: About Me

Tom Sumner was born and raised in Flint, Michigan where he served in various non-profit organizations with groups that served people with disabilities, downtown revitalization, community law enforcement, childhood development, public radio & television and has worked in print and broadcast media.

He traveled throughout the mid-west in the late 70s and early 80s as a full-time musician playing drums for dance bands that provided musical accompaniment in small concert venues for recording artists "The Diamonds," "The Drifters," "Freddy Boom-Boom' Cannon," "Del Shannon," and many others. "That was before I got a real job and fell in love with non-profits," Sumner said.

After serving as Public Relations Director at Flint's upscale University Club, Sumner joined the community relations department at Goodwill Industries of Mid-Michigan, an association he credits with being a graduate course in non-profit organizations. From there he did stints as Special Events Coordinator for Gemini Productions and as Executive Director of the Center City Association of Greater Flint.

During the early 80s Sumner was a contributing writer for a weekly newspaper "The Suburban News," and was a frequent writer for "On The Town" Magazine. From 1983-1985 he served as Editor of "The Score" (a monthly magazine for the members of the Flint Federation of Musicians, Local #542) where he also served as a member of the Local's Board of Directors and as a delegate to the AFM (American Federation of Musicians) State Conference. Other Board service includes serving as President of Flint Area Crime Stoppers, The Public Relations Association of Greater Flint and more recently El Ballet Folklorico Estudiantil.

Sumner went on the air in the 1990s as a classical music host at Flint's public radio station WFBE 95.1, the media spokesperson in TV PSAs for Mid-Michigan Crimestoppers and as a regular on-air host during pledge drives for Flint's public television station WFUM TV28. The 90s also saw the beginning of his association with Flint's children's museum (FCM). After several years as Development Director, he became the Executive Director of FCM and facilitated a nearly 1 million dollar renovation of the museum's facility and exhibits; and a revitalization of the staff and board.

In 2006, he became Executive Director for New Leash on Life (NLOL), an animal rescue organization specializing in mixed breed dogs, in Los Angeles. During his brief tenure he facilitated construction of a new kennel building at the NLOL ranch in Santa Clarita. That expansion and a re-organization of staff led to doubling the organization's capacity for animal rescue.

Sumner returned to Michigan in 2007 and became a regular member of Bill Toll's Flint based band Cidy Zoo. He has appeared as an actor and musician in several theater productions with Flint's semi-professional troupe Vertigo Productions.

My passion is ...

politics and humor

I know too much about ...

Star Trek

My parents always told me ...

don't be yourself, be nice

My childhood ambition ...

was to be the U.S. President, or James Bond

My favorite memory ...

There are several contained in my blogs

Why I write ...

To make people laugh, and think

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

The Daily Showand Lewis Black regularly

My first job ...

Newspaper route

My best moment ...

There are several, but most recently it was appearing on Mark Bonto's local public access TV show "Comedy on Tap"

My inspiration ...

friends and family

Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: Pranks

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"Alright, who put that bullet in the furnace?" Most people feel like they know Bill Cosby. I feel like I've known him all my life. From his role as Alexander Scott on television's I Spy to Dr. Huxtable, TV's quintessential dad on The Cosby Show. Recently, he has become a vocal proponent of better parenting with a particular emphasis on better role modeling for black youth in America. But I know him best from the Cosby kids. Those lovable characters from his youth that became Saturday morning cartoon icons. I remember them from vinyl phonograph records that spun around "like CDs" as my daug...

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