2018 Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - - Lansing Civic Events - - July 26, 2018 - - by Chuck Krafft

THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME

INDUCTION CEREMONY

July 26, 2018

By Chuck Krafft

With all necessary apologies due William Shakespeare, eight individuals and three teams were rewarded with a Midsummer Night’s Dream as they were inducted into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame.  The large room at the Lansing Center was filled with 700 people who came to honor this year’s inductees.

Your blogger played piano during the social hour and was at least good enough to avoid chasing the people out of the building.  It was fun and I surprised a few people who only know me for writing blogs.  (I played in bands nearly every weekend from about 1983 to 1998.)  Of course, Michele Hoffman was there to take the official pictures for the archives, too.  (She does excellent live photographs of many of the high school sporting events in the area.)

Bob Every, the Director of the Hall of Fame thanked the Lansing Center Staff for their work organizing the event as well as preparing and serving the excellent dinner. 

He thanked the sponsors and invited Scott Keith, the President and CEO of Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority to give the official opening welcome.  Kellie Dean from Dean Transportation then came up to do the invocation.

After dinner, he gave the Dick Letts Community Service award to two individuals.  Olivia Letts, Mr. Letts’ widow came up to thank the Hall of Fame for including her in the ceremony and to explain what the award means.

Bob Bouck was given a posthumous reward for his work on the Pony Colt Board of Directors in Grand Ledge and for his other work in the Grand Ledge Community, which included sixteen years on the Grand Ledge Board of Education. 

Bob Bouck’s daughter, Kristen Bouck Kemp accepted the award for him.  She thanked the Hall of Fame and was especially proud that her father was a hands-on worker and not hiding in a board room as he served his community.

Russ Sanches was awarded for sponsoring many baseball and softball teams in the Lansing Area.  This sponsorship is important as it helps make organized baseball and softball available to many youngsters. 

His daughter Deb Sanches Edgecomb accepted the award for him and noted that he loved watching his teams play.  He took his family to many of the games.

Bob Every then invited all the past inductees up to the stage to be honored.  They introduced themselves and received a warm ovation.

The 2018 Inductees were then called to the stage to be honored.

(Please note that the links work even if they look like the rest of the text.)

1976 Williamson Girls Track Team

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/williamston-girls-track-2018-greater.html

Tom Jakovac

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/tom-jakovac-2018-greater-lansing-area.html

Larry Bates

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/larry-bates-2018-greater-lansing-sports.html

“E.J.” Ernest Pasteur, Jr.

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/ej-ernest-pasteur-jr-2018-greater.html

Jean Robinson Clum

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/jean-robinson-clum-2018-greater-lansing.html

1970 Lansing All-Stars Football Team

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/1970-lansing-all-stars-football-team.html

Bob Stragier

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/bob-stragier-2018-greater-lansing-area.html

Randy Kinder

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/randy-kinder-2018-greater-lansing-area.html

Lindsay Bowen

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/lindsay-bowen-2018-greater-lansing-area.html

Jeff Tropf

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/jeff-tropf-2018-greater-lansing-area.html

2000 Grand Ledge Football Team

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2018/07/grand-ledge-2000-football-team-2018.html

Afterward, the guests and inductees mingled and had their pictures taken by Michele Hoffman for the Hall of Fame Archives. 

Thanks to Bob Every and everyone else who helps to operate the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame.  Events like this do a lot to reward achievement and to bring a community together!!

Saranac High School Concert Band Spring Concert - - Lansing Civic Events - - May 11, 2018 - - by Chuck Krafft

Saranac High School Concert Band

Spring Concert

“The Year in Review”

Lansing Civic Events

May 11, 2018

While doing Bleacher Denizen basketball and football blogs at Saranac High, I have been really impressed by the quality of music produced by the Saranac High Band.  It is now time for me to listen to this fine band in concert! 

Here is a girls’ basketball game where Director Matt Stauffer and the Saranac Pep Band did a fine job and added a tremendous amount to the atmosphere at the game!!

http://thebleacherdenizen.blogspot.com/2018/02/potterville-at-saranac-cmac-girls-game.html

Today was a busy day; the journey took me to Frankenmuth where I grew up and over to Saranac.  After a great pasty at Vicki’s, it was time to meet Mr. Stauffer and get ready to listen to the band.  I got a great seat in the middle of the second row!!

Mr. Stauffer gave a short introduction to lead things off.  This year, they decided to perform a series of songs that they had done over the course of the school year.  There was not a lot of preparation time as they had just performed at the State Band Festival where they had earned a First Division Rating!

For the first song, they selected a number from the Marching Band’s football season.  Drum Majors Sidney Klynstra and Mason Houtterman conducted the Los Cuerevos/Evil Ways Medley from the Latin Fusion show.  The band did a wonderful job with the Latin music and the syncopated rhythms. 

Next on the program was Christmas Eve/Sarejevo 12/24.  This took a bit of time to get the orchestra set up.  Mr. Stauffer told us that he has many of the band members play more than one instrument as it helps them to become better musicians. 

The song was a wonderfully performed medley of God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen and Carol of the Bells. 

The band followed this up with Soulfinger, which was played by the Pep Band during basketball season.  It was a peppy song with a beat that just grabbed you and made you energetic.  It’s easy to see why this was so popular in the basketball gym!!

It was time for the Brass Quintet to perform two numbers that won the District Level Competition and earned them a Second Division Rating at the State Band Festival.  Emma Hale, Mariah Chadwick, Bradley Strouse, Jonathan Greenfield and Abby Price did a wonderful job on a stately baroque piece and a faster minuet.  They worked really well together with great precision!!

Prestissimo is a song that the band has performed many times.  This time, they chose to do a fast version of the song.  They did an admirable job of keeping the music, quality and accuracy at a top level as the song moved along at a “prestissimo pace!”

Sidney Klynstra and Emma Pachulski followed up with a light, humorous rap and drum piece called “Yeah Toast!”  Emma Pachulski put down a great drum beat and Sidney Klynstra rapped an ode to Toast.  Emma Pachulski would stop drumming and jar (and amuse) the audience by shouting “Yeah, Toast” on cue.  The song ended with a French verse stopped by “French Toast.” 

The girls did the song with great timing and enthusiasm that really brought out the creativity and humor of the piece. 

It was now time to do a couple pieces from the Spring Pops Concert.  First, they did “The Lion King” and handled a complex piece with great agility and timing.  They followed that with “John Williams Movie Adventures” which featured music from Star Wars and Jurassic Park.  After a bit of a search for a triangle that was important to the opening of the song, they handled the stately, majestic music wonderfully!

Several people from the middle school band joined the band for the final two pieces. 

The boosters took over to present some awards and tell of the activities they have done to raise funds for these fine young musicians.  It was great to see the level of community support for the Saranac Band!

The final two pieces were “Transformers” which had a lot of rhythm changes that the band handled really well and “Shut Up and Dance.”  Mr. Stauffer invited the audience to dance to this very lively, danceable number.  The band did not disappoint in either the energy level or the accuracy of the musicianship.

After Mr. Stauffer made some closing comments, the Band played the Saranac Fight Song!

This was a great performance by a talented band.  It was well worth my trip from Lansing.  These musicians really put their heart and energy into this great performance!!