Public Thread Field Trip Follow-Up

Various items produced by Public Thread over the years.

Incredible amount of fabric, notions, and straps

A staggering amount of textile waste is generated each year. WCC went on a field trip to Public Thread this January to learn more about it as a follow-up to a presentation given to us by Janay Brower, entrepreneur and founder of Public Thread, back in November of 2025. We were intrigued by her business so she invited us on a tour.

Public Thread workspace

Artist created items from post consumer jeans.

In a former factory and interesting building, the workspace is located next to the Elevated Market, a vintage, artisan, and antique marketplace at 955 Godfrey, NW. Well-placed signs lead you in to the Public Thread space where you see a spacious room with wood floors and tall ceilings. A display of artists’ works made in denim from their recent Materials Activation Lab immediately pull one in to take a look. A basket of denim flowers and a lamp imagined from post consumer (used) jeans are among the interesting creations. Venturing further, one can see shelves full of fabric, webbing, straps, billboard vinyl, and leather from local businesses. Sewing machines are lined up ready to run.

What began in 2016 in Janay’s home is now housed in a sprawling space in which those raw materials are reimagined and upcycled into usable consumer goods such as bags, pillows, computer sleeves, koozies, and so much more. In 2024 they kept 16.8 tons of textile waste out of landfills locally in Michigan. That is amazing! Imagine what could be saved from landfills if this was implemented in most cities in the US! Janay is looking into sharing this business model with other communities.

It was a great tour and a great Q & A session afterward. Thank you Janay!

For more information visit https://www.publicthread.org/

A Superb Concert

Dylana Jenson

The last event for WCC 2025 was a fantastic musical concert by some of our favorite musicians, Dylana Jenson, virtuoso violinist, David Lockington, former Grand Rapids Symphony conductor and talented singer, and Robert Byrens, sought-after pianist.

Dylana’s husband, David Lockington, narrated the show. Dylana played Meditation from Thais by Massenet, Chaconne by Vitali, which was wonderful (click below to listen), and Introduction and Rondo Capricioso by Saint-Saen. “Dylana has performed with all the major U.S. orchestras and toured 3 other continents. She is a legend of her generation!” Kent MacKay

Robert Byrens and Dylana Jenson

David introduced his student, 16-year Ezra Lee, who played on David’s own 1830 cello. What a talented young man! He is a 16-year-old homeschooler who is not only a cellist, but also an excellent dancer. He currently is training at HIS Dance Academy and his goal is to be a professional ballet dancer and biologist!

David sang “Still, Still, Still” and “In the Bleak Midwinter” and led us in singing a couple of traditional Christmas carols. Did you know that as a boy David sang in productions performed by the English National Opera? His longest tenure was the 16 years with our own Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra. A highlight for symphony-goers was the orchestra’s performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2005.

Accompanying this entire show was Robert Byrens, a highly regarded collaborative pianist in the Grand Rapids area. He served as an artist faculty member at GVSU for 30 years, retiring in 2020. Additionally, he was the resident staff pianist and vocal coach for Opera Grand Rapids from 1993 until retirement in 2018.

Ezra Lee

David Lockington and Kent MacKay

Thank you to WCC member Kent MacKay who arranged this festive holiday performance and provided background and introductions of our musicians!

Delightful Music!

Northview High School Choral Director, Jack Phillipson, brought the Varsity Voices, an elite group of student singers, to the Women’ City Club stage last week. The music included holiday classics, fun selections from the movie Frozen, and a fun and interactive final song, “Fruitcake.”

Listen to a sample below:

Northview Varsity Voices

Director Jack Phillipson

Varsity Voices performing “Fruitcake”

Clothing for Good

J.JILL, a fashion mecca in Woodland Mall, blends style, ease and inspiration—from thoughtful, original designs to engaging and guiding customer service. Joell and Annie brought their Holiday Collection featuring Glitter and Glamour to our runway at a recent fashion show. Our member models showed us how to wear them. A Pop-Up Shop after lunch gave us a chance to purchase some of the season’s favorites.

J.Jill facilitated our donations of gently used clothing to the Women’s Resource Center. A brief presentation before the fashion show by Dr. Darlene Lee and Pat Akins gave us some background information about the program.

Dr. Darlene Lee and Pat Akins

Donated items

Annie from J.Jill

Member Lynn Coeling models a holiday dress.

Our member models

16.8 Tons

A variety of upcycled items.

Public Thread is a nonprofit organization that kept 16.8 tons of textile waste from landfills in 2024. The organization uses textiles and upcycles them into new and exciting products such as totes, backpacks, pouches, pillows, poufs, and more.

