Encore January 2016

Good Food for a Good Cause

January 2016

Preventing Child Abuse

Meet Jon Hoadley

A Force for Friendship

Southwest Michigan’s Magazine

MATT GIRAUD From American Idol to American dad

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CONTENTS

J a n u a r y 2016

FEATURES Matt Giraud

22

A Force for Friendship

26

The singer is embracing his new family life while keeping his career on track

Exchange program forges friendship and understanding across cultures

DEPARTMENTS 8 Contributors

Up Front 10 First Things — Happenings in Southwest Michigan 12 Sowing the Dream — Groups beautify and maintain MLK Park

14 Enterprise

Manners Matter — Kelly Duggan helps teens with etiquette and social skills

17 Savor

Good Food, Good Cause — Young entrepreneur’s café serves meals with social impact

20

Good Works

Kalamazoo CAN — Preventing child abuse is mission of former prosecutor Karen Hayter

38 Back Story

Meet Jon Hoadley — Representing Michigan’s 60th District keeps him running

ARTS

30 Crafting His Dream

Church renovation launches woodworker’s furniture

enterprise

32 Events of Note

On the cover: Singer Matt Giraud’s new minivan sports this bumper sticker as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the performer’s more family-focused life.

Photo by Brian Powers

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Good Food for a Good Cause

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Preventing Child Abuse

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Meet Jon Hoadley

January 2016

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Publisher

encore publications, inc.

Editor

marie lee

Designer

alexis stubelt

Copy Editor

margaret deritter

Contributing Writers kit almy, olga bonfiglio, lisa mackinder, kara norman, j. gabriel ware, robert m. weir

Photographer brian k. powers

Poetry Editor

margaret deritter

Advertising Sales celeste statler sophia jacobs krieg lee

Distribution kama mitchell

Office Coordinator hope smith

Encore Magazine is published 12 times yearly. Copyright 2016, Encore Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Editorial, circulation and advertising correspondence should be sent to:

www.encorekalamazoo.com 117 W. Cedar St. Suite A, Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Telephone: (269) 383-4433 Fax: (269) 383-9767 Email: Publisher@encorekalamazoo.com

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The staff at Encore welcomes written comment from readers, and articles and poems for submission with no obligation to print or return them. To learn more about us or to comment, you may visit www.encorekalamazoo. com. Encore subscription rates: one year $36, two years $70. Current single issue and newsstand $4, $10 by mail.

Back issues $6, $12 by mail. Advertising rates on request.

Closing date for space is 28 days prior to publication date.

Final date for print-ready copy is 21 days prior to publication date.

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Contributors encore

Kit Almy

Olga Bonfiglio

Lisa Mackinder

When Kit heard about Feed the World Café, she knew she had to write a story about it.

“I'm always interested in food and in people who are doing good and the innovative way the restaurant combines these intrigued me,” the Kalamazoo writer says. Kit is a longtime contributor to Encore and also writes poetry and fiction.

In this issue, Olga gives readers two stories: the Kalamazoo County Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Council and the efforts of two local groups to maintain MLK Park. In addition to writing for Encore, Olga teaches English as a Second Language and is a staff writer for the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University. Olga has previously written for the Huffington Post, U.S. Catholic, Planning (the trade journal for urban planners) and the Kalamazoo Gazette.

This month, Lisa introduces readers to Kelly Duggan and her teen etiquette course Manners Matter. Lisa is a frequent contributor to Encore and is a freelance writer based in Portage whose work has appeared in various Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Animal Wellness, Dog World, MiBiz, and other publications.

Kara Norman

J. Gabriel Ware

Robert M. Weir

Kara, a freelance writer living in Kalamazoo, says she loved hearing about Tim Liby’s process for making live edge slab tables and seeing the variety of his designs.

“It’s one thing to notice the red glow of a cherry slab and a whole other thing to hear a woodworker nerd out on the beetles or tree growth that give a piece of wood a certain look,” says Kara. In addition to writing for Encore, Kara writes about lazy parenting, books and staying (mostly) sane at karanorman.com.

8 | Encore JANUARY 2016

J. Gabriel not only profiled singer Matt Giraud for this month’s cover story but also interviewed Rep. Jon Hoadley for Back Story.

"It was cool to be able to interview two influential people in the community.

Although politics and entertainment couldn't be more different, both Matt Giraud and Rep. Hoadley came across as everyday, ordinary people,” he says. J. Gabriel is working on an undergraduate degree in journalism and a graduate degree in communication (simultaneously) at Western Michigan University.

As an international traveler and blogger, Robert has long been an advocate of “peace through understanding” as an alternative to war and violence. In foreign lands, he tells stories of America; to Americans, he relates experiences of varied cultures elsewhere. When crafting this month’s article about Friendship Force of Western Michigan, Robert says he felt very much at home with these welcoming hosts who open their arms and homes to guests from afar and, in turn, travel abroad to gain a greater understanding of our world. You can read more of Robert’s work at www. robertmweir.com.

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up front encore

First Things Something Romantic

Award-winning Once coming to Miller There’s this guy, an Irish street singer, guitarist and vacuumcleaner repairman, who has just about given up on life, love and a career in music. Then, in a Dublin music store, he chances upon an unnamed girl, a Czech singer-pianist with a broken vacuum and limitless charm. And they make music.

That’s the tale told in Once, the Tony-award-winning musical that comes to the Miller Auditorium stage Jan. 25 and 26.

Featuring an impressive ensemble of actor-musicians who play their own instruments onstage, Once is based on an independent Irish film of the same name that won an Oscar in 2007 and starred Glen Hansard of the popular Irish rock band The Frames. The musical has racked up its own impressive record: eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a 2013 Grammy.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. both days. Tickets range from $35 to $65 and are available at millerauditorium.com or by calling the Miller Auditorium ticket office at 387-2300.

Something Good

Eat, drink and give to Volunteer Kalamazoo What could

be more fun on a winter’s eve than to eat tasty gourmet food, partake of spirits, listen to music and make a difference all at the same time?

You can do all that and more at the Eat Drink Give party Jan. 29. This annual event is a fundraiser for Volunteer Kalamazoo, an organization that connects volunteers and nonprofits in the greater Kalamazoo area.

The event’s “main party” is set for 7—10 p.m. in the Arcadia Ballroom of the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites, 100 W. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $70. An “after-party” function begins at 10 p.m. in the same place, and the cost is $15. Tickets to attend both parties are $80. To buy tickets or for more information, visit volunteerkalamazoo.org.

10 | Encore JANUARY 2016

Something Fun

Winter Festival offers family fun Celebrate the frozen season with the Winter

Festival at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, in Hastings, Jan 10.

This family-oriented event begins at 10 a.m. and includes two seatings for a hot and hearty brunch, at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Stormy the Magician will perform from 12:15—1 p.m., followed by plenty of winter-themed activities, including crafts and making s’mores.

A winter snowshoe hike will run from 2—4 p.m. and includes instruction on basic snowshoeing techniques. Snowshoeing equipment is available for rental at the institute, located at 701 W. Cloverdale Road.

Reservations are required for the brunch and equipment rental, but the other activities are free and open to the public. To make reservations, visit cedarcreekinstitute.org or call 721-4190.

encore up front

Something New

Composer Adam Schumaker debuts new works Audiences can experience Portage composer Adam Schumaker’s concert of his new music two ways: They can attend his An Auditory Inconvenience concert at 8 p.m. Jan. 15 in Kalamazoo College’s Dalton Theatre or watch it streamed live by the Public Media Network.

Schumaker is the director of education for The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival and a visiting professor of music theory and composition at Kalamazoo College. While Schumaker composes music in genres ranging from contemporary acoustic art music to popular music and music for the stage, the works performed at the concert will be contemporary classical pieces. Musicians performing at the concert will be Ahmed Anzaldua on piano, Cassandra Kaczor on piano and synthesizer, David Peshlakai on cello and Joanna Steinhauser on violin.

The concert is “name your price general admission,” meaning that concertgoers pay what they want at the door. The concert is supported by a Kalamazoo Artistic Development Initiative (KADI) grant from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo.

For details on the live stream of the concert, visit adamschumaker.com.

Something Classic

Beer or wine with your Bach?

