Employees and Chamber staff line up outside the Healthy Just Feels Right office to cut a long ribbon with the chamber logo printed on it. The owner is in the middle and has large scissors to cut the ribbon. To the right of the owner is a poster with a headshot of the late BB Nolden.

On the Move features and celebrates Flint & Genesee businesses’ grand openings, staff promotions, new hires, recognition, and milestones

(Featured above) Healthy Just Feels Right, 336 W. 1st St. in Flint, Sept. 23

Employees line up outside the company building for a ribbon cutting alongside the owner who holds gold oversized scissors getting ready to cut a large blue ribbon with the chamber logo repeated across it.
John P. O’Sullivan Distributing, 9300 Enterprise Way in Grand Blanc Township, Oct. 11
Young dance students dressed in the tutus line up outside the dance studio building for a ribbon cutting alongside the owner who holds gold oversized scissors getting ready to cut a large pink ribbon.
Loree’s Academy of Dance, 6120 Fenton Road in Mundy Township, Oct. 17
Employees line up outside the company building for a ribbon cutting alongside the owner who holds gold oversized scissors getting ready to cut a large blue ribbon with the chamber logo repeated across it.
A&D Hospice, 2503 S. Linden Road in Flint Township, Oct. 10
Six employees line up outside the company building for a ribbon cutting. Three employees hold gold oversized scissors that will be used to cut the ribbon.
Cardinal Staffing Services, 4215 Miller Road in Flint Township, Oct. 3
Ten women dressed in pink jackets line up in three rows outside the store for a ribbon cutting. Pink and white balloons flank both sides of the women. Two additional women also dressed in pink jackets hold a blue ribbon with the chamber logo repeated across it. The owner stands in the middle and holds gold oversized scissors open to cut the ribbon.
Homemade Chocolates by Michelle, 1479 W. Brisol Road in Flint, Oct. 10
Seven people line up in front of the pastry display counter for a ribbon cutting. The pastry chef in her white coat, third from the left, helps hold up the ribbon for a culinary student who is to her right. The student holds gold oversized scissors getting ready to cut a large blue ribbon with the chamber logo repeated across it.
Coffee Beanery, Curtice-Mott Complex at Mott Community College at 1401 E. Court St in Flint, Oct. 21
Employees line up outside the company building for a ribbon cutting alongside two owner who both hold gold oversized scissors getting ready to cut a large blue ribbon with the chamber logo repeated across it. A blue canopy with Medler Electric.com is in the background.
Medler Electric Co., 6180 Taylor Drive in Mundy Township, Oct. 3
Young employees of The Way Coffee line up outside the company building for a ribbon cutting alongside the owner who holds gold oversized scissors getting ready to cut a large blue ribbon with the chamber logo repeated across it.
The Way Coffee Co., 1537 N. Leroy St. in Fenton, Sept. 12
A crowd of people line up outside the a new handicap accessible ballfield for a ribbon cutting. The Michigan Lt. Governor and the young man who began the project hold oversized scissors getting ready to cut a large green ribbon.
Miracle League of Greater Flint, 1286 W. Hill Road in Mundy Township, Sept. 6

Promotions, New Hires and Recognition

The Center of Hope has received a gold certification from the Nutrition Pantry Program facilitated by Gleaners. This certification recognizes the work done to improve their Free Choice Market, the center’s food pantry.

Lottie Ferguson, vice president of Development and Donor Services at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, is among 205 leaders to join the Obama Foundation Leaders program. The program trains participants around the globe in leadership development and civic engagement. Ferguson will be one of just 100 leaders participating in the Leaders USA program, which has a particular focus on strengthening democratic culture.

The Community Foundation’s director of Strategic Initiatives, Moses Bingham, has been appointed to the Michigan Gun Violence Prevention Task Force by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The task force is charged with identifying the root causes of gun violence, compiling and reporting relevant data, maximizing existing resources, soliciting perspectives from diverse stakeholders, and recommending policies to save lives.

Additionally, the Community Foundation has named David R. McGhee as its new executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective Nov. 1, 2024. McGhee is a Flint native with a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Oakland University. He previously served as the chief executive officer of The Steve Fund.

Essence Wilson, chief strategy officer of Communities First, Inc., has been selected to join the inaugural cohort of the Community Development Voice initiative from the Community Opportunity Alliance. This initiative gathers 30 community leaders from across the country to help amplify their voices on the causes they support and gain insight into the areas they represent.

