I’m starting this week’s column midway through the 57th Annual Water Festival here in Three Rivers. I’ve been involved with the Water Festival for at least five or six years now, so I feel that I know at least a little bit about what I’m talking about. I’ve been co-chairing the parade for several years [...]
If you could use an injection of optimism when it comes to business in Michigan, you’ll want to check out the latest piece by Matt Roush of the WWJ Technology Report. Matt, a former Three Rivers resident, reports on the latest Michigan Future Business Index survey of small and midsize business leaders and shares some [...]
Moving On: For the last year I have focused on leadership and how any of us can become more effective leaders. And even though leadership is a critical component for any organization, it is not the entire picture. Over this past year, as I have researched the dimensions of leadership, one factor has kept popping [...]
A Weekly Almanac Guide Plan, Do, Finish, Rest. Living in Harmony With Earth Weekend of June 15-16, 2013 Click on the link to access this feature from Larry-Michael and Becky Lynn Hackenberg – The Cycles of Earth – June 15, 2013
Expansion of Medicaid in Michigan is a hot topic In Lansing these days. In the interest of providing readers with information on the subject, the River Country Journal would like to share two links that will provide access to a variety of perspectives on the matter. The first link is to an article by Tom [...]
Two area children have been named the winners of the Water Festival Father’s Day Essay Contest. Recent Howardsville first-grader Dylan Muldoon wrote about his dad, Steve. His teacher was Julie Hitchcock. Rylie Miller, a recent fourth-grader at Eastwood Elementary in Sturgis, penned an essay about her father, Rick. Her teacher was Kimberley Annis. The winners [...]
Last month when Moore, Oklahoma was hit by the tornado I was shocked to see what total devastation a storm like that can create. Where do you turn for help when everyone around you needs to be helped also? Who knows what steps to take to help people find shelter, clean water, medical care, and [...]
Government at its various levels – particularly as it relates to ‘River Country’ – is one of the areas of focus in coverage by the River Country Journal. That being the case, a recent article on county government, written by Kurt Schindler of Michigan State University Extension, seems worthy of sharing. To access the piece, [...]
If you had placed a wager as to whether or not I’d mention the Water Festival this week, and said that I wouldn’t even mention the parade, you would have lost the bet. Water Festival is probably the biggest event of the year for those living in Wildcat country. It used to be called “Water [...]
“The laws of supply and demand as they apply to the workforce are broken.” That’s the opening sentence to an interesting article by Jane C. Simons in MiBiz that reports on the thoughts of George Erickcek, senior regional analyst with the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo. Erickcek was the keynote speaker at [...]
A ‘guest commentary’ in Bridge Magazine – a piece written by Tom Cook, a member of the Owosso City Council – provides some thought-provoking reading regarding budgets and local units of government with the City of Owosso as the case in point. Here’s a set-up paragraph from the magazine: The Shiawassee County city of Owosso [...]
Putting it All Together: This is the 52nd article in my series on leadership. That’s 1 years worth of articles and this will be the last in the series. I have enjoyed writing these and have also enjoyed the hundreds of comments I received. So with this article I conclude the series and I hope [...]
A Weekly Almanac Guide Plan, Do, Finish, Rest. Living in Harmony With Earth Weekend of June 8-9, 2013 Click on the link to access this feature from Larry-Michael and Becky Lynn Hackenberg – The Cycles of Earth – June 8, 2013
Car accidents are the number one killer of children ages 1 to 12. The best way to protect a child in the car is to ensure that they are in a car seat or a booster seat of the proper size. It’s difficult sometimes for parents to know if they have the right car seat [...]
With the passing of Memorial Day, we are officially into summer. Although summer doesn’t officially begin until June 22, the gentlemen may now wear their white shoes and the ladies may wear whatever they usually wear, without fear of embarrassment. Please don’t accuse me of slamming the ladies, but I really am not aware of [...]
There’s a great lineup of teen summer programs at the Three Rivers Public Library including The Three Rivers Bringing Woodstock Home Music Festival scheduled for August 31st at the Riviera Theatre in downtown Three Rivers. A planning session for the music festival is set for Thursday, June 20th from 4 to 5:30 p.m. For more [...]
Michigan has one of the nation’s most detailed and comprehensive set of requirements that a student must complete to graduate from high school. It was designed to set high goals for our students and to help them reach those goals. As a father and a coach of youth sports, I have seen the way that [...]
MANAGING CONFLICT: Facilitating Productive Team Meetings Leaders can do just about everything right and still end up with dysfunctional team meetings. Productive meetings happen by choice not chance. Some leaders believe their job is rallying the troops but the most important job is establishing an organizational culture that maximizes the opportunities for success and reduces [...]