A new twist on the Kalamazoo Symphony

Orchestra’s popular Classics Uncorked events brings chamber music to those who prefer a pint to a pinot noir.

This month the KSO offers two back-to-back Classics events — one for beer drinkers and one for wine lovers. In addition to its Classics Uncorked event Jan. 22 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, 314 S. Park St., the KSO is offering Classics on Tap Jan. 23 at Bell’s Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. Both events allow audiences to enjoy music by J.S. Bach, Shostakovich and others in an intimate setting where they can hobnob with KSO musicians. Classics Uncorked features national and international wines and a coffee and dessert reception, while Classics on Tap features Bell’s beer.

Both events begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 and are available at kalamazoosymphony.com or by calling the KSO at 349-7759.

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up front encore

Sowing the Dream

Groups work together to maintain MLK Park Olga Bonfiglio

Brian Powers

by

12 | Encore JANUARY 2016

Landscape Love volunteers Sara Wick, left, and Jane Kramer, center, weed and clean out flower beds while Ron Kramer rakes up debris in Kalamazoo’s MLK Park.

In 1989, the Kalamazoo Junior Girls, an organization on the city’s north side that promotes the positive development of young girls, “adopted” the park as a community service project. Members of the organization work in the park several times a year, cleaning up trash, planting flowers and providing other maintenance.

“I started the KJG to teach girls from eight to 18 how to engage in the community, assume civic responsibility, take pride in their city and learn what giving back to the community means,” says Pamela Roland, executive director and founder of the Kalamazoo Junior Girls.

“We adopted MLK Park as one of our projects.”

The park’s proximity to the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Ministry with Community, the Rickman House and the Kalamazoo Transportation

Brian Powers

I

n 1989, a half-acre park on North Rose Street that had been known as Kingston Park was renamed to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In the center of the park is an intricate cast-bronze statue of MLK created by Lisa Reinertson, whose father walked with King in the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.

Little did those who sought to create an homage to the slain civil rights leader know, but in future years MLK Park would become a symbol of King’s legacy, bringing people from various walks of life together to work for the good of others.

The city of Kalamazoo has 36 parks with more than 400 acres that city workers maintain. As a result of budget cuts over the years, there have been fewer workers to maintain those parks, so, in the spirit of Dr. King, a number of local organizations and individuals have stepped in to maintain MLK Park.

encore up front Center means that it often draws the city's political rally there in 2012. “I’d never been department meant that “four FTE (full-time homeless, transient and marginalized there before,” she says. “I marveled at the equivalent) and a .75 FTE positions were citizens. And with a lot of loitering and trash gorgeous sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr., eliminated.” The remaining workers had their on the park’s grounds, the park’s beauty can but the park looked like a shabby alley. hands full maintaining the city’s 36 parks. sometimes be hard to see.

Fletcher says he was In the past year, KJG planted thrilled that Chadwick and her Kwanzan cherry trees, a Landscape Love volunteers Japanese variety with bright joined with Kalamazoo Junior pink double blossoms, in the Girls and other groups in park. In September, members the upkeep of MLK Park. “We of KJG were among nearly 40 love it when there are more volunteers on hand to remove eyes taking care of things,” summer flowers and prepare Fletcher says. the grounds for fall plantings.

Chadwick, after being Over the years KJG has nominated by Fletcher, partnered with various received a 2015 Community community groups in the Service Award from the upkeep of the park, including Michigan Recreation & Park the Kalamazoo NAACP, Jeter's Association for her and Front row, from left: Kalamazoo Junior Girls volunteers Malika Daniel, Jona VaughanHughes, Angela Franks and Breanna Franks conduct fall cleanup and prepare to plant Leaders, Galilee Baptist Youth Landscape Love’s efforts in mums in MLK Park. Behind the sign are Brandon Franks, standing, and Debora Gutierrez. and the Community Healing MLK Park.

Center’s Streets Program.

Both Chadwick and Roland see their efforts “I especially love MLK Park and King’s In 2012, another group, this one composed legacy. With a little sweat equity, I realized as a small tribute to King. Roland notes that of older volunteers, joined the efforts to I could help bring a dignity to the park (in because MLK Park sometimes attracts “people maintain and beautify MLK Park. Members of honor of the person) for whom it’s named.” of limited resources,” she prepares the girls Landscape Love have taken responsibility for a Chadwick says Landscape Love’s members before they work in the park to see beyond section of the park where they plant flowers work two or three days a month in the park. the negatives. and pick up trash. The group’s organizer, “We usually have three or four people come “Some of the girls even know a few of Karen Chadwick, began this task with Aedin on any given workday, but I’d like to have 15 the homeless people there. But you can Clements and Jane Kramer and now has a list people,” she says. teach them the difference between the of 70 workers and supporters of the project.

Chadwick's group came along at the dream and reality and to focus on the Chadwick became concerned about the right time. Kalamazoo Parks Manager Sean dream,” says Roland. “Isn't that the legacy of condition of the park after attending a Fletcher says in 2010, budget cutbacks in his Dr. King?”

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ENTERPRISE encore

Manners Matter

Kelly Duggan helps teens with etiquette and social skills Lisa Mackinder

Above: Workers prepare some of the nearly 40,000 Christmas trees Wahmhoff Farms Nursery will ship across the U.S. this holiday season. At right: It takes a small army of workers to prepare the 10,000 wreaths Wahmhoff will ship.

A

s a certified image manager, coach and consultant, Kelly Duggan has provided many individuals and businesses with training in communication, business etiquette and professional image management. But lately, while working in the Kalamazoo area, she found herself continuously fielding one particular question: “Do you offer services to kids?”

People had similar reasons for asking. “They say, ‘I can tell my kids this, but they won’t listen to me,’” says Duggan.

So last August, Duggan offered a course called Manners Matter — a seminar to teach teens social skills and manners. The course, held

14 | Encore JANUARY 2016

Brian Powers Brian Powers

by

Kelly Duggan, at left, uses a variety of props (on table) to teach kids etiquette and social skills, such as the handshaking practice going on in the background.

Duggan was photographed at The Beacon Club.

at Consumers Credit Union and the Epic Bistro, on the downtown Kalamazoo Mall, covered topics such as positive first impressions, dining skills and table manners as well as how to make introductions, shake hands and maintain eye contact.

This course wasn’t Duggan’s first experience working with young people. In the past she spoke to a Rotary youth group about dress and professional presence, and Kalamazoo College recruited her for

encore ENTERPRISE

Test Your Etiquette Knowledge Image consultant Kelly Duggan says manners are all about common sense and respect, and she has worked up a quiz to test your etiquette know-how:

True or false?

1. You should enter and exit your seat from the left side of the chair.

2. When seated at a dining table, all dishes should be passed to the left.

3. If you drop a utensil while dining in a restaurant, it would be appropriate to bend down and pick it up right away.

4. Salt and pepper should always be passed together.

5. When dining with a group of six or fewer, it would be appropriate to begin

Top photo: Duggan, center, shows, from left, Ava Metro-Rolland, Tucker Tiedmann and Gabby Tiedmann the “b” and “d” method of remembering the placement of bread and drink at a table setting. Above, she shows Gabby Tiedmann the proper handshake technique while Tucker Tiedmann watches.

a presentation at its Senior Etiquette Dinner.

Jeter’s Leaders, a youth leadership program funded by Derek Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation, hired Duggan to teach dining etiquette to a group of middle school students at Milwood Magnet School. An afterschool program was followed by a tutorial lunch a week later at The Union Cabaret & Grille, in downtown

Kalamazoo. Duggan says the kids responded positively, especially to the lunch. “They were so eager to have that experience,” she says.

And how did Duggan fare, having lunch with 15 to 20 middle-schoolers? “I found that I lived through it and liked it,” she says, laughing.

Duggan seeks to make her Manners Matter course educational and fun for teens. To emphasize the importance of first impressions, she uses a visual demonstration.

First, she pulls out a crushed gift box, followed by a box wrapped in brown paper and tied with string and then a silver giftwrapped box sporting a fancy bow. She asks the teens to guess the value of the contents inside each box.

Invariably, the students guess that the crushed package contains contents with the least value, while the extravagantly decorated piece holds something with the highest worth. If anything sticks in the minds of the teens after that demonstration, Duggan hopes it is this: “Visual impact occurs in seven to 20 seconds. A first impression counts and is the foundation for all to build from.”