Janay Brower

Founded by Janay Brower in 2016, Public Thread has trained hundreds of people on sewing, workforce development, and marketing. In a recent presentation at Women’s City Club Janay told us about their community-wide approach to waste diversion. Did you know that Michigan ranks third in the US in number of billboards? The vinyl used for them is perfect for making into recycling totes, stadium seats, and picnic blankets.

A new project, Material Activation Lab, is underway at Public Thread. “This Activation Lab is about experimentation, investigation, and creating economic opportunity for designers, artists, makers, and creators. It's also about finding solutions for how to repurpose large volumes of jeans (denim) within our community with creatives/artists/designers.”

We are intrigued with this process and will schedule a tour of their facility very soon!

To learn more about Public Thread visit their website: https://www.publicthread.org.

Looking at upcycled product samples.

A Meaningful Meal

On October 7 members of the Club enjoyed a unique and delectable feast during a Tuesday Social Time at New City Cafe.

City Café is a program of the non-profit New City Neighbors whose mission is “empowering youth to reach their full potential.” Young people learn about customer service, kitchen management, and teamwork. Luke De Haan is the Café Coordinator who guides the young people in the preparation and serving of the farm-to-table food.

They have 3 locations where the food is grown, and they offer the purchase of shares for a weekly supply of vegetables from April to November.

New City Café is located at 1115 Leonard Street NE and is open on Thursday from 4:00-7:00 pm with a menu that changes weekly They offer catering and will open for private dinners when arranged in advance.

“New City Café is an amazing place and opportunity for the students. Luke is truly a caring person, and the students are so fortunate to journey with him, gaining his wisdom and encouragement.

“Such an enjoyable time together. Food was great and company was outstanding. An amazing Thank You for organizing!”

Newcityneighbors.org

Luke De Haan with Emily and Isaac

Delicata squash dessert

John Oosterhart enjoying the charcuterie board

Everyday Life and Memories: Poet Patricia Clark

Women’s City Club member Patricia Clark graciously agreed to present some of the poems from her most recent book, O Lucky Day, at a late July Thursday morning program. We are so glad she did! She is a most enjoyable and relatable speaker. Personal tidbits given about her past and present, in between reading selected poems, gave us a glimpse into her writing process. Everyday life and memories presented in a most delightful way.

Patricia is the author of seven volumes of poetry and has received numerous awards for her work. She was Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids from 2005-2007 and was Poet in Residence and Professor in the Department of Writing at GVSU where she worked for 30 years.

One of her poems, Astronomy “In Perfect Silence,” is now on the moon! The project called The Lunar Codex, sent works by creative artists from across the globe to the moon on a 2024 space flight.

Patricia won a prestigious Pushcart Prize this year for her poem, “What My Father Wished For” which was the final poem she read to us.

“The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Since 1976, anthologies of selected works have been published on an annual basis. These initiatives are supported and staffed entirely by dedicated volunteers.” (Wikipedia)

Mozart's Piano Sonatas Performed by Stuart Leach

Mozart would be proud.  WCC members were captivated recently as Stuart Leach tickled the keys of the grand piano at Mayflower performing three Mozart sonatas.  His beautiful melodies were described as sparkling and melodious.  Stuart also shared interesting facts about the life of Wolfgang Mozart.  Did you know he had a sister that was also a prodigy, and that they would perform together in Vienna?  Mozart once kissed Marie Antoinette, wrote his first symphony at age 8, wrote many love letters to his wife, Constanza while traveling and was admired greatly by Albert Einstein, who thought his music reflected the ‘inner beauty of the universe”.  We hope to hear Stuart play again as he is also a Chopin devotee.

Stuart Leitch is a highly regarded concert pianist who founded and directed Chamber Opera Chicago.  From high school in Grand Rapids, he attended Oberlin College Conservatory. After a fellowship at Tanglewood Music Center, he worked in Chicago as a soloist and chamber musician. He played for Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chicago Opera Theatre.

WCC Celebrates 101st Annual Meeting

Outgoing president Wendy Sturm receives flowers from incoming president Kathy Barnett

PASSING THE TORCH…
by Adrienne DeMilner

Longstanding WCC member Carol Dodge once promised Kathleen Ray that stepping up to serve as President of WCC would be one of the most rewarding things she would do.  Little did Kathleen know just how much she would enjoy it.  The Annual Meeting began with testimonials from past Presidents of WCC. 

