ISAAC
At the H.O.P.E. Thru Navigation Trailblazers Tribute on January 25, not just one, but two ISAAC leaders were honored – ISAAC Executive Director Dr. Charlae Davis and recent Vice Chair of the County Commission Tami Rey, who is the ISAAC Gun Violence Prevention Task Force co-chair! Also honored was our close partner TRHT (Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation)!
Letter of Thanks dated January 31, 2022:
HOPEtN would like to take this time to thank everyone who made the 2022 4th Annual Trailblazers of HOPE Tribute ‘Navigating HOPE Amidst a Pandemic’, so special.
To our Mistresses of the Ceremony, and Award Presenters: The Honorable Judge Tiffany Shafer-Ankley, The Touch Radio Personality Double-A, and Nathan Bolton, and none other than the Honorable Judge William Schma, himself!
We are very thankful for your display of kindness, professionalism, and authenticity. Surely “the law can heal”, and we can shed a tear when our hearts are tugged. Your presentations made the evening beautiful, and we appreciate you all.
To the HOPEtN Crew,
You are all so amazing to work with and we are grateful to stand shoulder to shoulder with you.
HOPEtN Crew – Mrs. Eaton, Reginald Nelson, MightyStream, Ashleigh Tomak, Kimberly Shuler, Giacomo Scavone, Travis Brown, Summer Sommerville, JABS Club Members,
Ny’Asia, The Planning and Development Committee, our Board of Directors, and our Visionary, Gwendolyn Hooker.
To the Trailblazers Award Recipients, your light shines brightly, and we thank you for accepting your nominations, and for your tireless efforts. We are eternally grateful for you all, and all you do. Recipients noted as follows:
Josh Hilgart – Executive Director and Founder of the Kalamazoo Defender; Carrie Pickett-Erway – CEO of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Sandy Barry-Loken, Frances Vicosio, Retired Captain Stacy Randolph Ledbetter, and Emily Oliveres – TRHT Leadership; Commissioner Tami Rey; Dr. Charlae Davis, Galloway Moore, lll; Ashlee Hooker, and Zac Bauer.
We also want to take the time to thank your teams, and your families for coming out and showing support. It was truly amazing to see everyone there rallying around your special night of honor.
To the Resolution Presenters: Congressman Fred Upton, State Representative Julie Rogers, and Senator Sean McCann – thank you so much for all you do in our communities, and for your kind recognition of Josh Hilgart. We were able to really surprise him because of your commitment, and we appreciate you all.
Entertainment, Arts, and Media: DJ Conscious; Public Media Network – Lucy Waters, Raine Kuch, and team; Moments by MightyStream; and Artist #1 Table: Jaylei Art and Artist #2 Table: Gerald King, and Tiffany Parker (fliers, program, and banner graphic design).
Your talent and dedication were the icing on our cake of gratitude. We thank you all for your music, your art, your craft, and your dedication to telling the stories that go untold, through your work and your passions.
To all our Sponsors, Partners, Supporters, Allies, and Friends: The Kalamazoo Defender, Judge Wm. Schma, George A. Franklin, The Kalamazoo Community Foundation (love where you live) United Way, Vine Neighborhood Association, Inc., State Representative Julie Rogers, State Senator Sean McCann, ISAAC, Mothers of Hope, Community Healing Centers, Open Doors, Dr. Hook’s, Big Moe’s, Jaylei Art, WE CAN NOT SAY ENOUGH THANK-YOU’S. WITHOUT YOUR SPONSORSHIP NONE OF THIS WOULD BE POSSIBLE. THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN HOPE AND BELIEVING IN ‘HELPING OTHER PEOPLE EXCEED THRU NAVIGATION’! You all are so gracious and amazing.
Special thanks to Rod’s Printing (for the lovely Banner); RJ’s Printing with Tiffany Parker as the Program, banner, and flier Designer; KPEP/Walnut & Park for the delicious coffee; the Douglass Community Association as our Venue Host, Honorary Sponsors-JAG Services, PFC, NoMi Developers, LLC, and HMG, LLC.
Last but not least, to every person that purchased your tickets on Eventbrite and to Erin for organizing our Volunteer site, We want to make sure you know just how much seeing you present meant to us amid this pandemic. We see HOPE in your presence and we give our heartfelt thank you’s to you. May 2022 be a year full of HOPE and GRATITUDE FOR EACH OF YOU AND FOR YOUR FAMILIES.
Gratefully, Trailblazers of HOPE Co-Chair, MightyStream Anders & Gwendolyn Hooker, Chief Executive Officer
Links for viewing:
Live Stream of HOPEtN 4th Annual Trailblazers Tribute by Public Media Network
2022 HOPEtN 4th Annual Trailblazers Tribute Video by Moments by MightyStream
Deitrick Haddon & Zaytoven – Sick World (Official Music Video)
Tags: #HelpingOtherPeopleExceed #JusticeAgainstBullyingatSchool #HOPEthruNavigation
See the Mission of H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Exceed) thru Navigation, and the “Why” of the Trailblazers Tribute on their media release for that inspiring evening:
Ed Genesis is an artist, poet, musician, organizer, entrepreneur, and community leader. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana and moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan permanently in his early 20’s, his love of art/music, his passion for his people and community, and his gift of creativity are evident in all areas of his work. In October 2018 Ed Genesis released a song to accompany the campaign he was working on around school push out, entitled Junior High, which was distributed nationwide including on his own iHeart radio station, Spotify, and iTunes.