Besides nailing a good first impression, teens must understand that good etiquette is required for success in the business world, Duggan says. That means remembering basics such as saying “please” and “thank you” and respecting everyone involved, she says.

“How else do you set yourself positively or negatively apart from others other than in how you look, act, speak or dress?” she asks.

“When you’re up against other individuals with the same degree, background, product or service, etc., you are the differentiator.”

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 15

Answers: 1 – True, 2 – False, 3 – False, 4 – True, 5 – False

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Funding provided by For a complete schedule of shows, visit KalamazooArts.org 16 | Encore JANUARY 2016

Teaching etiquette and social skills is Duggan’s second career. Her first was as a dental hygienist in the periodontal field for more than 25 years, and she still fills in when a dentist needs assistance. Duggan says there’s a common denominator between these seemingly unrelated occupations: “I take care of people well.” In dentistry, that means caring for patients from pre-operative through post-surgical treatment and beyond.

As an image coach, speaker and consultant, she helps people become their best inside and out.

“In individual coaching and multi-series programs, I take my clients through a process,” Duggan says. “It’s the journey and process that I love and helping an individual successfully get from point A and on to C and D to complete the process for them.”

This second-career interest started in 1991 when Duggan underwent a color analysis to find which colors of clothing and accessories look best on her. Finding it intriguing, she launched a side business as a color analyst, which eventually blossomed into the fullfledged professional management and etiquette consulting business she helms today. While she still enjoys doing clients’ color analyses, Duggan’s core passion is helping clients become more comfortable and confident people.

“Still, today, my business services are about what’s going on on the outside, but it’s the impact on the inside that counts and where my interest and passions began and still lie,” she says.

Duggan enjoys teaching Manners Matter to teens because it’s not the typical day with the pressures of professional and corporate services. And parents need not worry — Duggan will be offering this course again. Its debut was well received.

But Duggan has a motivation beyond the financial: She has a heart for helping teens. “(On) a personal level, I was raised by my grandmother,” she says. “Without her presence and impact on my life, I wouldn’t be where I am today. If I can be of help, be a role model, positively have impact in a child’s life, then I’ve done a good job.”

encore Savor

Good Food, Good Cause

Young entrepreneur’s café serves meals with social impact by

Kit Almy

S

Brian Powers

easonal, local artisanal fare can be found on the menus of many area restaurants, but Feed the World Café, in Oshtemo Township, serves up something else: the opportunity to feed hungry people in the community with the purchase of every meal.

Feed the World Café is a “social impact business” — a new breed of organization that earns profits but also addresses societal problems as part of its core purpose.

Chef Patrick Mixis is the 25-year-old entrepreneur who dreamed up Feed the World Café after learning about the acute problem of hunger worldwide and locally.

According to statistics compiled by the nonprofit food bank network Feeding America, more than 15 percent of Kalamazoo County’s population — and more than 18 percent of the county’s children — were food insecure in 2013, meaning they lacked reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

When Mixis learned that nearly one in six children were going hungry in his community, at first he got angry and then he got inspired.

Crispy Pork Belly with Blackberry Chocolate Pepper Sauce is an appetizer on Feed the World Café's menu. w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 17

Brian Powers

“He asked me, ‘Do you realize that while people are dining at fine restaurants downtown, just a few blocks away may be a family with no food?’” says Debra Mixis, his mother and investor in his restaurant.

He then described in detail to his mother the restaurant he wanted to open, down to the trademarked name. “I don’t think he even realized he laid out a business plan. He laid out a dream and a vision,” she says.

As opposed to other socially conscious restaurants that may donate excess food or give a percentage of their profits to food pantries, Feed the World Café operates on the “buy one/give one” concept. The concept is similar to the One for One program promoted by TOMS, in which the company helps a person in need with every purchase of its shoes, eyewear, handbags and other products. When Mixis could find no examples of restaurants doing a one-for-one program, he set out to discover what it would take to make his dream a reality.

Mixis, a 2013 graduate of Western Michigan University’s Food Service 18 | Encore JANUARY 2016

Above:Chef Patrick Mixis is the creator of Feed the World Café. At right, products displaying the restaurant’s logo and name are for sale at the café.

Administration program, which combines business and culinary curricula, says he did a study with Professor John Mueller that showed there were consumers in the area who would support the idea. “And then talking to Ministry with Community, Loaves and Fishes and the Food Bank of South Central Michigan, I realized it was totally possible — that it could be done, doing onefor-one at least,” Mixis says.

He developed a formula for the cost of providing a meal for one person through those local nonprofits, and Mueller helped him create a business plan that factored that cost into the restaurant’s budget.

“When you come in here with four friends and you have dinner, when you walk out of here you know you’ve made five meals possible in our community,” says Debra Mixis.

But in order for this business plan to work, her son has to be even more frugal than other restaurant managers, she says. “Patrick

encore Savor

The café features a variety of Michigan beers and other products.

can’t have waste in his kitchen. He has to buy smart. He has to really look at his cost.”

Feed the World Café is located at 7000 Stadium Drive, in the space formerly occupied by the Blackeye Espresso Café. After remodeling the space and installing a full commercial kitchen, Patrick Mixis, his

mother and a team of Patrick’s friends serving in various roles opened the 100-seat restaurant at the beginning of May. Debra Mixis says that both parts of the café’s slogan, “Good Food, Good Cause,” are equally important. “It’s got to be first and foremost a good restaurant that people want to come to,” she says. “Then the charitable piece will follow.”

So far, so good. Earlier this fall the café reported that, since opening, it has donated more than 4,100 meals to the community. And the café is receiving raves from diners, too, says Debra Mixis, noting that early customer favorites include fish tacos and fresh key lime pie.

The restaurant’s menu has recently been expanded, and because Patrick Mixis likes to use fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, his specials change frequently. The café serves many Michigan beers as well as coffee from Higher Grounds Trading Co., a Traverse City-based social impact business. The restaurant also offers catering and has a private dining room.

In the future, Patrick Mixis would like to franchise Feed the World Café in other cities. For now, he is creating other products under the brand name, including organic dog treats whose proceeds support local animal rescue efforts. These treats are available in the restaurant’s pantry section along with products from other local businesses, such as Confections with Convictions, which hires people with barriers to employment.

Patrick Mixis is also planning joint projects with his nonprofit partners, such as special dinners that will have an even larger impact on the fight against hunger.

It’s a lot of hard work, he says, but every time “someone says how much they appreciate what we’re doing, it’s worth it. And I just know that if it is successful, it’ll change the world, so I’ll work as many hours as I have to, to help get hunger solved.”

For more information about Feed the World Café, call 353-6620 or visit feedtheworldcafe.com.

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Good works ENCORE

Preventing Abuse

Kalamazoo CAN works to keep children safe by

Olga Bonfiglio

Brian Powers

Karen Hayter, a former Kalamazoo County assistant prosecutor, now oversees Kalamazoo County Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Council.

After prosecuting crimes committed against women and children

for nearly three decades, Karen Hayter now works to prevent such crimes from occurring in the first place.

“We teach children how to be safe and when to ask for help,” says Hayter, executive director of the Kalamazoo County Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Council (Kalamazoo CAN) and a former Kalamazoo County assistant prosecutor. “We teach parents how to spot the danger signs. We also provide specialized training for teachers, nurses and police so they can identify child abuse and report it quickly.”

20 | Encore JANUARY 2016

Kalamazoo CAN is not a social work or governmental agency, but a nonprofit resource and teaching agency focused on preventing child abuse in the county. It was started as a project of the Junior League of Kalamazoo in 1976 and today works closely with a wide range of public and private organizations to provide prevention programs. The organization consists of Hayter, program educator Cathy Hosner and more than 500 volunteers who provide about 40 hours a week working on education and fundraising projects, programs and campaigns.

"Child abuse is 100 percent preventable if people are properly educated and adhere to what they learn,” Hayter says. “That’s what we do at Kalamazoo CAN.” According to the Kalamazoo CAN website, child abuse is “a large and growing problem in Kalamazoo County,” with an average of 13 new cases of child abuse and neglect reported each day.

Hayter says there are generally more reports of child neglect than of abuse. Neglect occurs when a child’s health is not adequately taken care of. For example, children may not be dressed appropriately for the weather or may not receive adequate medical and dental care.