Carol Dodge

Beginning with Carol Dodge, (2005-07) who had many fond memories and said her life has been enriched by her presidency in which she answered Crisis with Change.  Irene Nowak (2011-2013) created friendships from her bulletin posts and enjoyed the connection with ArtPrize which brought revenue to the club.  She also instituted “Book Week” to enrich the club with her own love of books.  Margaret Burrows-Getz (2015-17) Had a difficult transition with a WCC tax issue but overcame it and continued to provide enrichment and camaraderie, encouraging members to use their talents to serve.  Kathleen Ray (2019-21) faced the Covid years and came up with creative solutions to reach out to each member.  She stressed how much we make a difference in each other’s lives and soon found that her mentor, Carol, was right about this being a rewarding position.  Linda Girard (2021-23) said that joining a committee will change your life!  She was also able to find other venues and caterers for our meetings. Our current president, Wendy Sturm (2024-25) ran the meeting in her most elegant way and passed the torch (gavel) on to our new president Kathy Barnett who stepped up to take the reins over and share her special form of leadership. 

The Annual Meeting finished with flowers for longstanding members, a delicious lunch and a box of chocolates from Sweetland for everyone.  We hope members will be inspired by these stories and consider joining a cause or committee and share your talents.  Our lives will be enriched even further.

Past presidents: Linda Girard, Margaret Burrows-Getz, Wendy Sturm, Kathleen Ray, Irene Nowak, Carol Dodge

2025 Impact Awards

Union High School juniors, Aurora Leon Mull and Finnick Coburn, were called down to Principal Aaron Roussey’s office on a recent Monday to let them know they are the recipients of this year’s Impact Awards. WCC President Wendy Sturm, President-Elect Kathy Barnett, and WCC member Deborah Reed were waiting to give them the good news!

These 2 students were chosen by administrators and counselors at the school to each receive a $750 cash award. Aurora Leon Mull’s entry is an essay describing a very important person in her life, her stepfather. She writes, “This is the man who I call dad, and the only man who will ever secure this title because he has earned it from the start. I would choose him to be my father in every life I live. He has been my biggest inspiration, and has been by my side since day one.”

Finnick Coburn’s entry is a watercolor portrait of artist and online content creator, Scott Christian Sava. Coburn is inspired by Sava’s art, his character, and his views on life. His painting honors his love for art and artists in general.

Mull plans to study law or forensic crime scene investigation. Coburn plans to study illustration.

For more information please view WKTV’s online article by editor Deborah Reed.

Photo Credit: Deborah Reed

"The Lake Huron Mermaid"

Linda Nemec Foster spun a wonderful story for us about her latest book "The Lake Huron Mermaid".  This is the second book in her Mermaid series, co-authored with friend Anne-Marie Oomen, that was inspired by our own great lakes. She shared the tale of the mermaid and the poems that are contrapuntal in nature between the characters.  Inspiration can come from many things in life, and Linda provides the most beautiful words to describe them.  Her longtime friendship with Wendy Marty brought Linda to us to share this book and her deep feelings for our loss.

Will there be more Mermaid stories to come?  Time will tell...

“Linda Nemec Foster is the author of fourteen collections of poetry including The Lake Huron Mermaid (a collaboration with Anne-Marie Oomen and artist Meridith Ridl), The Blue Divide, The Lake Michigan Mermaid (another collaboration with Oomen and Ridl), Talking Diamonds, Amber Necklace from Gdansk, Listen to the Landscape, and Living in the Fire Nest. Her first full-length book of prose poems, Bone Country, was published in 2023 and nominated for 20 book awards including the Pulitzer Prize. Foster was selected to be the first Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids, Michigan from 2003-2005. She is the founder of the Contemporary Writers Series at Aquinas College.”

Visit Linda’s website

"The Music of Friends"

David Lockington and Robert Byrens

What better way to spend a cold, snowy January morning than attending a concert of heavenly chamber music in the beautiful atrium of Mayflower Church!

Kent MacKay, David Lockington, Dylana Jenson

David Lockington, cellist and conductor, and Robert Byrens, concert artist and collaborative pianist, were our guests for an intimate cello and piano concert. The musical selections included the following: a J.S. Bach’s G Major Gamba Sonata, Augustus Hailstork’s Cinque’s Song, Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, Robert Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces Op.73, and a composition by David Lockington called For Edith, for the late Edith Blodgett, a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra Board for several decades.

David Lockington began his career as a cellist at the age of 16. Born in Great Britain, he moved to the United States to study cello performance and conducting at Yale University in 1978. David was the Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra from January 1999 to May 2015. He took the Grand Rapids orchestra to Carnegie Hall and produced five recordings, including “Invention & Alchemy,” a collaboration with harpist Deborah Henson-Conant which was nominated for a Grammy. We were delighted to have David’s wife, Dylana Jenson, renowned concert violinist and violin teacher in the audience.

