Martin Taylor and the Gerald Clayton Trio take the stage at MCG for one show only on Friday, October 17, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. Kicking off a fall U.S. Tour, Martin Taylor is back at MCG with his award-winning, inimitable jazz guitar style. Hot off the announcement that his first album will be released on Artist Share in January 2009, pianist Gerald Clayton makes his MCG Jazz debut. Over the last year Clayton has performed all around the world, exposing people from the United States to Japan to his live and expressive voicings on the piano. (more…)

By Jean Horne, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

This is our concept of a school … without armed guards, metal detectors or bars on windows. Without an act of graffiti or a drug incident. Where everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” so sayeth Bill Strickland, founder of Manchester Bidwell Corp., at Wednesday’s swelegant celebration of Bidwell Training Center’s 40th anniversary. He was speaking of Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild’s remarkable school that rescues teens from broken homes and neighborhoods by using the arts to teach them life skills. As well as the equally remarkable BTC that “teaches careers” to displaced adults.

In a North Side area where hope had lost its meaning, there now stands the house that Bill built … a beacon of hope which does, as the title of his newly published book declares, “Make the Impossible Possible.”

For the original column in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/fanfare/s_590613.html

Since taking over MBC, his name has been a synonym for the best and bravest in social entrepreneurship. Bill dreams with his eyes wide open, and other cities are clamoring to replicate those dreams. He has obliged with models in San Francisco, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids … while Nova Scotia, Ireland and Israel are waiting in the wings. We thought then as we think now — there’s nothing he can’t do.

Orchids to Bill and Rose Strickland and such others among MBC’s 400 heavy-lifters as Dr. James Robinson and Betty; Jesse Fife; Val Njie; Eddie Edwards; George Fecter; Burr Wishart; Cliff Rowe; Elise Hyland; Claudette Lewis; George Miles; Nancy Rackoff; and master quilter Ruth Ward.

(PITTSBURGH) – In celebration of Bidwell Training Center’s 40th Anniversary, a series of events will be held commemorating the organization’s rich history, culture and accomplishments.

The inaugural event is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, September 24, when Bill Strickland and the Manchester Bidwell Corporation’s (MBC) Board of Directors will host an invitation-only homecoming event, highlighting the milestones of Bidwell Training Center. Guests will enjoy music, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as they experience a lighthearted glimpse at BTC’s rich history. Presentations by Bill Strickland and Reverend Jimmy Joe Robinson, along with a video featuring reflections by friends of the organization, will accentuate the evening. The finale will be the unveiling of a special tribute to the community, in honor of those who have contributed so much to the success of Bidwell Training Center. A coffee and dessert reception will close the evening for more than 400 invited guests that will include Bidwell Training Center Advisory Board Members, corporate and community employers, civic leaders, donors, alumni and staff. (more…)

By Diane Brandon, WebTalkRadio.Net

We see so many problems in the world these days - violence, apathy, high crime rates, even children killing other children. Children growing up in problematic inner cities often end up in this cycle of poverty and crime - and hopelessness. Can they be saved? Can their lives be improved or turned around? Actually one program is having phenomenal success, and Diane Brandon is joined this week by its founder and guide, Bill Strickland, author of Make the Impossible Possible. Through the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and Bidwell Training Center, he has amassed an impressive and incredible legacy of successes and lives turned around. What’s his secret and how has he found the way to help so many people so effectively?

To listen to the full WebTalkRadio.Net interview:
http://www.webtalkradio.net/content/view/618/33/