They may live in unsafe conditions in their neighborhoods or be on the streets unsupervised at night.

“This is not about poverty,” Hayter says. “Child abuse and neglect occur at all income levels. All parents love their children, but some struggle with knowing and learning essential parenting skills.”

One issue Kalamazoo CAN has tackled is infant death related to unsafe sleeping environments. Crib death, also known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), is the sudden unexplained death of a child less than 1 year old. Michigan has 120 to 150 crib deaths per year. Consequently, Kalamazoo CAN has initiated the Safe Sleep Program, which teaches parents and caregivers that the safest sleeping environment for an infant is on its back in a crib, with no bumper pads or toys.

Another service the organization provides is training. In August, Kalamazoo CAN conducted a Mandatory Reporter Training class for 80 Head Start teachers so they could learn to identify, report and respond to suspected abuse in individual children. Sometimes a child reports the abuse to a teacher, and sometimes a teacher notices signs of abuse.

Kalamazoo CAN promotes itself and its services by attending and distributing information at community events, including information on the stages of child development and tips on parenting, handling toilet accidents, holding a baby and dealing with bullying.

“People find out about us and ask for our help,” Hayter says.

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Before taking the helm of Kalamazoo CAN in 2012, Hayter was an assistant prosecuting attorney for Kalamazoo County for 26 years.

She was a Neighborhood Prosecutor with Kalamazoo County from 1998 to 2003, working with police in various neighborhoods to prevent crime. She also worked with the

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“I understand the law, and I know the case workers,” says Hayter, who has a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

“In the Prosecutor’s Office, I followed a specific protocol with each and every case.

At Kalamazoo CAN, however, there is a lot more flexibility. I work with a 16-member board of directors who come from all walks of life and who have different views. We put our heads together to decide how to achieve our mission.”

Hayter also teaches an Introduction to Criminal Justice course for Western Michigan University’s Department of Sociology and has taught at Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Police Academy and in the paralegal program at Davenport University. Working with Kalamazoo CAN is a natural extension of her educational work.

“I love my job,” Hayter says. “It’s all about teaching, which I have done in various ways throughout my career.”

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Ma Gi

22 | Encore JANUARY 2016

att d u a ir

story by

J. Gabriel Ware

I

Brian Powers Dan Cunningham

an Idol ic r e m A m fro On going n dad to America

f you think you see musician and singer Matt Giraud driving through Kalamazoo in a minivan with a bumper sticker that says “I used to be cool,” don’t be surprised. It’s probably him.

“I just exchanged my sports car for a minivan. It was the coolest thing I had left, but I’m a family man now,” he says. “I’m happier now with my fiancée and the kids. I’m happier to be back here in Kalamazoo, where everybody knows me but they’re not chasing me down for my autograph.”

The rock and pop artist, who gained superstardom six years ago while competing on the TV series American Idol, has traded in the lavish lifestyle that came with that success for something more domestic. Giraud recently moved back to the Kalamazoo area after spending a few years in Nashville, Tennessee. He and his fiancée, Aleena Hamilton, who had two children when they met, are likely the parents of a newborn by now — they were expecting a baby in December. At 30 years old, Giraud says he couldn’t be happier.

In 2009, America Idol catapulted the then-23-yearold Giraud to stardom, and he was soon a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Jay Leno Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He was being paid to sing in front of thousands of people — just as he had dreamed as a child.

But, contrary to many expectations, Giraud didn’t capitalize on that newfound fame by releasing a fulllength album as many other Idol contestants do. “No record labels had come rushing at me,” he says. But that didn’t really bother him, he says, because he wanted to perform in front of live audiences rather than record in the studio.

He did, however, follow up his Idol run with an EP of a live performance recorded in Grand Rapids called Live at River City. In addition, he released several songs, including two collaborations —“You Don’t Know Me,” a duet with Anna Wilson that was No. 1 on the Itunes jazz charts and “Thank You,” with Jim Brickman — and two successful Christmas cover songs.

He also traveled the country performing, including appearances with symphonies around the country including in Anchorage, Alaska, and Phoenix, Arizona.

He recorded demos for artists like Rascal Flatts and was even a special guest at an event in Califorinia at the request of Priscilla Presley.

But amid all that glamour and fame, Giraud says he was starting to realize that those bright lights weren’t everything they were cracked up to be. He says despite Matt Giraud relaxes with fiancée Aleena Hamilton at their Kalamazoo-area home.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 23

the money that followed his American Idol fame, he was concerned about the financial security of his career choice.

It was difficult to budget money when he wasn’t sure how much he was going to make from one year to the next.

Giraud had other career concerns, especially artistically.

He says he hadn’t discovered his identity and sound as a solo artist, and while he’ll always be appreciative of being on American Idol, he feared his subsequent career would be overshadowed by the celebrity of being on the show.

“It’s pressure when everyone’s rooting for you,” Giraud says. “People would come up to me and say, ‘I love your music. I hope you get a record. I hope things work out for you.’ And I didn’t want to come back and say, ‘It didn’t work out.’ There were times when I woke up in the middle of the night, dreading the embarrassment of having to be forgotten.”

Giraud remembers years ago when his middle-of-thenight thoughts were different. A younger Giraud, born in Dearborn and raised in Ypsilanti, envisioned a more famous, musically gifted adult version of himself. He would put on his headphones, close his eyes and imagine performing in front of thousands of people at a gospel convention in Detroit.

“I would imagine myself killing it on stage before I even had any real skill. It’s weird because I ended up doing all of those things,” Giraud says. “It’s like that movie The Secret. It’s the law of attraction.”

Giraud is a natural musician. The vocalist, pianist and drummer has never had an official lesson. He began his music career as a drummer at his church when he was 15 but has been singing as long as he can remember.

He practiced singing when he was alone, but eventually others discovered he could sing and persuaded him to join a choir. He learned to play the piano as a Western Michigan University student, spending hours on the instrument in his residence hall’s community room, playing for anyone who would listen.

Giraud is a natural musician who taught himself to play the piano and drums as well as sing. He continues to perform around the country and is preparing to record his first full-length studio album.

24 | Encore JANUARY 2016

“They were old, rickety pianos. Six keys didn’t work, but I loved it,” he says. “Girls would stop by, and I’d put on my falsetto and say, ‘Hey, girl, c’mon, let me sing you a song.’”

It was also in college that he started listening to musicians who were new to him, such as Louis Armstrong, Billy Joel, Bob Marley, Elton John and the Beatles. “These are some of the best songwriters ever,” he says. “It was embarrassing to not know any of them. But I grew up on gospel music, so all I listened to before were Christian artists like DC Talk and Kirk Franklin.”

At WMU, Giraud joined Gold Company, the university’s renowned vocal jazz group. The late Stephen Zegree, who was director of Gold Company at the time, helped Giraud hone his skills. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication and a minor in Africana studies, Giraud decided to stick around Kalamazoo,

Follow Matt Giraud Ways to keep up with Matt Giraud: Website: mattgiraudmusic.com Facebook: facebook.com/mattgiraud Instagram @immattgiraud.

A schedule of his shows is available at bandsintown.com

Brian Powers

performing at local venues such as Zazios and Monaco Bay Piano Bar and Grill. Although he was having fun, he began to have his doubts about embarking on a musical career.

“I used to think about ‘What if I had to quit my music aspirations because I couldn’t survive off the money I was making?’” Giraud recalls.

His big break came when friends encouraged him go with them to Nashville, to audition for American Idol.

After six auditions, Giraud was elated to hear the words “You’re going to Hollywood.” Giraud says performing for and with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Carlos Santana was incredibly influential.

He felt his two best idol performances were singing Ray Charles’ "Georgia on My Mind" and Carrie Underwood’s "So Small."

But although he was living his childhood dream, something seemed to be missing.

“When I was younger, I was thinking about all the things that I could get. I told myself, ‘I’m going to get this, and I’m going to get that, and I’m going to have all this,’ but when I finally got all of those things, I wasn’t happy.”

After American Idol, Giraud’s then-manager suggested that he move to Nashville because the city offered more opportunities than Michigan. Giraud says it wasn’t long, however, before he started to miss Southwest Michigan.

