BWL: Customer Services

Heated Competition at the Lansing Center Raises Thousands
2007 BWL Chili Cook-Off a huge success.

Thousands of chiliheads toured the riverside BWL Chili Cook-Off to sample more than 2,000 gallons of chili and enjoy the festive atmosphere. With so much community support, the Board of Water & Light raised more than $34,000 for Adopt A River and Pennies for Power (administered by Capital Area Community Services).

While the general public votes for the “People’s Choice” Award, special judges’ expertise is utilized as well. Three self-proclaimed “heat loving” Board of Water & Light customer entrants torched their tongues to determine the winner of the “Mo’ Hotter, Mo’ Better Hottest Chili” category. Other award winners were determined by a panel of three local chefs from the Professional Chefs and Cooks Association, who sampled and rated more than 40 bowls of chili each! This year’s judging panel included Michael Bernard, Lansing Center Sous Chef; Allan Coyle, Alliance Service Chef, and James Cummings, MSU Residence Halls Chef.

Best Restaurant Chili
      Gold Ladle: McAlisters Deli “Dead-Eye Chili”
      Silver Ladle: Turkeyman “Turkeyman Chili”
      Bronze Ladle: Big Tony’s Pizza “Big Tony’s Big Chili”
Best Corporate Chili
      Gold Ladle: Lansing Firefighters IAFF Local 421 “Hook & Ladder             Splatter”
      Silver Ladle: Balloons Galore “Balloon Chili 2”
      Bronze Ladle: UPS “ Granny’s Gashouse Gourmet”
Best Salsa
      Gold Ladle: Lansing Fire Fighters
      Silver Ladle: Walnut Hills CC
      Bronze Ladle: Buddies Pub & Grill

Best Meatless Chili
      Gold Ladle: Texas Roadhouse “Poor Man’s Porridge”
      Silver Ladle: Barley’s American Grill/Citadel Communication             “Volcano Gravy”
      Bronze Ladle: Michigan Commission for the Blind “Aces Full of             Veggies Chili”

The Greater Lansing Convention & Visitors Bureau awarded the Red Hot Hospitality Award to the CVB member organization that was most fun and welcoming.

Red Hot Hospitality
      Bonnie’s Place

Mo’ Hotter, Mo’ Better Hottest Chili
      Gold Ladle: Barley’s American Grill/Citadel Broadcasting “Colonary             Cleanser”
      Silver Ladle: Mayfair Bar “Preparation H(ot) Chili”
      Bronze Ladle: Beggar’s Banquet “Eat Now, Péle-ter”

Most Creative Booth
      Gold Ladle: Cadillac Club - Mexican Cantina
      Silver Ladle: Johnny Rockets - Nifty 50’s
      Bronze Ladle: Radisson Hotel - Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Most Creative Chili Name
      Gold Ladle: Lansing Firefighters “Hook and Ladder Splatter”
      Silver Ladle: Mayfair Bar “Proctologist Perfection”
      Bronze Ladle: Radisson Hotel “Fur on Fire:
             It’s Almost Un-BEAR-able”

Finally, the chiliheads collectively voted for these winners:

People’s Choice/Best Chili
      Gold Ladle: Cadillac Club
      Silver Ladle: Red Robin
      Bronze Ladle: Radisson Hotel

In addition to all the tasty chili and refreshing beverages, local bands Those Delta Rhythm Kings and Zydecrunch played continuously on both sides of the event, and a mechanical bull offered rides for aspiring cowpokes. The weather held, the chili flowed freely, and two deserving charities benefited--thanks to area restaurants, businesses, the city of Lansing and thousands of Chili Cook-Off attendees.

Lansing Lugnuts
Lansing's Hometown Utility supports its Hometown sports team. The BWL is a proud sponsor of the Lansing Lugnuts, Lansing's Class A professional baseball team. The Lugnuts play 70 home games each spring and summer in beautiful new Oldsmobile Park, located in the heart of downtown Lansing. Construction of the new ball park has been an important driver of downtown development, and each year the Lugnuts draws thousands of fans downtown to enjoy the fun and excitement of professional baseball entertainment.

Before every home game kids and adults collect free player autographs in the BWL-sponsored autograph area along the right field line. Special events during the baseball season include the BWL Hometown Power Night, when area softball teams send their best sluggers to compete in a home run derby.

Silver Bells in the City

Silver Bells in the City ushers in the holiday season in mid-Michigan each November. The BWL is one of two major corporate sponsors of the event, held the Friday before Thanksgiving. More than 50,000 people throng to Lansing's downtown area to view a spectacular lighted parade and fireworks, enjoy carolers and free horse-and-buggy rides, and to witness the lighting of Michigan's official holiday tree.