Robert Byrens has more than forty years of experience as a concert artist and is a popular and sought-after vocal and instrumental partner. He is a faculty member of Grand Valley State University as an artist faculty pianist and vocal coach. Robert is also the rehearsal pianist and vocal coach for Opera Grand Rapids.

David Lockington cellist, Robert Byrens accompianist

The music, along with anecdotes and personal stories presented by David and Robert, was delightful. After lunch they graciously circulated among the audience of our members allowing us time for comments and questions.

Click below to listen to a couple of beautiful musical excerpts from the program.

WCC Mourns the Death of Wendy Marty

On the evening of November 23, 2024, Wendy Marty, member of the Women’s City Club since 2010, died suddenly of a heart attack. Her enthusiasm and excitement for our Club was huge and she will be deeply missed. She coined the phrase, “The city is our Clubhouse” which is used on our website.

Wendy has been on the WCC Board of Directors numerous times, serving in a first vice presidential capacity as recently ago as 2015 – 2017, where she gave support and encouragement to the President. She used her outstanding organizational skills to help committees write and follow job descriptions, and worked on teams tasked with restructuring the club.

Most recently Wendy was an essential member of our Enrichment Committee, using her extensive connections in the academic and arts communities to schedule exciting and relevant programming. An avid reader, Wendy actively read and reviewed books for the Club and was a proofreader every month for our monthly newsletter, The Bulletin.

In her professional life, she was an Academic Coach specializing in standardized testing, a retired Learning Assistance Professional at Aquinas College, GRPS Out-of-School Time Curriculum Designer and Academic Manager, and a Middle School English Language Arts (ELA) teacher.

The loss of our friend Wendy Marty will have an impact on our community for years to come.

New Year, New Topic: Generative AI

Julie Goldstein, Associate Professor in the Department of Visual & Media Arts at Grand Valley University, was the first presenter of the new year at our weekly Enrichment Series. Her work focuses primarily on film and video production. Generative AI (artificial intelligence) is a relevant topic in that it is an evolving technology impacting the creative process and contributing to dialogue around many aspects of our daily lives.

In an interactive presentation, she explained the concept of how an image or text can be generated using general language prompts through a system such as Chat GPT. It creates new content based on patterns in data. The concept raised many questions and concerns over where the information comes from such as, “how do we respect someone’s copyright? or Is there a built-in bias? How is my information being used to show me someone who looks like me? Is someone of another race going to get a picture of someone who looks like them?” The conversation was ongoing and interesting.

There are many exciting and creative uses for this new technology, but also many challenges, risks, and the potential for misuse. As Julie stressed, we must remember that when asking questions and receiving back a human-like response in a chat, you are not talking to a real human being. Those of us who have been around before all of this technology and remember life without it, should remind the younger generation that we must retain our own brain capabilities, our own human creativeness, and remember what it is like to be human.

We’ve only scratched the very surface of this topic and we have already decided that we must have Julie back again. This talk marks the second time we’ve had Julie at our speaker series. Last year she joined us with a fascinating presentation on animation.

Final Celebration of our Centennial Year!

The extraordinary final Celebration  of the Women’s City Club’s Centennial Year is coming soon. On Wednesday, September 18, we turn our attention from the past to the future, beginning with A Magical Evening of fine foods and entertainment at Thousand Oaks Golf Club.

6:00 PM --The enchantment begins with delicious appetizers as WCC members and guests are entertained by world-renowned Magician P.J. Weber. He will move from group to group while you enjoy a deluxe Cheese Board and assorted crackers, Caprese Skewers, Stuffed Mushrooms, and Bacon Burnt Ends with cocktails from the cash bar.

7:00 PM -- Dinner begins with the Red Water Salad: Mixed greens, dried cranberries, candied pears, bleu cheese & strawberries, followed by your choice of three exquisite entrées: (1) a 6 oz. Bistro steak, served with red wine demi-glace; members $58, non-members $70; (2) Herb-grilled Mahi-Mahi with roasted Mediterranean vegetable tapenade and Romesco sauce; members $52, non-members $63; and (3) a Roasted Half Acorn Squash filled with quinoa, hearty  greens, goat cheese, dried cranberries and toasted pecans, served with roasted carrots; members $52, non-members $63. All entrées are served with Green Beans in Herb Butter and Roasted Garlic Yukon mashed potatoes. Also included is your dessert choice of Flourless Chocolate Torte or Key Lime Pie. 

