scholarship.

Kassuba, who graduated with a 3.69 GPA, plans to attend Central Michigan University this fall to study environmental science. Her goal is to become a park ranger and travel around the United States to all the national parks.

As a Girl Scout member, Kassuba earned the Girl Scouts Silver Award and helped younger Girl Scouts earn badges. She was also the captain of the FHS ski team for two years and the girls’ golf team captain for one year.

Kassuba’s volunteering experiences included collecting money for Whaley Children’s Center, making blankets for Hurley Medical Center, and restoring four basketball hoops at Seymour Elementary School. She also volunteered with the Catholic Charities Soup Kitchen, the Flushing Candlewalk, and St. John Vianney Church.

Whaley, who graduated with a 4.0 GPA, plans to attend Grand Valley State University and study nursing. She attended Mott Community College while in high school.

At FHS, Whaley was a four-year scholar-athlete with the girls varsity soccer team and was an MVP and scholar-athlete on the girls varsity basketball team. She also tutored students in mathematics as a member of Mu Alpha Theta and volunteered to help with kindergarten classes at the Early Childhood Center, where she was a role model for younger kids.

Outside the school setting, Whaley participated in a Nazarene Church project in Arizona and helped a local church revitalize its building. She and other volunteers also passed out water to homeless people who were suffering from the extreme heat at the time.

Whaley also volunteered with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to organize and distribute food products; prepared food at the North Flint Soup Kitchen; volunteered with Flushing Community Church to put together Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter gift baskets for those in need; and volunteered with youth at a Flushing soccer summer camp.

Each year, the Rotary Club of Flushing scholarships focus on service, as the Rotary motto is “Service Above Self.” The Rotary Club strives to award scholarships to students who demonstrate exemplary service above self and distinguish themselves among their peers by their service to the community. A scholarship subcommittee comprised of Rotary members and community representatives reviews student applications and makes recipient selections.

The scholarship program funds are administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.

Rotary Club of Flushing charter member Tim Glavin has received the 2021 Tommy Award for displaying exemplary service to the community and to the Rotary Club of Flushing.

Glavin, a 29-year charter member of the club who participated in its formation in April 1992, received his Tommy Award during a virtual Rotary Club of Flushing meeting on March 25. Fellow Rotary members describe Glavin as a dedicated Rotarian since the club’s chartering, assisting in every community service effort and ensuring that many functions of the regular Rotary meetings go smoothly

Glavin, who has primarily served as Sergeant-at-Arms for the club, quietly and consistently serves the club by arriving early every week, setting up for the weekly meeting, arranging for attendance, collecting 50/50 raffle funds, and managing member name tags. He is also responsible for ensuring all members are wearing their Rotary pins and will fine them if they are not, which is a Rotary tradition.

Glavin also collects “Happy Bucks” from members during the meeting when they share a positive event in their lives.

“It is not always those who are front and center who should be recognized, but often those who just do what needs to be done and make it look effortless and seamless in a consistent and dependable manner,” said Flushing Rotary member Dr. John Cote. “Tim is a master of ensuring things are always taken care of and his dependability and dedication to his role are without question.”

Glavin is the owner of CIS Insurance Agency in Flushing and has been a corporate sponsor of many Flushing Rotary fundraisers and events over the years. His wife Connie, who is in automotive sales at a local dealership, has also procured sponsorships over the years for various Rotary fundraising events to support community projects in Flushing.

Rotary has been a family affair for the Glavins, as their son Tom has also helped at Rotary fundraisers by wearing the duck costume during the annual Duckie Race fundraisers.

The Thomas J. McNally Memorial Award, named after former Flushing Rotarian Thomas McNally Jr. (who is not deceased, but rather the first recipient of the award), was first presented in 1995. The award was the brainchild of former member Gerald Knight, who wanted to establish an award within the Rotary Club of Flushing to recognize a member who exhibited exemplary service to the club. Because the Flushing Rotary chapter was just three-years-old at the time, it did not have sufficient funds to award a Paul Harris Fellow, one of Rotary International’s highest awards given to members.

The Tommy Award is traditionally awarded on the Thursday preceding St. Patrick’s Day each year (this year’s award was delayed because of COVID) and recognizes a member of the Rotary Club of Flushing who has exhibited outstanding service to the club in the preceding year.

The award is represented by a necklace made of emerald green beads that are referred to within the Rotary Club as “the precious gems.” The recipient is expected to keep these “gems” safe, to wear them periodically at club meetings, and to plan and coordinate their awarding to a successor each year, in cooperation with prior Tommy Award winners in a secret planning session known as the “Tomclave.” Only prior award recipients can participate in the selection of the recipient each year.

Flushing High School social worker Pam Miller is the 2021 recipient of the Service Above Self Award presented by the Rotary Club of Flushing.

Miller, a longtime staff member at Flushing Community Schools, was presented with the award for her dedication to counseling students and launching outreach efforts for kids and their families.

Marty Barta, Rotary Club of Flushing president and former assistant principal at Flushing High School, said that Miller works relentlessly to get students the help they need, whether it involves situations at school and at home or scenarios involving mental health.

“She is deeply concerned about the students with whom she provides services,” Barta said. “She is confidential but also knows at what point she needs to seek help from outside sources. She is an exceptional listener, and the students know that she listens to their concerns.”

Along with her counseling work, Miller is described as having an “open wallet” because she frequently buys clothes, shoes, coats, lunches, food and other necessities for many students and their families in the Flushing community. For instance, Miller established a Prom Dress room, where she allows students to pick out dresses for an upcoming dance if they cannot afford to purchase one themselves.

Although she purchases many of the items herself, Miller has put together a network of community organizations and people whom she calls on for assistance when necessary. Over the years, she has arranged for beds, refrigerators and other household items to be delivered to families who need them and coordinated meals for families in the Flushing Community School District—especially around the holidays.

“Pam adopts students and their families every year during the holidays, gathering gifts that the students and the family want and need,” said Barta. “She digs deep into her own pocket to provide a holiday for these families. She takes no credit for these gifts, saying they are from Santa or from an anonymous donor.”

When the COVID-19 shutdown happened, Miller volunteered to help pack and distribute meals for FCS families—never missing a day of food distribution. She also volunteered at Flushing Christian Outreach Center to help pack and distribute food.

Professionally, Miller heads up the high school’s PPSC (Promoting Positive School Climate) efforts. In this capacity, she leads students, teachers and staff members in promoting a positive school climate at the high school by spearheading Raider Rewards when students are “caught doing something great.” She also hangs positivity banners throughout the high school and plays a huge role in preparing for the district’s annual Raider Rally to kick off a new school year.

In addition to being a problem solver for students, Miller serves as the high school’s “truancy officer” by tracking students’ attendance, arranging meetings with students and parents when a child has attendance issues and—when necessary—filing truancy paperwork with the county. Miller attends truancy hearings at Genesee County Probate Court and does all the follow-up work on getting students back on track and attending school.

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 Rotary Club of Flushing expresses its appreciation to Ben Gagnon of The Flushing View for this story)

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).