Fessler & Bowman has welcomed several new members to their team. This includes Rick Mazzone as vice president of business development; Derek Patton as business unit director for their travel group; and Justin Park as business unit director.

The Flint & Genesee Group has welcomed new employees, including Jill Verdier as director of grants and development and Colin McKune as economic development data assistant. Additionally, joining the East Michigan APEX Accelerator is Stacy White as marketing and outreach coordinator and Carrie Kirbitz as an APEX Accelerator counselor.

Additionally, Tyler Rossmaessler, executive director of the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance, has been named to Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2024 40 Under 40 class.

Andrew Hazelwood is now a marketing consultant at Mid-Michigan NOW.

Sarah Jean Kaplan was recently promoted from sales manager to strategic partnership manager at Financial Plus Credit Union.

The Genesee District Library has named Kevin Collins as its new digital services librarian. Collins began with the library as a library assistant and also served as the branch librarian at Burton Memorial Library, Flint Township- McCarty Library, and Genesee Valley Center Library.

Rafael Turner is a new member of the Genesee Intermediate School District Board of Education. A board seat became available following Larry P. Ford’s retirement. Turner will serve the remainder of the vacated term, which ends June 30, 2025.

Weichert Realtors – Grant Hamady has welcomed Shirley Murray to their Burton office.

MGS Consultants has welcomed Omar Sims as a lobbyist. Sims was previously a Genesee County Commissioner for six years and a former member of Flint City Council.

McLaren Flint has welcomed Dr. Romy Bhagat to the Davison Community Medical Center. He is a family medicine physician.

Dr. Nithin Peddireddy has joined the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint. Peddireddy is a head and neck surgical oncologist that specializes in benign and malignant head and neck neoplasms. Peddireddy finished his fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, completed his residency at the University of Michigan, received his doctorate of medicine at the University of Cincinnati, and completed his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan.

Sauce Italian American Restaurant has welcomed Alex Price as its new general manager. Price brings 18 years of experience in the food industry to this role and has been with Sauce for the past two years.

WNEM TV5’s Shallon M. Everett has sold a million dollars in local direct business thus far for 2024 and is the first with the organization to reach this mark two years in a row.

Yeo & Yeo’s Meg Warner has been named one of the 2024 Mid-Michigan 40 Under 40 by the Middle Michigan Development Corporation and Greater Gratiot Development Inc. Warner joined the firm in 2019 as a senior accountant in the assurance service line. She was recently promoted to manager and serves on the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants’ Governmental Accounting & Auditing Professional Panel.

The YWCA of Greater Flint has named DeAndra Larkin as its new chief operating officer. Larkin is a Flint native and most recently served as the chief of staff and executive director systems, operations, and strategy in the office of the president at Mott Community College. Larkin holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in public relations and a Master of Science degree in administration.

Also joining the YWCA of Greater Flint is Tia Coles, who serves as the organization’s new chief program and impact officer. Coles previously served as a program director at Hurley Medical Center’s Trauma Recovery Center.

Business News

General Motors recently awarded $270,000 in Community Impact Grants to eight local organizations. The grantees were Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint; Michigan Crossroads Council; Boy Scouts of America; Communities First, Inc.; Flint River Watershed Coalition; Flint Children’s Museum; Kettering University; Red Ink Flint, Inc.; and United Way of Genesee County.

U.S. News & World Report ranked two Flint-area colleges multiple times in its 2025 Best Colleges list. Kettering University has been recognized among the top 20 in undergraduate engineering education and co-op experiences nationally and is number seven among regional universities in the Midwest. They also ranked 18th nationwide for undergraduate engineering programs (non-doctorate).

Additionally, the University of Michigan-Flint was included in several lists, including Best National University-Regional, Top Public School, Top Performer on Social Mobility, Undergraduate Business Programs, Undergraduate Computer Science Programs, Undergraduate Engineering Program, Best Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programs, and Best Undergraduate Psychology Programs.

The National Council for Workforce Education has named Mott Community College’s Consumers Energy Electric Lineworker Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program as the top non-credit workforce development program in the nation. It received the Exemplary Program Award at the organization’s conference in October 2024.

Prestige Promotions is celebrating 20 years of business in 2024. The promotional marketing and branding company specializes in branded promotional products, apparel, commercial printing, and marketing consulting.

The University of Michigan-Flint School of Nursing has launched an initiative to address the nursing shortage in Michigan’s thumb region. The program is called UM-Flint Educates Rural Nurses and is backed by a four-year, $3.9 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The University of Michigan-Flint’s School of Management is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2024.