8:00 PM --After dinner, our unforgettable evening continues with more astonishing feats from P.J. Weber, who has performed his high energy show of magic and comedy around the world. All told, members and guests can expect to be fully entertained during our Magical Evening Celebration. Let’s look forward to where the magic takes us next!

Paid reservations are due to Sondra at 616-459-3321 or wccgrbusiness@gmail.com by September 9.

Mahjongg!

Mahjongg is a tile-based game dating back to ancient China. It requires both luck and skill. Mahjongg is typically played with 4 players, using a set of 144 tiles. The game involves matching tiles to create sets and runs, with the goal of being the first player to get rid of all your tiles.

Did you know that the Women’s City Club has an active and enthusiastic Mahjongg group? Every Tuesday WCC members gather to play.

Contact us if you are interested in joining us! Call Sondra at 616-459-3321.

You can find a brief history of Mahjongg with slides on a previous post HERE.

A Proud Tradition

The Women’s City Club recently held its 100th Annual Meeting, a tradition dating back to its founding in 1924. Past presidents and legacy members were honored. The Board was recognized, with outgoing board members thanked and incoming members announced. Finances were reviewed and the minutes approved from last year.

Business aside, this year was special. Each member received a memento from the 70s, a silverware place setting monogrammed with “WCC.” Silver serving pieces were displayed, as well as copies of “Our First One Hundred Years.” A quilt made by past ladies of the Club was on display. Commemorative jewelry and other 100-year logo merchandise were on a table for viewing.

Entertainment was provided by the extremely talented a Capella singers, From the Top, a group of students from Northview High School. The setting was the beautifully remodeled Kent Country Club where lunch and dessert rounded out the event.

Annual Meeting favors

From the Top a Capella singers from Northview High

Past presidents L-R: Margaret Burrows-Getz, Irene Nowak, Kathleen Ray, Linda Girard, Carol Dodge

Impact Award

The Women’s City Club held its fifth award ceremony on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Our 2 winners, Dilanny Perez and Nebyat Gebrehiwot, each were honored with the presentation of a $750 cash award.

Dilanny and Nebyat are juniors at Union High School. To earn the award, the students were asked to identify and describe a personal role model, the one who most inspired them to achieve their own excellence. Their entries were chosen by a committee of administrators, teachers, and counselors at their school.

Dilanny wrote an essay about William D. Swenson, a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013. She learned about bravery, loyalty, and courage, and is inspired to strive for those things in her own life.

Nebyat, who is from Eritrea in northeast Africa, made a painting of a woman from her country. She is inspired by the women of her country who strive for gender equality and work to empower other women. She aspires to be a role model of her Eritrean culture.

The girls, along with Women’s City Club president, Wendy Sturm, and Union High principal, Aaron Roussey, were interviewed by Shelley Irwin on the Shelley Irwin Show on WGVU. Listen to the interview here.

The Impact Award is funded by generous donations from the Women’s City Club members and the community. For a list of past winners visit our Impact Award page.

Dilanny Perez and Nebyat Gebrehiwot

Union Principal Aaron Roussey, Nebyat, WCC President Wendy Sturm, Dilanny

Nebyat, Union Asst. Principal Dana Calhoun, Dilanny, Sgt. Ron Voisinet, Union Principal Aaron Roussey

A Grand Evening

Carol Dodge and Marcie signing Our First One Hundred Years

We celebrated a momentous event on March 14 at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. The tale was told of 100 years of the Women’s City Club by Club Historian Carol Dodge and Bulletin editor Marcie Woods at a program in the Museum’s Meijer Theater.

Our book, Our First One Hundred Years, authored by Carol and Marcie, was for sale and a book signing followed the presentation. WCC favorite, the Honorable Judge Sara Smolenski, was our special guest host. Carol and Marcie alternated in the telling of our story by decade beginning with our founding in 1924. Each decade was introduced by songs of the era performed by Rebecca Sneller, pianist and WCC member.

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and dessert and a cash bar were available. Thank you to the Public Museum for the wonderful space and for taping the presentation as part of your GR Stories feature.

Watch the presentation here.

Our guests in the Grand Rapids Public Museum Meijer Theater lobby

WCC mementos were displayed in a museum display cube

Women's City Club on eightWest!

Wendy Sturm, president of the Club, along with Kelli Rosecrans, Director of Marketing at the Grand Rapids Public Museum were interviewed on eightWest to highlight our upcoming event, “Our First One Hundred Years” on March 14. A little history of the Club, along with a teaser about our book of the same name, were beautifully presented. You can watch the television segment here.