Congratulations to Michigan State University (MSU) senior, Maddy North, for earning the Board of Trustees Award for having maintained a 4.0 grade point average for all four years. She is one of just 12 in the College of Arts and Letters to achieve that award. Maddy is the granddaughter of Omena residents Chuck and Janet Dickerson. Maddy’s mother is Rachel North and her father is Scott North. Maddy is receiving her degree in English, with a second major in film. To qualify for the award, the student must have completed at least three quarters of their credits at MSU.
After graduation on May 4, Maddy will be working at the Riverside in Leland before heading to Dublin, Ireland in July for a special study program on the Celts. Maddy is also the current president of Delta Phi Epsilon (DPE) professional foreign service sorority. DPE fraternity was founded at Georgetown University in 1920. In 1973, they established DPE sorority on that campus. The Mu chapter was established on the MSU campus in 2015. Members come from various academic backgrounds, but share a passion for advocacy and international affairs.
Welcome back to Alice Littlefield after being away from Omena for almost a year, most recently in Atlanta, Georgia, near her son and daughter-inlaw.
Kathy Miller recently returned from a fun visit to Florida to see Joel and Linda Zylstra. The weather was perfect, and they spent their time enjoying the sunshine, beach walks and water aerobics. Ricky Mark and Krista Berman joined them for dinner one night and conversation centered around...what else? Omena!
The 37th Annual Exposures Show will be held at the Northport Arts Association’s (NAA) Village Arts Building in Northport this Friday and Saturday. Exposures is a collaborative project designed in 1988 to challenge Leelanau County students in grades 7-12 to express themselves through art and writing and provide a showcase for their work. Each year about 1,000 poems, stories, photographs, paintings, drawings, and sketches are submitted for review from students from every Leelanau County school. The venue for the show changes each year, and the NAA is honored to be the location this year. The opening reception in on Friday, April 25 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. and the show continues on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Then, starting Thursday, May 1, at NAA is a fascinating art show organized by Northport Public School’s art teacher, Jen Evans. The show is entitled Origin and Echo and includes student and adult artists who are paired with each other. It involves most of the students from grades K – 12. Each student is randomly paired with an adult in the community. The adults each receive a work of art from a student without knowing who the student is. They will create a work of art inspired by the student’s piece. Both pieces will hang side-byside at the show. The student and adult will find out who the other is at the show.
The opening reception on May 1 from 4 to 7 p.m. is also part of the open house for the three organizations that occupy that building — the Northport Arts Association (NAA), the Northport Performing Arts Center (NPAC), and the Leelanau Township Community Foundation (LTCF). Be sure to visit all three to learn about what they offer our community. The Origin and Echo exhibit continues until May 11 Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m.
The Dennos Museum Center on the Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) campus in Traverse City is showing the film “Matter of Mind: My Alzheimer’s” this coming Wednesday at 4 p.m. It is an intimate portrayal of three families confronting the unique challenges of Alzheimer’s. Following the film, attendees are invited to stay for a short awareness program and Q&A with the Michigan chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. The event is free, but registration is requested. You can go the Dennos Museum website for more information and to register.
Since my birthday is this week, as you will see below, it brings several thoughts to mind. I hate it when I see an old person, and then realize that I went to school with them. While you are only young once, you can be immature indefinitely. In fact, if you haven’t grown up by the time you are 50, you don’t have to.
Happy Birthday this week to Les Disch, Peter Van Dusen, John Sommavilla, Lauris Woolford, Richard Huffman, and to Ethan Fitzgerald, who turns 18. Happy Anniversary to Stephen and Meriwether Eisenhard.
