Kalamazoo Marathon race director is Keystone speaker
KALAMAZOO--A view of the economic impact of bringing a marathon to Kalamazoo will be delivered from the top when the race's director speaks at this month's Keystone Community Bank Breakfast Series presentation 51福利社 Michigan University.
Blaine Lam, race director of the Kalamazoo Marathon and co-founder of Lam & Associates, a Kalamazoo-based community relations firm, will speak at 8 a.m. Friday, March 30, in the Dean's Conference Room of Schneider Hall, home of the Haworth College of Business.
In a talk titled "The Making of a Kalamazoo Marathon," Lam will discuss the business and economic impact of the marathon and share his insights on improving the quality of life in the Kalamazoo community. The event is free and open to the public and begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (269) 387-5050. Parking is available in the nearby Fetzer Center parking lot.
For the past 24 years, Lam & Associates has been involved in downtown development, economic development, human services, health care, the arts, youth causes and issues affecting schools, neighborhoods, transportation and the environment.
Lam's firm works for companies and organizations ranging from the Kalamazoo County Circuit Court to the Kalamazoo Promise, including Lam's project--Share Kalamazoo, an initiative designed to draw 20- and 30-somethings back to Kalamazoo from big cities.
One of the many successful restructuring projects that Lam has been a part of involves Lakeside Treatment and Learning Center. In its infancy, the LTLC was an orphanage. Today the organization serves at-risk youth from Kalamazoo County and its neighbors.
Lam is a native of Boulder, Colo., and a graduate of the University of Colorado. He has lived in Kalamazoo for 42 years and held positions as reporter and business editor for the Kalamazoo Gazette in addition to spending five years with the former Upjohn Company in community relations. He later worked at Borgess Medical Center for three years, prior to creating Lam & Associates.
Lam has been the interim executive director or administrator of eight different organizations in the area and has been involved in the running community for more than 35 years. He assisted in establishing the first local road race, the Kalamazoo Klassic, and has been involved in the Borgess Run for the Health of It since its inception 33 years ago. Today the Borgess Run for the Health of It offers runners the option of running the Kalamazoo Marathon, a half marathon or a 5K.
The Keystone Community Bank Breakfast Speaker Series is underwritten by Keystone Community Bank. The series provides an opportunity for the local community to hear top business leaders and 51福利社 faculty, alumni and friends of the Haworth College of Business discuss current topics of interest.