The Greater Muskegon Jaycees are seeking nominations for their Distinguished Service Awards. These awards honor individuals in our community between the ages of 21-40 for their contributions to the Muskegon community and achievements in their chosen career. The Jaycees will honor an Outstanding Young Man, Woman, Public Servant and Educator. The Greater Muskegon Jaycees will hold their Distinguished Service Awards in conjunction with the Snowfest Battle of the Bowls Soup and Chili Cook off at the Third Street Grille at the Holiday Inn Muskegon Harbor on Saturday February 1, 2014. Awards will be given at 1:30pm.

To download a nomination form, please visit www.muskegonsnowfest.org/dsa.html

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – APICS, the Grand Rapids Chapter, will be hosting the professional development meeting on Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at The Pinnacle Center, 3330 Highland Drive in Hudsonville. The evening begins at 5:00 PM with registration and networking, dinner at 6:00 PM, and the speaker at 7:00 PM. Mr. Randall Schaefer, CPIM will present “Managing Obsolescence.”

Reservations must be received by 3:00 PM on Friday, January 3, 2014. Cost for APICS members is $28.00; non-members $35.00 and students $15.00. Reservations can be made online at www.apics-gr.org or email to admin@apics-gr.org.

For more information regarding the Chapter’s Professional Development Meetings and speakers, please visit our website at: www.apics-gr.org.

Come to the USS Silversides Submarine Museum for the USS Flier Exhibit! Housed in a replica of the bamboo huts used in the South Pacific during the 1940’s, you will relive the dangers faced by submariners in the war, including a man from West Michigan, and their fight for survival after the sinking of their sub. For more information, visit www.silversidesmuseum.org or call 231-755-1230.

Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964, a new bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition, will open at The Lakeshore Museum Center on November 16 with Public Reception from Noon to 2:00pm when visitors will have an opportunity to tour the exhibit and share family stories in A Memory Book.

In 1943, President Roosevelt announced the creation of what would become the largest Mexican guest-worker program in U.S. history. Facing labor shortages on the home front during World War II, the United States initiated the emergency Farm Labor Program, more familiarly known as the Bracero Program, which enabled approximately 2 million Mexicans to enter the United States and work on short-term labor contracts. Bracero is a term used in Mexico for manual laborer.

The exhibit will be on display through January 26, 2014. The Lakeshore Museum Center is located at 430 W. Clay Avenue with free admission every day. The Museum is open weekdays from 9:30am to 4:30pm and weekends from Noon to 4:00pm. For more information, call 231-722-0278 or visit www.lakeshoremuseum.org

The ninth annual Fall into the Arts exhibit at the Nuveen Center showcases local student achievement in the arts and gives community members the opportunity to support the art program at their favorite school. Proceeds from donation buckets placed alongside each group of artwork are returned directly to the school’s art department, allowing the teacher to purchase much-needed supplies despite dwindling school budgets. In lieu of a donation bucket, one school has chosen to put its artwork up for silent auction, allowing bidders to vie for seven handcrafted works of art. The exhibit remains on display now through December 21, 2013. Community members are invited to view the artwork, donate to the school of their choice, and cast a vote for the People’s Choice Award.

The Nuveen Community Center for the Arts is located at 8697 Ferry Street in downtown Montague. Exhibit hours are Tuesday-Friday, 12-5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. There is no charge for admission. Call 231-894-2787 for information about holiday hours.

The Muskegon Chamber Choir and its soloists will present its annual “Wreath of Carols” on Saturday evening, December 14 at 7 p.m. in Grand Haven’s First Presbyterian Church, 520 1/2 Franklin. This year, the choir will be joined by Embellish, an outstanding handbell choir from Grand Rapids under the direction of Stephanie Wiltse.

As is traditional for the Wreath of Carols, the concert will be in the collage format, moving from one musical selection to the next without pause. A variety of selections by choir, handbell choir, and soloists will cover six centuries of music for the Advent, Christmas and Epiphany seasons.
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The Muskegon County Garden Club’s Annual Christmas Tea will be held on Tuesday, December 10, at the Greater Muskegon Woman’s Club, 280 West Webster Avenue. Social time with Hors d’oeuvres begins at 12:30 p.m. The luncheon will be served at 1 p.m. Cost of the luncheon is $10 with reservations required. Come and enjoy a Christmas program and silent auction, followed by a “Holiday Magic” Flower Show. Call (231) 798-7622 for reservations.

The “Holiday Magic” standard flower show will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. It features holiday floral arrangements, swags, wreaths, candlesticks and many other categories provided by club members, with awards presented by certified judges from throughout the state.

The flower show is free and open to the public beginning at 2 p.m. •