A
SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
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AGE
2
December 14, 2017
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Well done
Blues, Brews and BBQ event
helps fund local civic groups
Nine area civic groups are
certainly not singing the blues
thisweek.
The 2017 Blues, Brews and
BBQ event generated more than
$10,000 which was donated to
the local groups, explained
Westland Mayor William R.
Wild.
This total funding generated
during the past seven years is
nearly $200,000, all donated to
community and charity efforts.
The checkswere presented to
the volunteer organizations last
week during the regularmeeting
of theWestlandCityCouncil.
“I want to thank all of our vol-
unteers, the participating
restaurants, our sponsors and
the performers for another
remarkable event,” said Wild.
“This event continues to grow
and with the addition of fire-
works, draws thousands of peo-
ple from surrounding communi-
ties. We wouldn't be able to pull
it all off without the help of our
amazing civic group volunteers.”
The nine community organi-
zations receiving donations from
the event include: the
Goodfellows ($750), Lions Club
($1,000), the Westland Citivans
($2,000), Rotary ($1,500), The
Westland
Community
Foundation ($500), Jaycees
($3,000), Grange ($750), the
WestlandHistorical Commission
($500) andWarmHearts ($500).
“The money awarded to the
Westland Area Jaycees goes
directly back to making an
impact within the three cities
they serve - Wayne, Garden City
and Westland,” commented
Jaycee President Rebecca
Markonni. “From raking leaves
for seniors, to putting a
Christmas gift in the hands of
over 100 children that would
have gone without, the Westland
Area Jaycees are here to serve
our community.”
The local organizations pro-
vided the volunteer manpower
at the Blues, Brews and BBQ
event this year. Volunteers the
groups provided served as
greeters, grounds crew, and ID
checkers, among a variety of
other roles which reduced oper-
ating costs at the city festival.
“Being able to hand out the
checks is my favorite part,” com-
mented Westland Chamber of
Commerce CEO Brookellen
Swope. “I always love seeing
our civic groups, and being able
to hand them money instead of
asking them for something is a
great feeling.
“We are blessed in our com-
munity to have so many great
organizations and volunteers.
This community event wouldnot
be possible without all of these
wonderful people,” she said.
Visitors at the event were
treated to some of the best BBQ
vendors in the state and packed
the house for blues legends,
such as TheDetroit Soul Review
andThornettaDavis.
The countdown and planning
has already begun for the 2018
festival planned for Aug. 3 and 4.
Area volunteer groups received checks totaling more than $10,000 last week to help their civic projects
from proceeds at the Blues, Brews and BBQ event in Westland last summer.
Success is not selfish.
Shivam Patel, a senior at
Wayne Memorial High School,
believes in collective success and
he is striving to help his class-
mates reach their goals and see
his community thrive.
Patel is a finalist for a Quest
Bridge scholarship, funded by a
national nonprofit organization
that connects high achieving,
low-income studentswith top col-
leges. In 2017, of 15,606 applica-
tions, 5,759 students were select-
ed as National College Match
Finalists.
Patel certainly qualifies as
highachieving.
He is on the school ethics
team, which won the state cham-
pionship last year. He also serves
on the Student Senate, is a mem-
ber of the National Honor
Society and created Team
Wayne, which includes the top
students from the Class of 2018 at
Wayne Memorial. The goal of the
group is to encourage and sup-
port each other during the col-
lege applicationperiod.
He is also a Champions stu-
dent. With a GPA of 4.2, he didn't
need the incentive to increase
his grades, so his goal is to create
a mentorship program between
upperclassmen and first-year
students. He compares it to a
mini Champions program.
Patel hopes that Team Wayne
and the mentoring program he
created will live on at Wayne
Memorial after he graduates in
June.
Patel said he is certainly hop-
ing towin theQuest scholarship.
“Quest Bridge helps under-
privileged students get into elite
colleges,” he said. “You get
ranked in certain schools. As a
finalist, you rank your top 12
schools and hope to get matched
to one of them,” he said. Patel
hopes to get ranked to his num-
ber-one choiceBrownUniversity.
If he is chosen, he will receive a
full scholarship.
He isn't sure of his college
course of study yet, he said.
“I am trying to figure out what
problem I want to solve and how
I want to benefit society,” he said.
Patel was born in Lansing and
has lived in Detroit, Flint and
Inkster. He and his family now
live inWayne.
“These cities have been strug-
See
Scholar,
page 6
Wayne student is finalist for Quest scholarship
Shivam Patel