He missed his family and friends. He missed his favorite restaurants — Food Dance and The Crow’s Nest. And he missed bike riding on the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail with his friend and the city’s mayor, Bobby Hopewell. That longing for home was solidified almost two years ago when he met Aleena Hamilton through a mutual friend.

“I didn’t watch American Idol so I didn’t know who he was,” says Hamilton, who grew up in Vermontville. “I was like ‘Matt Giraud who?’”

While they were dating, Hamilton lived in Michigan, and Giraud was still in Nashville but would visit every weekend. Hamilton says she fell in love with his humor, his sensitivity and how well he bonded with her two children, then ages 3 and 5. After a few months of having a long-distance relationship, Giraud decided to move back to Michigan. On Dec. 2, 2014, while they were slow dancing in a room lit by a Christmas tree, Giraud asked Hamilton to marry him.

“I cried like a baby,” Hamilton says. The pair are planning their wedding for this spring.

Giraud says his new, domestic life is full of simple joys.

He enjoys being awakened by the kids, having a good breakfast and running around the backyard and watching movies with his family. And when he’s not with his family, Giraud is often back bicycling on the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail.

Not that he has put off his music career to become a family man. He is in the early stages of recording an album, with plans for a crowdsourcing campaign to fund it.

“Now that I finally found the sound that I really want to go for, which is pop with a little bit of soul, I think it’s time to put the album out,” Giraud says. “I’ve been waiting a long time, and my fans have been waiting a long time. We’ve got some really strong music that I think the people are going to respond well to.”

Giraud is still touring across the country and abroad, performing at events and private parties, while maintaining his domestic life. Hamilton says Giraud is busy — so busy she has observed him having to reheat his undrunk coffee several times every morning.

Giraud agrees with a laugh. It’s all worthwhile, he says.

“I’m a more selfless person now. It’s a new chapter in my life. It’s scary, but it’s fun and better.”

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 25

up front encore

A Force for

Courtesy

Friendship

From left: German visitors Helmut and Barbara Woebbeking and Ursulaand Walter Rakebrand-Giere with Kalamazoo hosts Melanie Perry, Jim Cousins and Dave and Lyn Hargreave.

26 | Encore JANUARY 2016

Club hosts strangers from afar and turns them into friends story by

Robert M. Weir

O

n a Sunday evening in September, 15 Germans arrived by chartered bus at a rural home near Schoolcraft. There they were greeted by an equal number of West Michigan residents who had prepared a scrumptious potluck meal.

For the next seven days, the German guests stayed in the homes of their hosts. Together, the visitors and the locals experienced area highlights: the Friends Good Will tall ship in South Haven; dune rides in Saugatuck; the Amish lifestyle in Shipshewana, Indiana; Meijer Gardens, John Ball Zoo, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, and the King Tut exhibit in Grand Rapids; and Binder Park Zoo, the Air Zoo and the Gilmore Car Museum in the Kalamazoo/ Battle Creek area.

There was something more to these trips than the tourist aspect: the conversation and connections forged between strangers across cultures. It was the beginning of a new understanding of each other’s culture that can foster acceptance and friendships.

This “kitchen diplomacy” is the underlying principle of Friendship Force, the membership-based organization that facilitated this visit and arranges many others across the world. Friendship Force members travel from country to country — or within countries — on cultural exchanges that involve home stays with home hosts. The members are citizen ambassadors who share cultural insights, experiences, fun and friendship.

The visit by the German guests was the second part of one of these exchanges. The Germans had previously hosted West Michigan guests who stayed in their homes in Braunschweig and Peine (near Hanover) in the summer of 2013. Through these two-way visits, those greeting and those being greeted experienced the theme of Friendship Force: “to enter as strangers, become friends, leave as family.”

“By meeting people of different cultures from around the world, we get a good perspective that people are more alike than different. They all want peace, and they all love their children,” says Roy Pearson, treasurer of The Friendship Force of Western Michigan, a club chartered through Friendship Force International.

Home hospitality

Friendship Force International was founded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1977 by Wayne Smith, a Presbyterian minister and former U.S.

missionary to Brazil. The organization’s vision then, as it is today, is to allow individuals from different cultures to explore new countries and cultures on a personal level. A signature of the program is home hospitality — local hosts welcome international visitors into their homes, sharing meals, conversation and the best sights and experiences of their region.

Since 1977, there have been 225,000 ambassadors and 750,000 hosts who have participated in Friendship Force International programs.

Today, 400 chartered clubs in 70 countries boast 18,000 members.

Being a volunteer-driven organization, Friendship Force is supported by membership dues, exchange fees, donations and foundation grants.

In addition to exchanges, Friendship Force conducts specialized “discover” programs to introduce members to Friendship Festivals and humanitarian/educational experiences in various countries and cultures.

The Friendship Force of Western Michigan was started by Ann and Larry Mesbergen and Curtis and Jennette Parkhurst of Hopkins, who read about Friendship Force International in a magazine in the late 1980s. Curious, they and a few others traveled with the Inkster club to Mexico in 1988. A year later, they traveled with a Cincinnati club to Australia. While there, they invited their hosts to visit West Michigan, and, soon after, 17 Aussies came here. Those experiences motivated the founders to obtain a charter and establish a local club in 1990. The local club celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2015.

Today, the club has roughly 50 members, ranging in age from about 40 to 90. They live in or near Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Holland.

Annual dues are $35. Most Friendship Force members are middle class to affluent, educated, curious about life in other lands and, says local club president Dave Hargreave, “willing to invite strangers into their home.”

A typical exchange trip lasts three to seven days, but clubs often plan two or three exchanges back-to-back to create an extended journey, especially to distant destinations. Therefore, many members “are looking forward to retirement, when they have time and resources to travel,” Hargreave says, Yet, thanks to home hosting, traveling with Friendship Force can be less expensive than traditional travel abroad. In addition to airfare, there’s a $164 per week administrative fee paid to Friendship Force Brian Powers w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 27

‘I remember the people’

While seeing the sights and learning about the history of other places is great, it's the personal connections that Friendship Force members treasure most, West Michigan members say.

“I can only stand to see so many old buildings, but I remember the people — that’s the most powerful aspect,” Jim Cousins says.

“Travel is a totally different experience when you stay with a family,” Pearson says.

“They talk about their lives. They take you to their favorite places. You become like a

28 | Encore JANUARY 2016

Traveling boomerang still on the move In June 2009, the Friendship Force club in Melbourne, Australia, gave a boomerang to a Friendship Force club in Hamburg, Germany, with the intention that the boomerang would travel afar and, as is the case with a properly thrown hunting boomerang, come back to rest at the feet of its owner.

Since then, the Australian boomerang has traveled to Yamagata, Japan, in October 2009; to Winnipeg, Canada, in

September 2010; to Araraquara, Brazil, in October 2011; and to Western Michigan, in October 2014.

When Friendship Force ambassadors from Braunschweig and Peine, Germany, came to West Michigan in October 2015, the local club handed the traveling boomerang off to them.

Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the Friendship Force people are watching and wondering, “Will our boomerang ever come back?”

Courtesy Photos

International, plus a minimum of $100 paid to the host club to cover items such as admissions to museums, monuments and other venues. There is a cost for some meals, but, because of the home hosting, often many of the meals are covered.

Members of The Friend-ship Force of Western Michigan annually host 15 to 20 ambassadors who come from such countries as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico and New Zealand. The club members have traveled together to some of these countries as well as to the Northwest Territories, Taiwan and several domestic destinations. Joining with other Friendship Force clubs, some have also visited Central Europe, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, England, Peru, Romania, Russia and Tanzania.

For 2016, The Friendship Force of Western Michigan is planning outbound exchanges to Nebraska in March to view the sandhill crane migration and to Australia in October.

The club will welcome inbound ambassadors from Japan in June.

Friendship Force clubs also generate “global exchanges,” or themed exchanges, through which like-minded people travel to places to enjoy a shared interest such as gardening, birding, history or ecological preservation. The West Michigan club is partnering with clubs in Detroit, Cincinnati and Dayton to create an “Underground Railroad” exchange that will follow the path of escaping slaves from Kentucky to Michigan, and a “Planes, Trains, Automobiles” exchange that will introduce visitors to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, the Gilmore Car Museum and expansive model railroad setups created by home hobbyists.

member of the family. You don’t get that when you travel with a tour group.”

