Explore Flint & Genesee reports more than $2.5M in first quarter events
The first three months of 2026 saw a huge economic impact in the region, thanks to the events booked and serviced by Explore Flint & Genesee. The local convention & visitor bureau, a division of the Flint & Genesee Group and contracted by the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, helped attract and retain 23 events from January to March 2026, resulting in an economic impact of over $2.5M.
“This is a huge win for this quarter of the year,” says Amari Steward, executive director of Explore Flint & Genesee. “Winter is usually a slower season for events, but with winter sports like hockey and basketball attracting big tournaments, we saw a bigger influx of room nights and attendees than we typically see.”
READ MORE
Grassroots workforce initiatives a win-win at Hurley Medical Center
In a maintenance corridor at Hurley Medical Center, a group of young adults in safety gear trail behind carpenters and plumbers, asking questions, carrying tools, and learning what a career in the skilled trades could look like.
For many, it’s the first time they’ve seen that kind of future up close.
Thanks to a new partnership between Hurley and Active Boys in Christ (ABC), a Flint-based youth training center, dozens of local students are getting paid to explore multiple skilled trades under one roof — from carpentry and plumbing to electrical and culinary arts.
The impact has been tangible.
“The carpenters treated me like family and taught me a lot,” said Gavin Blackmer, an Atherton High School senior who job-shadowed at Hurley last summer in the ABC program. “My whole life, I wanted to get the chance to learn about working with my hands like my grandfather, who was in the trades. I finally got my chance.”
For Hurley, partnerships like this are both a workforce solution and a community commitment.
Celebrating a century of animal advocacy in Genesee County
Many Saturday mornings, Sophie and Sylvia Leach can be found sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Humane Society of Genesee County (HSGC), reading aloud to an audience of wagging tails.
The Davison sisters are longtime volunteers with the HSGC’s Furry Tales Reading Program, an innovative way to comfort shelter animals, many of whom struggle with anxiety, especially in a noisy kennel.
“The animals like to hear us read anything and everything,” said Sophie Leach, 14. “They mostly just like to have a friend.”
Furry Tales is just one of the many volunteer opportunities at HSGC, which is celebrating 100 years of helping animals in Genesee County.
The HSGC traces its roots to 1926 and the work of J. Edington Burroughs, a respected Flint banker and businessman who grew concerned about the number of stray animals in the city.
|
|
