Blue Water Woman--Fall 2020--PJS Promo

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McNair, who remembers students walking out of class in protest of racism while she was in high school in the late 1960s and early 1970s, said she decided to run for the school board after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis ignited racial protests nationwide. “When Trayvon Martin died in 2012, we had a small protest and we asked people to open their eyes to what was going on here. “And then George Floyd died, and it just kind of re-ignited all of that for me. “It inspired me to move outside of my walls. They say, ‘Somebody can do it…well, that somebody is you.’ I’ve always been a person who always tried to help and make a difference.” McNair’s resume is long and impressive. She attended St. Clair County Community College, where she majored in psychology. She later attended Ashland Theological Seminary and received a master of arts degree in Practical Ministry. She is a licensed and ordained minister and continues to serve on the Ministerial Board at Restoration Christian Community Church in Port Huron. During her 29 year career at DTE, McNair worked in a variety of positions, ending her career as a supervisor overseeing corporate security and investigations. She also worked as a diversity facilitator, where she designed and taught programs to employees throughout all facets of the company. McNair believes her understanding of racial issues, and her experience teaching herself and others about issues surrounding “ They say, ‘Somebody can do it... well, that somebody is you.’ I’ve always been a person who always tried to help and make a difference. ” “We are your out-sourced Marketing Department.” CALL TODAY TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE MARKETING CONSULTATION CARLA CANN Associate Broker 810. 434. 2858 CarlaCann@kw.com CarlaCannSell.com 3750 Pine Grove Ave. Fort Gratiot MI 48059 Office 810. 385. 0600 Each Office Independently Owned and Operated 14 FALL 2020 BLUEWATERWOMAN.COM
diversity, can be of great benefit to the school board. “When I was at DTE working as a diversity facilitator, it helped me to understand diversity of thought,” she said. “The reward for me was to see people evolve and begin to understand diversity…when they said to me, ‘I didn’t know that…’” McNair found that experience especially satisfying after having begun her career at DTE as a black woman working in a male-dominated field. “I was the first black woman that worked at Detroit Edison that worked in a non-traditional job, and those guys made my life miserable,” she said of her early days with the company. “You have a double-whammy when you’re a black woman,” she said, noting that, in addition to race, gender also played a role in the discrimination she faced at work. Years later, she watched her daughter, a 1994 graduate of Port Huron High School, face similar discrimination at school when she was the first black person elected as class president. “They did a recount on the ballots because no black person had ever won before,” she said. “So I helped her deal with all of that. But it helped because it opened a new door. From that year on, black students started running for that seat because they had seen that it could be done.” And McNair’s daughter? Today she is an attorney. McNair decided to run for office because, she knew, that just like when her daughter ran for class president, not only might she be able to provide a voice of diversity at the table, but she knows others might be inspired by watching her run, too. “I’ve seen all of that and I’ve experienced the racism and the segregation,” she said. “It’s time to put this baby to bed. It’s time for inclusion and it’s time to stop marginalizing people. We need to put our differences aside. “I think 2020 means perfect vision,” she said. “This has been a year for people to open their eyes and see things clearly. I may not change the world, but if I can change somebody in the next generation or the school system in the way they see things, it is worth doing. “I want to bring a passion and hope to the school board. Let’s make a difference in some people’s lives. I do think we’re on the cusp of change. The millennials have a whole different concept of how this world should be. “You don’t have to re-invent the wheel, we just need to ask how to make the world better for everyone? How can we make a difference in the lives of other people? “I want to be a voice and help make a difference. You’ve got to go where you’ve never been, and you’ve got to do what you’ve never done.” Workout with Sara Thomas and change your life! We provide high-quality, cost effective health care to any patient and family member with short-term, long-term, or end-of-life care. Home Health Care Private Duty • Hospice Care SERVING THE COUNTIES OF: St. Clair, Sanilac, Macomb, and Lapeer (810) 984-4131 VNABWH.org We offer: • Women-only! • A weight loss program • Circuit training • FREE SilverSneakers memberships • We are safe & sanitized! Call today to make your first visit appointment! 2887 Krafft Rd., Ste. 300 • Fort Gratiot, MI 48059 Northend Kroger Plaza • 810-385-9171 FALL 2020 BLUEWATERWOMAN.COM 15
Page 1 and 2: JORJA BALDWIN big picture vision FA
Page 3 and 4: Every day is the perfect day to sen
Page 5 and 6: FROM THE EDITOR EDITOR/PUBLISHER PA
Page 7 and 8: BIG PICTURE vision BY PATTI SAMAR I
Page 9 and 10: “It is the basis for the quality
Page 11 and 12: MAKING fair decisions BY DALE HEMMI
Page 13 and 14: in July of 2019, and she and her te
Page 15: A VOICE of change BY PATTI SAMAR De
Page 19 and 20: READY to take the wheel BY PATTI SA
Page 21 and 22: 43° North of the Equator. Warmth i
Page 23 and 24: LEANING in BY PATTI SAMAR You could
Page 25 and 26: THE SHOW must go on If the Emmy’s
Page 27 and 28: DETERMINED to win BY DALE HEMMILA K
Page 29 and 30: A “There’s no crying in basebal
Page 31: “We are your out-sourced Marketin

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