Hargreave recalls host families in northern Germany introducing their guests to boßeln, a game in which players roll a ball the size of a croquet ball along a path to a predetermined goal. “We had been with these people for maybe two hours before we’re walking around in a cool mist, drinking schnapps and playing a game we didn’t know existed,” Hargreave says. “But that’s Friendship Force — you do things you would never experience when you travel on a tour.”

Marcia Ellis says she likes “the insider’s view” to gain greater knowledge of local monetary, medical and political systems. On a 2014 Friendship Force trip to Brazil, Ellis was witness to that country’s national election.

“Voting was mandatory,” she say, “and people

who don’t vote pay a fine. Yet it was very casual, almost a social event. People milling around. No line to stand in.”

Fred Giddings admits to being nervous before a trip to Russia in 2015. “I was born in the 1950s, and my parents wanted to build a bomb shelter because they believed Nikita (Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union at the time) was going to bury us,” he explains. “But the people I met in Moscow were very gracious, and within the first hour I could tell the exchange was going to be nothing like what I had imagined.”

In Germany in 2013, Mary Giddings gained a different perspective on World War II from her host, a retired teacher who shared historical books and newspaper clippings to explain the situation in his homeland during that era. “The more enlightened and

Insider’s Perspective Friendship Force guests from Braunschweig and Peine, Germany, talked about why they like Friendship Force exchanges: Barbara Woebbeking: “You learn more about a country and the people than if you go just to a hotel or a beach.”

Ingo Holdt: “It’s a good opportunity to get new friends and a local sense by living with the families.”

During their exchange this summer, members of Friendship Force of Western Michigan and their German guests engaged in a number of sights in West Michigan, including, clockwise from top photo, a dune ride in Saugatuck; a tour of Holland’s city hall; sailing on the ship Friends Good Will out of South Haven and the visiting the Japanese section of Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.

understanding we are about others, the more that will hopefully lead to peaceful actions by our Congress and all the way up to world leaders,” she says.

Lyn Hargreave, the West Michigan club vice president and a member of the Friendship Force International board, says the club’s mission is “to promote global understanding across the barriers that separate people.”

“Before Friendship Force, we used to walk along streets in foreign countries and wonder what’s behind their window curtains,” she says. “Now we know.”

Members point out that, with the aid of voice-activated translation apps on

smartphones, language is no longer a barrier to conversations with their hosts and others abroad. Plus, many people in other countries speak passable to excellent English.

Once friendships have been established, social media is the favored means of keeping in touch. “I look on Facebook and see people I know in other countries,” Ellis says. “I comment on their pictures. They respond. So we don’t need to write letters.”

Whether members are just keeping in touch or orchestrating a faraway exchange, the key principles of Friendship Force prevail: “Explore your world, understand its people, serve the cause of peace.”

Gabriele Herzig: “I read things in the paper about you crazy Americans, but because I’ve been here, I have better understanding.”

Renate Sebbesse: “It’s how I met my husband. We went to Oregon and Montana. One year later, we marry.”

Walter Rakebrand-Giere: “You see the normal life, not the tourist life.”

Hedda Molthan: “I learn about other people and how they live and think. I learn that my way of living is not the only way; there are other ways, which I like to know.”

Helgard Weigert: “Coming into contact with people of other countries is very important for peace and to minimize prejudice. The information you get by the media is different; it’s better to have a personal impression.” w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 29

ARTS encore

Crafting His Dream

Church renovation launches woodworker’s furniture enterprise Kara Norman

When Tim Liby’s church, The River, decided to expand

Brian Powers

by

Above: Tim Liby attaches metal legs to an industrial-style table he’s crafting in his workshop.

Next page: Liby learned much of his woodworking skills from his father.

30 | Encore JANUARY 2016

its facilities two years ago, he saw the opening he’d been dreaming of for years.

An auto mechanic who works full time for Maple Hill Auto Group, Liby had always wanted to be a woodworker.

Knowing the church wanted to renovate an industrial space at 517 Walbridge St. that was the former home of I.H.S. Distributing, Liby spoke to the church’s worship and administrative pastor, Brian Fraaza, about his idea of fitting the space with custom desks and tables. “We had a couple conversations, and I put a bid in,” he says. “I was given the chance to build the furniture.”

That was the official start of RSL Custom Furnishings, Liby’s part-time business that he runs out of his home garage in Kalamazoo. Liby makes items such as tables, lamps, desks, nightstands and beds out of maple, cherry and other woods. With an emphasis on creative pieces that serve in practical ways, Liby often pairs live-edge slabs — large planes of wood with sanded but uncut edges — with black metal pipes or other unusual fittings. His works range in price from $250 to $3,000, and crafting a piece can take him anywhere from four to 40 hours.

RSL is named for Liby’s father, Robert Steven Liby, who died when Liby was a teenager. Liby says his dad was a custom woodworker until he had a work accident and later developed multiple sclerosis. When his father became confined to a wheelchair, the family poured a runner of cement between their house in rural Indiana and their dad’s nearby workshop and made the workshop wheelchair-friendly. It was there that Liby’s dad tutored him and his brother on the craft.

“I’ve always had this desire to do woodworking stuff, because that’s all he did,” Liby says. “He made really incredible things, and a lot of my skills come from when I was out there with my brother making things.”

The crowning glory of Liby’s work inside The River is a 10-foot conference table made from a “book match,” a pair of wood slabs that mirror one another and that come from two pieces of wood that originally pressed against one another inside a very large tree.

Liby created the table — which was 600 pounds before it was sanded and finished — around his full-time job and his roles as a husband and father of two.

In a time-lapse video on YouTube of Liby making a farm table from start to finish, you get a feel for the atmosphere

Brian Powers

ENCORE Arts

in his garage. His kids, ages 7 and 2, flash in and out of the frame, romping hilariously in the background, and his wife, Katie, makes cameo appearances in the video, too. Liby says she helps when he needs an extra hand.

Her background in English literature proves useful when he’s crafting social-media posts, and she has also been known to text his friends when Liby needs to lift something big and is dragging his feet about asking for help.

Liby, a soft-spoken man in his early 30s with a deliberate nature, explains technical

information about trees and woods and source materials in a calm, uncomplicated manner. As he talks about wooden slabs and lacquers and pipes and kilns that dry wood, his love for those materials is apparent, as is his joy at putting together disparate objects.

“It’s a lot of trial and error,” he says. “I draw things out by hand and calculate measurements that way. Then I wait to order the final piece until everything else is put together.”

Liby studied automotive engineering technology at Western Michigan University but left school after WMU dropped that program.

When it comes to designing, he likes to figure things out by hand. His favorite projects start with requests that begin “Make me a table that’s this size” and take off from there.

In a common area of The River, staff desks are fitted with cherry slabs and clean, modern details contrast with the lush beauty of Liby’s live-edge furniture. An island of file cabinets is topped with a shiny slab of wood that shimmers and, when you look closely at the grain, even ripples.

“When a tree grows, imagine there’s a little bit of wave on the outside of it,” Liby says, explaining how those ripples originated.

“When you cut the wood lengthwise and lay it flat, it continues to do that wave inside. It gives you that really cool effect.”

Currently a lot of Liby’s business comes from referrals. And while he hopes woodworking will be a full-time job someday, for now he takes orders for whatever furniture he and his clients dream up, like the lamp he just made for a Detroit couple based on an old pulley from their family farm.

“I do a lot of live-edge slabs because I get orders for them, but they aren’t all I want to do,” Liby says. “I really love throwing my own spin on a piece.”

For more information about Liby’s work, visit RSLCustomFurnishings.com or check out his videos and posts at Facebook.com/ RSLCustomFurnishings.

w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 31

Laser Spectacular Featuring Music of Pink Floyd — 7 p.m. Jan. 22, State Theatre, 345-6500.

PERFORMING ARTS

Musicals

THEATER

Once — A Dublin musician nearly gives up on his dream, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 & 26, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-2300.

Plays The Green Hornet — All Ears Theatre presentation, 6 p.m. Jan. 9, First Baptist Church, 315 W. Michigan Ave., 342-5059.

The Mountaintop — Face Off Theatre presents a fictional depiction of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s last night on Earth, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14–16, 2:30 p.m. Jan. 17, Balch Playhouse, Kalamazoo College, 1140 Thompson St., 337-7333.

