Lisa Germani Takes A Look Back At The Best Of Community Connect

Southfield (CW50) - Since its premiere in December, "Community Connect" has aired close to 30 shows on CW50. The show was created to take CW50's Community Affairs programming in a new direction that better reflects and highlights all of the new and exciting things happening in Detroit. The goal of "Community Connect" is to build relationships, strengthen the dialogue, and provide outreach to the people we serve. 

In an effort to highlight some of the segments that our viewers said they enjoyed the most, CW50 will be airing a special "Best of Community Connect" episode on Saturday, September 5th at 8:30am. Tag along with our host Lisa Germani, as she looks back at four segments from past shows. 

First, Governor Gretchen Whitmer was invited to make her first appearance on the show in April, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She sat down with Lisa Germani and had a meaningful conversation about how the initial "Stay-At-Home" order was affecting Michiganders statewide. Governor Whitmer also spoke directly to the people of Michigan, giving them words of encouragement to make it through the lockdown. 

Next, CBS "SEAL Team's" Toni Trucks took viewers on a trip down memory lane, as she explained the impact that Michigan had on her growing up, while wanting to be an actor. She reminisced about her town's community theater, her dance classes as a child, and the schools she went to in Michigan, ultimately leading to her journey to Hollywood as a rising star. 

Trucks also gave our host Lisa Germani an inside look into her role as Lisa Davis in CBS's "SEAL Team," talking about how important it is to her for the show to get details right when it comes to military procedure, dialogue, and set design. 

Then, Lisa Germani got a peek into the restaurant industry with Chef Andrew Carmellini, Owner of San Morello at Shinola Hotel, as well as many other restaurants across Detroit and the country. Chef Carmellini discuss his love of Detroit and the reasons he decided to build restaurants here in the city. One of the highlights of the segment was Lisa Germani sharing her favorite San Morello dish with Chef Carmellini and him breaking down why it's the perfect dish. 

For the final segment, we decided to showcase one of the crew's favorite additions to the show. The Community Connect Cooking Segment! Back in February, the crew assembled the Community Connect Kitchen, so that Lisa Germani could bring in restaurants and chefs from across the city to share recipes, cooking tips, and delicious food with our viewers. 

In celebration of Black History Month, Sweet Magnolia's restaurant came into the Community Connect Kitchen to cook alongside Lisa Germani, teaching her how to cook collard greens. The segment featured Johnny Cannon, the owner of Sweet Magnolia's and Jathan Cannon, Manager of Sweet Magnolia's. Everyone on set shared a lot of laughs as Lisa multitasked chopping collard greens, adding spices and attempting to find out what Sweet Magnolia's secret recipes are. 

From the crew of "Community Connect" and our host Lisa Germani, we hope you enjoy the "Best of Community Connect" and continue to watch the show every Saturday morning with us. 

Watch "BEST OF COMMUNITY CONNECT" Saturday at 8:30am on CW50