Lansing — David Demyers waited in anticipation as he practiced his color guard routine. Working on it for close to three weeks now, he was almost bursting at the seams with excitement at the prospect of performing for a favorite celebrity.
Demyers was one of many children who got to meet Earvin "Magic" Johnson Wednesday night at a charity event in Lansing.
"It's a time in my life when I get to meet someone famous," Demyers said. "He brought Everett to a championship! The Spartans, the Lakers — it's a pleasure to meet him."
Magic Johnson, a Lansing native and graduate of Everett High School, spoke Wednesday night at the Sheraton Hotel in Lansing, when the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing held its 17th annual Steak & Burger dinner.
"Any time I have a chance to come back home and be a part of the Boys & Girls Club, I will do it," Johnson said. "I think this brings us all together for one common goal."
The dinner, which was hosted by Tom Izzo last year, is held in order to raise money for the club and to honor the children who make up the organization.
Carmen Turner, president of the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing, said it means a lot to have Magic back in town.
"The purpose is to support our children," Turner said. "We bring in a speaker who has a heart for the kids; hopefully, this will open up an avenue for other things, for Magic and the community."
Before leading the MSU men's basketball team to a national championship in 1979, Johnson was a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing.
As a Hall of Fame NBA basketball player and a flourishing businessman, the club looks at Johnson as an excellent role model.
"I grew up in the Boys & Girls Club, on the south side of Lansing. I went to the club about three or four times a week," Johnson said. "For me, it's just a homecoming. It's an organization that helped develop Earvin Johnson from a young boy to a young man."
The Boys & Girls Club of Lansing was created by a group of community members in 1964. Since then, the club has remained dedicated to keeping children off the streets and giving them a positive place to spend their time. Membership continues to grow, and has climbed to more than 1,400.
"(The Boys & Girls Club) is probably one of the only outlets where young kids can go and learn how to be involved in a lot of different things," Johnson said.
"Whether it's basketball, whether it's arts and crafts, whether it's study programs for the kids to do their homework. It allows them to have a good time but also learn at the same time."
After shaking hands with some prominent Boys & Girls Club donors, Johnson spent time with the children.
"When a kid can touch and see someone as big as Magic, who is an Everett graduate and a successful businessman, it gives them hope," Turner said. "It's all about the kids."