Junior Achievement
For more than 35 years, Junior Achievement of Mid Michigan has partnered with business people and educators to inspire young people to become entrepreneurs and future business leaders. Through JA's classroom programs in Kindergarten through twelfth grade, students learn basic business and economic concepts from business volunteers who reaffirm everyday lessons and encourage the student to stay in school.

Last year, JA provided 6,600 students with hands-on, activity-oriented programs designed to promote a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system - tools that tomorrow's employees will need to lead successful and fulfilling lives.

Lineman's Rodeo
The Board of Water and Light is the "host" utility for the Michigan Lineman's Rodeo, an annual event where lineworkers apply their skills in friendly competition. From climbing poles to performing the simulated rescue of an injured worker, the rodeo offers an exciting round of events to test the lineworker's abilities.

Speed is important, as the teams strive to carry out each event in the fastest possible time. But safety and accuracy are even more critical, because the eagle-eyed judges are quick to note and penalize the participant, if they fail to perform the event correctly.

In 2004, the Michigan Lineman's Rodeo drew more than 50 participants representing a number of Michigan's utilities and line construction companies. Many of these lineworkers view this regional event as preliminary to competing in the International Lineman's Rodeo and Expo held in Kansas City, MO in the fall.

Water Tapping Team
BWL Women's and Men's Water Tapping Teams Take 1st and 2nd in National Competition

Two Lansing Board of Water and Light teams competed in the 2002 American Water Works Association's (AWWA) National Conference in New Orleans, June 12-16, after each took first place in their division in State trials.

After taking third in the preliminary round at the nationals, the BWL Women's Team trimmed eight seconds off their time in the second run to win top honors with a time of two minutes, 20 seconds. The BWL Men's Team ranked first in the preliminary round at the Nationals with a time of one minute, 24 seconds. They were edged out by just six seconds in the second round to finish in second place.

This is the second year BWL women competed in the tapping contest and the second year sent to represent Michigan in the national event.

It was the 11th year straight the BWL's men's tapping team captured the state first place title, earning the right to represent the utility and Michigan in national competition.

BWL Community Events Committee

The Board of Water and Light Employee Community Events Committee was formed in 1989. The committee was organized to give BWL employees an opportunity to become involved in various Lansing community activities as a group.

Over the years, the committee has recruited employees to participate in charitable and community events such as Make a Difference Day, the Junior Achievement Bowl a Thon, Boys and Girls Club activities, Christmas in April and local parades.

The Community Events Committee also holds monthly lunchtime Hot Dog Cook Outs at the BWL in the summer months to raise money for local charities. Proceeds from last year's cookouts amounted to $2000.00. Money raised went to charities such as Cystic Fibrosis, Breast Cancer Awareness and the CACS Walk for Warmth.

Planet Walk
Walk a scale model of our solar system along the Lansing River Trail
Installed in 1993, in cooperation with the Lansing Board of Water and Light, Impression 5 Science Center, and the City of Lansing, the Planet Walk is a scale model of the solar system that stretches almost two miles along Lansing's River Trail.

It begins with a 20 inch sun, located outside the Impression 5 Science Center. At Planet Walk scale, Earth is depicted as the size of a pencil eraser on a plaque mounted 179 feet away from the Sun. Jupiter, the largest planet, is shown as the size of an orange and is located 932 feet from the Sun. Pluto, the most distant planet from the Sun, appears as the size of a pinhead, and is located almost two miles away, near the entrance to Potter Park Zoo. Click here to view Planet Walk marker depicting Saturn. It will take from 45-60 minutes walking time to travel the solar system one way. You'll stroll over five billion scale miles in less than an hour.

In fall of 2002, the Board of Water and Light and local marketing firm, Pace and Partners, funded a new updated Planet Walk exhibit. The enhanced new exhibit features colorful plaques displaying each planet to scale, along with planet facts, a map of the entire exhibit, and photographs from the Hubble telescope.

Over the years, the exhibit has seen its share of visitors, many of whom were already experienced space travelers. The original exhibit was dedicated on October 19, 1993, by Jack Lousma, Michigan native and Apollo and Skylab astronaut, who led the first group of students and local space buffs for a stroll from Sun to Pluto with interpretive comments and stories along the way. Other NASA notables have also led the Planet Walk event, including Dr. Jerry Linenger, a space shuttle astronaut, who trained and worked with Russian cosmonauts aboard space station Mir.