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Marissa Carson of Highland is the New Miss Oakland County
ROCHESTER HILLS – Marissa Maxine Carson, 20, of Highland Township was crowned Miss Oakland County 2023 at the annual competition July 15 at Oakland University.
The theater major at Oakland Community College won $1,850 in education scholarships, as well as several other prizes and gifts.
Carson won scholarships of $1,200 for winning Miss Oakland County and $200 for the Vivian Zhong Best Talent Award for her rendition of “Wishing You Were Here Again,” from “The Phantom of the Opera.” She also earned scholarships of $250 for the Aldo Vagnozzi Community Service Award and $200 for the JoAnn Lingenfelter Spirit of Miss America Award.
Carson, who plans to obtain a bachelor’s in musical theater, will represent Oakland County at the 2024 Miss Michigan competition in Muskegon next June. Her community service initiative is “The Importance of Volunteering,” which seeks to bring volunteering opportunities throughout Michigan to people of all ages and abilities.
Milford’s Rebecca Kobylas, a 20-year-old neuroscience and psychology major at Alma College, earned a $700 scholarship as the first runner-up. Kobylas also won the Samantha Steckloff Community Service Award and an additional $150 scholarship.
Claudia Kenny, 16, of Chesaning, became the 2023 Miss Oakland County’s Teen. A junior at Chesaning H.S., Kenny’s community service initiative is “The Big SEE: Skin Cancer is the Cancer You Can See.” She will represent Oakland County at Michigan’s teen competition next June in Muskegon.
The Miss Oakland County Scholarship Program is a preliminary competition to Miss Michigan and Miss America.
Charities collect school supplies
ROCHESTER — Gifts For All God’s Children, a children’s charity, is hosting its annual Back to School Aid Challenge to gather essential school supplies and financial contributions to provide over 1,500 children throughout metro Detroit with resources.
Search the organization on Amazon’s Wish List. Items needed include wide- and college-ruled loose-leaf paper, spiral notebooks, three-ring binders, two-pocket folders, scissors, glue sticks, crayons, colored pencils, markers, pencils, pens, rulers, erasers, and plastic pencil boxes.
Monetary donations can be made at giftsforallgodschildren.org or by mailing a check to Gifts For All God’s Children, P.O. Box 71017, Rochester Hills, MI 48307, or email info@giftsforallgodschildren.org to arrange drop off of donations.
In another effort, the Rochester Kiwanis, Rochester Hills Lions and the Rochester Rotary clubs are working together to bring backpacks to foster kids through the Samaritas Backpack Drive. Donations can be dropped off at Eugenia’s 3rd Street Hair Gallery, 212 W. Third St., through Aug. 1. School supplies are needed for all ages and genders and include backpacks, notebooks, crayons, pencils, erasers, markers, rulers, scissors, etc. Call (248) 318-9542 for information.
Webber, Tisdel move to honor longtime congressman with ‘William S. Broomfield Memorial Highway’
ROCHESTER HILLS — Legislation recently introduced by state Sen. Michael Webber and state Rep. Mark Tisdel would name a section of Rochester Road from Tienken Road to M-59 the “William S. Broomfield Memorial Highway.”
Broomfield passed away in 2019 at the age of 96 and had an extensive history of civil service, representing residents of Oakland County in Lansing and Washington, D.C.
“Mr. Broomfield spent much of his life working to better the lives of residents in Oakland County. He served with immense dedication and civility while understanding the extraordinarily important role of representing the voice of the people in a government body,” Webber, R-Rochester Hills, said in a statement.
“Mr. Broomfield’s long-standing dedication to Congress merits the utmost recognition in every possible way. His invaluable contributions are diligently preserved in the archives of the VanHoosen museum in Rochester Hills. It is only fitting that the state thoroughfare, symbolizing his exceptional record of achievements, be named in his honor,” Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, said in a statement.
Born in Royal Oak and a veteran of World War II, Broomfield served in Congress for 36 years, from 1957 until his retirement in 1993. He was the ranking Republican member of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs for 18 years during the Cold War and through the fall of the Berlin Wall. That allowed Broomfield to be a part of a delegation that traveled to China in 1974 as the United States restored diplomatic relations with the communist nation.
Before going to Washington, Broomfield served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1948 to 1954, becoming speaker pro tempore in 1953. He was elected to the state Senate in 1955.
Webber sponsored similar legislation in honor of Broomfield when he served in the Michigan House.
Senate Bill 375 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and House Bill 4705 has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation, Mobility, and Infrastructure for further consideration.
The Rochester Lions Club 23rd Rockin Rods n’ Rochester Car Show
ROCHESTER — The Rochester Lions Club will host the 23rd Rockin Rods n’ Rochester Car Show Aug.13 on Walnut Boulevard in downtown Rochester.
All proceeds from the car show are used to support Leader Dogs for the Blind and other Lions charities.
The show will open at 9 a.m. and will consist of up to 400 cars entered in 23 classes. Awards will be presented at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Music, food, refreshments, 50/50 raffles, door prizes, T-shirts and posters will be available.
Participants for the show can enter their cars using the online registration process at rochesterlionsclub.org or by downloading the registration form available on the site. The registration fee is $20 per car. There is no charge for spectators.
For more information, call Celia Domalewski at (248) 765-6929 or visit rochesterlionsclub.org.