Over the River and Through the Woods — Comedy about a man and his grandparents and their schemes to keep him around, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 15–16, 21–23 & 29–30; 2 p.m. Jan. 24, Civic Auditorium, 329 S. Park St., 343-1313.

Family Crimes — A one-act play about three generations of Latina women with long-held secrets, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15–16, Dungeon Theatre, Kalamazoo College, 129 Thompson St., 337-7130.

Ira Park, Detective, and The Telephone is Put On Hold Mystery — All Ears Theatre presentation, 6 p.m. Jan. 23, First Baptist Church, 342-5059.

Hands on a Hardbody — "Bluesy country rock" musical about the American Dream, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29–30, Feb. 4–6 & 12–13; 2 p.m. Jan. 31 & Feb. 7, Parish Theatre, 405 W. Lovell St., 343-1313.

Comedy Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus LIVE! — A one-man fusion of theater and standup comedy, 8 p.m. Jan. 16, Miller Auditorium, 387-2300.

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Multimedia Works — New Sounds Festival presentation, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-4667.

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Classics Uncorked: Winter Evening — Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra members perform works of Bach and Shostakovich, 8 p.m. Jan. 22, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, 314 S. Park St., 349-7775.

Classics on Tap: Winter Evening — Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra members perform works of Bach and Shostakovich, 8 p.m. Jan. 23, Bell's Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 3822332.

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An Auditory Inconvenience: The Music of Adam Schumaker — 8 p.m. Jan. 15, Dalton Theatre, Kalamazoo College, 929-7825.

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Umphrey's McGee: Winter Tour 2016 — Progressive rock band, with Joshua Redman and TAUK, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30, Wings Event Center, 345-1125.

Beer & Bluegrass — The Del McCoury Band and Jeff Austin, 8 p.m. Jan. 16, State Theatre, 404 S. Burdick St., 345-6500.

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Small Brown Bike — Pop/rock band from Marshall, 8 p.m. Jan. 29, Bell's Eccentric Café, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., 382-2332.

The World of Vivaldi — Maestro Raymond Harvey conducts Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra musicians in a multi-sensory journey into the life of Antonio Vivaldi, 3 p.m. Jan. 10, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 349-7759.

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Bob Marley Birthday Bash — Featuring The Indika Reggae Band, Ugochi, Rasta Kelly and DJ Assane, 8 p.m. Jan. 23, State Theatre, 345-6500.

Blake Whyte: More Like Myself — The Portage singer/songwriter presents his original music, 8 p.m. Jan. 8 & 9, Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley, 343-2727.

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Harper & Midwest Kind — Australian singer/ songwriter and his blues/roots band, 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 23, Mangia Mangia, 209 S. Kalamazoo Mall, 731-5388.

Classics at First Presbyterian — Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet, 7 p.m. Jan. 26, First Presbyterian Church, 321 W. South St., 349-7759.

Kontras Quartet — Presented by WMU School of Music's Bullock Performance Institute, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-4667.

Pianist Lori Sims — Faculty recital, 3 p.m. Jan. 31, Dalton Center Recital Hall, WMU, 387-4667.

ENCORE Events Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery — Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra's Family Discovery Series, 3 p.m. Jan. 31, Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., 349-7759.

DANCE MOMIX — Dancer-illusionists perform with light, shadow, props,and the human body, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 19, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-2300.

VISUAL ARTS Kalamazoo Institute of Arts 314 S. Park St., 349-7775

Other Venues Art Hop — Local artists and musicians at various venues in Kalamazoo, 5–8 p.m. Jan. 8, 342-5059.

LIBRARY & LITERARY EVENTS Kalamazoo Public Library First Saturday at KPL — Family event with stories, activities, guests and door prizes, 2–3:30 p.m.

Jan. 2, Children's Room, Central Library, 315 S. Rose St., 553-7844.

Tabletop Games for Adults — Strategy, abstract, party, Euro, cooperative, card and word games, 5:30–7:30 p.m. Jan. 5, Washington Square Branch, 1244 Portage Road, 553-7970.

Postcards to Michigan's Past — Diana Stampfler shares her collection and discusses Michigan's past, 6 p.m. Jan. 12, Community Room, Eastwood Branch, 1112 Gayle Ave., 553-7810; registration requested.

Flowers in Chinese Art — Chinese paintings and ceramics, through Jan. 24.

Colour Correction: British and American Screenprints, 1967–75 — An exhibition of screenprints by 32 artists, through March 27.

Sunday Public Tour — Walk through the exhibitions with a docent: KIA Collection: Paintings, Jan. 3; KIA Collection: Sculpture, Jan. 10; Jiha Moon: Double Welcome, Most Everyone's Mad Here, Jan. 17; Colour Correction: British and American Screenprints, Jan. 24; Suspended! Selections from ArtPrize, Jan. 31; all sessions begin at 2 p.m.

ARTbreak — A weekly program about art, artists and exhibitions: Tim's Vermeer, Part 1, film presentation, Jan. 5; Tim's Vermeer, Part 2, film presentation, Jan. 12; Gold and Graves with Greg Waskowsky, talk, Jan. 19; Making Art Accessible to the Blind with Frank Wolf and Tracy Klinestecker, talk, Jan. 26; all sessions begin at noon, KIA Auditorium.

Book Discussion: The Sculptor — Discussion of the book by Scott McCloud, 2 p.m. Jan. 20, KIA's Meader Fine Arts Library, 585-9291.

Get the Picture: Joseph Stella, "Dog on a Balcony" — Michelle Stempien discusses the artist's life and art, noon Jan. 21.

Richmond Center for Visual Arts Western Michigan University, 387-2436

PUBLIC TICKET SALES BEGIN JANUARY 16 11 AM

NYPOP Emerging Curators Series III: Plain Sight — The New York Professional Outreach Program's exhibition of contemporary emerging and established New York City artists, Jan. 14– Feb. 5, Monroe-Brown Gallery.

in person: Box Office in the Epic Center 11 am to 6 pm, M-F 11 am to 3 pm, SAT

Prints from the University Art Collection — Jan. 14–Feb. 5, Netzorg and Kerr Gallery.

by phone: 269.359.7311

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w w w.encorekalamazoo.com | 33

ENCORE Events KSO Carnival of Animals — Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra's Brass Quintet and Instrument Petting Zoo, 10:30 a.m. & noon Jan. 16, Community Room, Oshtemo Branch, 7265 W. Main St., 553-7980; registration required.

Michigan, County by County — Author Barbara VanderMolen shares facts and stories about every county in Michigan, 6 p.m. Jan. 19, Community Room, Oshtemo Branch, 553-7980; registration requested.

Powell Book Discussion Group — Share insights about Bad, But Perfectly Good At It, by Jasmine Williams, and Outlaw Chick, by Al Saadiq Banks, 6 p.m. Jan. 26, Barnabee Gallery, Alma Powell Branch, 1000 W. Paterson Ave., 553-7960; registration requested.

Portage District Library 300 Library Lane, 329-4544 Science Fiction and Fantasy Discussion Group — An introduction to manga and anime, 7 p.m.

Jan. 4.

Top Shelf Reads — A young professionals' book group discussion of The Book of Lost Things,

by John Connolly, 7 p.m. Jan. 11, Latitude 42 Brewing Co., 7842 Portage Road, 585-8711.

PDL Writer's Group — Focusing on fiction and creative nonfiction writing, 6 p.m. Jan. 14 & 28; mini-workshop on Creating Persona, led by Hedy Habra, Jan. 28.

International Mystery Book Group — 7 p.m.

Jan. 14.

Open for Discussion — Discussion of I Am Malala,

by Malala Yousafzai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, 10:30 a.m. Jan. 19.

Benefits of Essential Oils — Sonja Staples discusses how to create health and wellness, 7 p.m. Jan. 19.

Must Be 21+: Game Night for Grown-ups — Board games, cards and LEGOs, 7 p.m. Jan. 25.

Child in a Strange Country: Helen Keller and the History of Education for Persons Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired — Exhibit that explores reading, science, math and geography, through Jan. 10.

In the Dark — How plants and animals have adapted to dark environments, through Jan. 17.

