July 16, 2008McCarthy Watercolors on Exhibit
Most people know Pat McCarthy, former Lansing State Journal newsman and a veteran of state government, as a man of words. What you might not know is that the East Lansing native is also an accomplished artist.
McCarthy describes himself as a "semi-professional" artist specializing in outdoor watercolors He’s been painting, as a sideline, much of his life.
In the summer of 1985, he traversed Michigan sketching and photographing cathedrals. He painted seven, with each watercolor taking between 24 and 40 hours to paint. Years later he even updated his painting of Lansing St. Mary’s after the front doors were changed.
The Michigan Catholic Conference commissioned the series of paintings, which toured the state during the Great Lakes State's sesquicentennial in 1987. Now McCarthy's works are front and center in the Conference's main-floor lobby, located on Capitol Avenue a few blocks south of the Capitol. He also had a successful show of his work last year at the Hannah Community Center in East Lansing, and several of his paintings hang inside the Lansing Center in downtown Lansing.
Conference President Sister Monica Kostielney says the paintings (including one of the Capitol that hangs on a different floor) are a great addition to the building’s collections.
Visitors are welcome to stop by the Michigan Catholic Conference and take a gander at the McCarthy collection.
History Society to Toast MillikenAt long last, former Governor William Milliken will be feted by the Michigan Political History Society.
Milliken friend and former GOP Committeeman Peter Fletcher will be master of ceremonies at the fundraiser for the Society’s endowment at Laurel Manor in Livonia on November 18.
Society President David Murley tells Domemagazine.com the tribute to Michigan’s longest serving governor perfectly marries the organization’s two goals of bipartisanship and preserving political history.
“Governor Milliken personifies the values and goals of the Michigan Political History Society,” Murley says. “He is a true statesman, one who, as governor, worked well with Republicans and Democrats. He valued bipartisanship above strict ideology. He didn’t dismiss his political opponents as mere charlatans, but treated them with respect and civility. That is the example that the Michigan Political History Society seeks to follow.”
Last year’s Society fundraising event toasted former Gov. Jim Blanchard. The society honored DTE Vice President and former House Speaker Paul Hillegonds in 2005 and former Attorney General Frank Kelley in 2004.
Milliken, 86, keeps a lower profile nowadays, though he’s stayed active in environmental issues and pushed to include groundwater in the public trust for the Great Lakes Compact legislation Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently signed. The Traverse City Republican also gave a key endorsement to presidential hopeful John McCain.
For tickets, contact Linda Cleary at 517.333.7996 or Linda.Cleary@sbcglobal.net.
Where Politicos Are BornHave you ever dreamed of being the next John Engler, Soapy Williams or Austin Blair? Well, you have to start somewhere — and the Michigan Political Leadership Program based at Michigan State University is indeed where many Mitten State politicos are born.
More than 100 program alumni are current or former officeholders. Not a bad track record, considering the fact that the MSU Institute for Public Policy and Social Research-administered program has graduated less than 400 since its inauguration in 1992. Alumni include House Minority Leader Craig DeRoche (R-Novi), Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland), Rep. Dick Ball (R-Laingsburg), Rep. Robert Dean (D-Grand Rapids) and Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrell Jr.
It’s that time of year to vie for 24 slots for the prestigious 10-month program. Weekend sessions tackle everything from public policy to nonprofits, campaign techniques to media relations.
So if you fashion yourself a political leader of tomorrow, you can apply online.
Susan J. Demas is a 2006 Knight Foundation Fellow in nonprofits journalism and a political analyst for Michigan Information & Research Service.
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