Our guest for lunch this week was Jack Kay, an expert on extremist groups and hate speech in cyberspace. "Hate messages have always been in the background of political and social rhetoric, regardless of the specific medium," says Kay, a professor in communication, media and theatre arts at Eastern Michigan University. "The messages are not new. What is new is the ease by which those messages can be both broadcast and narrowcast, and the ability of people to take in such messages anonymously and vicariously." Narrowcasting, or target marketing, involves aiming media messages at specific segments of the public, usually by radio or television. Kay, who specializes in the power of language, is nationally known for his extensive research on the communications strategies of some groups we won't even mention in this corner of cyberspace. Just as political campaigns are becoming more sophisticated in their information gathering and ability to target messages, "purveyors of hate" are learning to target their messages to sympathizers and recruits, according to Kay.
Our guest for lunch this week was Chandra Graves, founder and President of Family Focus Health Services, a provider of Maternal Infant Health Programs. The mission of Family Focus is to promote the well-being of children from birth by supporting and strengthening their families in and with their communities. FFHS contracts with registered nurses and licensed social workers to perform in-home visits with Medicaid eligible pregnant women and their babies. The multidisciplinary staff perform health risk assessments to determine their needs and create a plan of care to help mitigated the risks identified. Family Focus offers services that help parents with children ages 0-5 enhance their ability to provide and advocate for their families. Education and support services to parents during the early years can significantly contribute to positive, healthy, child-rearing practices, prevention of abuse and neglect, and success in school. The programs offered strengthen parental knowledge and skills, reduce social isolation, and enhance employment opportunities for the parents.
Our guest for lunch this week was Bishop Greg Geiger, a former Ford Executive, and current Director of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As of year-end 2010, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints reported 42,319 members, 105 congregations, and 43 Family History Centers in Michigan. Each year, local organizations including Neighborhood House, Farmington Area Goodfellows, Farmington Hills Senior Division and Farmington Public Schools have partnered with the Farmington Hills congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to distribute more than 12,000 pounds of winter clothing, coats, blankets and quilts and to the needy in the community. In his PowerPoint presentation called "Interfaith Discovery", he talked with us about leading people to examine their outward cultural expressions and then their deeper values. In part of the program, he asks people to identify social forces that make some neighborhoods feel like communities and leave residents of other neighborhoods feeling isolated and fearful.
As a follow up to our F2H Fit presentation, we heard from Don Staley, author of "Fit Mind, Fit Body". Research shows that 95% of individuals who begin a work-out routine or diet fail to follow through. In cracking the fitness code, Don believes that anyone can follow the path outlined in Fit Mind, Fit Body to reach goals and exceed them. Don thinks of himself as a "Brain Cell Coach". Struggling to stay the course of diets and fitness routines through his adult life, Don explained first-hand the sense of failure and frustration associated with being trapped in an on-and-off diet and exercise routine. His book builds on 4 years of accumulated knowledge and life changing insights that enable people to realize their true fitness potential. He asked us to harness the power of our subconscious minds in 4 simple steps to create the ideal body, business, and life. His "FIST" formula is based on Foundation, Initiation Process, Transformation Process and Sustaining Process.