NATURE

Other Venues

Other Venues

Parchment Book Club — Discussion of The Wilderness World of John Muir: A Selection from His Collected Work, 7 p.m. Jan. 4, Parchment Community Library, 401 S. Riverview Drive, 343-7747.

Birds and Coffee Walk — A walk to view birds of the season, 9 a.m. Jan. 13, Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, 12685 East C Ave., Augusta, 671-2510.

Genre Gyration — Discussion of Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage, 7 p.m. Jan. 13, Parchment Community Library, 343-7747.

The Typewriter Revolution — A type-in with Richard Polt, author of Typewriter Revolution: A Typist's Companion for the 21st Century, 1 p.m.

Jan. 16, Kazoo Books II, 2413 Parkview Ave., 553-6506.

Marsh Bird Research Efforts of the Michigan Natural Features Inventory — Speaker Mike Monfils, 7 p.m. Jan. 25, People's Church, 1758 N. 10th St., 375-7210.

Pierce Cedar Creek Institute 701 W. Cloverdale Road, Hastings, 721-4190 Night Flight Images — Photography exhibit by Chris Neri and Nova Mackentley, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Mon.–Fri., through Feb. 27.

Kalamazoo Valley Museum 230 N. Rose St., 373-7990

Winter Festival and Brunch — Brunch and winter-themed activities, 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. brunch, 12:15 program, 2–4 p.m. showshoe hike, Jan. 10.

Orion Nights — Find the stars within the constellations, 3 p.m. Tues. & Thurs., 2 p.m. Sat., through March 12, Planetarium.

French Pastries Made Easy — Learn to use pâte à choux, a simple French pastry dough, 3–5 p.m.

Jan. 23; registration required.

Art Hop: Fretboard Festival Play-In Contest — Acoustic and electric guitar competition, 6–8 p.m. Jan 8.

Full Moon Showshoe Hike — Explore the winter night on a 1.5- or 2.5-mile hike, 7–9:30 p.m.

Jan. 23; registration required.

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Introduction to Cross-Country Skiing — A workshop on ski equipment and maneuvering, 1–3:30 p.m. Jan. 30; registration required.

MISCELLANEOUS Kalamazoo Indoor Flea & Farmers Market — New, used and handcrafted items and fresh food, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Tues. & Wed., Jan. 5–27, Kalamazoo County Expo Center North, 2900 Lake St., 383-8761.

Southwest Michigan Bridal Show — 11:30 a.m.– 3:30 p.m. Jan. 10, Wings Event Center, 3620 Vanrick Drive, 345-1125.

2016 Winter Lecture Series — 3 p.m. Jan. 10, Gilmore Car Museum, 6865 W. Hickory Road, Hickory Corners, 671-5089.

Weekend Kalamazoo Indoor Flea & Farmers Market — New, used and handcrafted items and fresh food, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Jan. 16, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 383-8761.

Southwest Michigan Family Wellness Expo — Improve your physical and mental health, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Jan. 16, Kalamazoo County Expo Center North, 383-8778 or jeff@ gingerbeardevents.com.

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Kalamazoo Reptile & Exotic Pet Expo — 10 a.m.– 3 p.m. Jan. 16, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, Room A, 779-9851.

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Kalamazoo Beer Week — Special tastings, dinners and interactive events, Jan. 16–23, various venues in Kalamazoo, kalamazoobeerweek.com.

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Harlem Globetrotters — 90th anniversary world tour, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21, Wings Event Center, 3620 Vanrick Drive, 345-1125.

Ira Glass — Creator of the radio show This American Life, 3 p.m. Jan. 24, Miller Auditorium, WMU, 387-2300.

Traditional Bowhunters Expo & Stick and String 3D Shootout — Traditional bowyers, dealers, and craftsmen, 4–8 p.m. Jan. 29, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Jan. 30, 9 a.m.–noon Jan. 31, Kalamazoo County Expo Center, 383-8778 or bob@gnqco.com.

Winter Snow Party — Sledding and snowmanbuilding contest, noon–3:30 p.m. Jan. 30, Oakland Drive Park, 7650 Oakland Drive, Portage, 329-4522.

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Dinner & Movie: In Football We Trust: Indies Lens Pop-Up Screening — Four Polynesian high school football players struggle to overcome social issues, 5:30–8 p.m. Jan. 26, Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, Kalamazoo College, 205 Monroe St., 337-7332.

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we’re all working on a joint project for the Bundle Up campaign to help people get more coats and mittens for the winter.

I enjoy working with Rep. (Brandt) Iden on a number of issues because he represents Portage and I represent Kalamazoo. He’s also a first-term Republican, and we’re both in the 35-and-under crowd. So it’s great that we can get together and empathize with what the other person is going through as we learn how to best represent Michigan.

BACK STORY (continued from page 38)

And what happens when you get grumpy?

I’m like the guy on that Snickers commercial (he says, laughing, as he refers to television commercials in which grumpy, hungry people are only sated by a Snickers candy bar). But, seriously, I just try to approach every day assuming the best intent from every person.

Even when I disagree with other politicians, I try to think about the good intentions they may have. And it gets harder for me to do that if I don’t have time to recharge my batteries.

What keeps you up at night?

Not being able to solve everyone’s problems. There’s this one gentleman that’s been on my mind for the last few months. He’s a veteran, and he wasn’t getting the type of services he needed and had bad experiences with the VA. I told him that there were things we could do to help and gave him my card and told him, “Call me, so we can see what we can get done.” He hasn’t called me, and I don’t know where he lives.

I hope his situation improves because here’s someone that served our country and he deserves our finest services back. I’ve been looking for him with the little information that I have, but I can’t find him. So if he ends up reading this article, I invite him to call me so we can get him the help that he needs.

What is the most rewarding part of being a state representative?

When you actually get to help someone, sometimes just by writing a letter or making a phone call. One story that sticks with me the most is when a woman called our office because she was scheduled to host a wedding in her back yard over the weekend but had paid her electric bill late. The power was shut off on a Friday at 2 p.m., and it wasn’t going to be turned back on until Monday. So we were able to pick up the phone and connect with Consumers Energy to get that problem solved.

We’ve done that for people having issues with unemployment, taxes, property issues and more. We have the power to make calls to bring attention to issues, not every time, but when we do, it feels great.

What’s life like at home for Jon Hoadley?

Home life for me is spending time with my dog Benjamin, who is the best beagle in the world. I love to cook and go grocery shopping at the farmers’ market or Meijer and think about what I’m going to cook for the week. I like baking cookies and trying out new recipes.

This is a little home and politics, but I like to bring cookies to the office once a week.

My partner Kris does building maintenance type of work, so there’s always some sort of unfinished construction project going on at my house. The current one is a bathroom renovation project that’s been going on for several months now. Hopefully it’s done by the time this comes to print.

In the summer, life is cooking out. In the winter, it’s trying not to freeze.

— Interview by J. Gabriel Ware

What do you find least rewarding?

The politics that come with being a state representative. It can be emotionally difficult when you’re in a room voting on a contentious bill and people say things that frustrate you, or you strongly feel that a vote just occurred that will harm Michigan. And then 30 seconds later, we’re all coming together and standing side by side to recognize a veteran or resident who does amazing work in the community. The emotional reset you have to go through can be very draining.

Do you think there are misconceptions about politics and politicians?

Yes. People think that we fight all the time, and that’s just not true.

Most of the legislation we pass is nearly unanimous. For example,

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BACK STORY encore

Jon Hoadley State Representative, Michigan's 60th District J

on Hoadley, who was born and raised in Vermillion, South Dakota, says he was drawn to politics when he realized “its power to fight against discrimination.”

Elected in 2014 as state representative for Michigan’s 60th District, the 32-year-old Democrat says he now sees the power of politics not only to fight discrimination but to help ordinary people in surprising ways.

Brian Powers

How is Jon Hoadley the everyday person different from Jon Hoadley the politician?

38 | Encore JANUARY 2016

I’m not actually an extrovert. When you’re doing political work, you have to be out there and engaged and shake everybody’s hands. I don’t mind doing that because I like people. I’m pretty high-energy, friendly and outgoing, but I’m little more of an introvert, so I have to make sure that I’m doing quiet reflection. And if I don’t get that time to reflect and be alone, I get grumpy. (continued on page 37)

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