Adrian Area Chamber HAPPENINGS

Consumers Energy recently awarded Adrian College $66,000 for the College’s energy efficient renovations to the existing structure of Peelle and Jones Hall on campus. The multimillion-dollar renovation and construction project included significant upgrades, including high-efficiency lighting and a new, state-of-the art heating and cooling system that monitors chemical fumes. The College also invested in an Energy Management System (EMS), allowing the institution to responsibly monitor its energy usage at all times.

“As Adrian College evolves into a more robust and sophisticated institution, so too must we become more sensitive to the natural world,” said President Jeffrey Docking. “This check symbolizes our efforts to be more energy efficient and ecologically friendly.”

Adrian College applied to receive the check through Consumers Energy’s New Construction Program. The New Construction Program offers rebates to institutions making strides to lower overall energy use. The College’s energy-conscious upgrades to Peelle and Jones Hall made Adrian College a model recipient.  

Midwest Energy Cooperative has issued a challenge: Organize a food drive and raise awareness for a local food pantry organization, make a video of your efforts, and post it to the Feed the Need Video Challenge for a chance to win an additional $1000 for that organization.

WLEN Radio will take this challenge on the road Tuesday and Wednesday, June 23-24, to raise food items for the Fishes and Loaves food pantry. Stop by Culver’s of Adrian at 1360 S. Main Street on Tuesday from 3-5PM to receive $1 off a value basket during the broadcast, or visit Jerry’s Beef and Deli on Herrick Park Drive in Tecumseh on Wednesday from 7AM-9AM. Bring a non-perishable food item for the Fishes and Loaves pantry to get in the WLEN video.

The Sage Foundation has approved a grant for Habitat for Humanity of Lenawee County (HFHLC) in the amount of $15,000. Funds will be used to support Neighborhood Revitalization by covering the added cost of materials required to do extensive, costly repairs and upgrades to bring blighted properties up to Habitat standards.

HFHLC is revitalizing neighborhoods by rehabbing blighted properties and completing critical repair projects for homes surrounding those they rehab. HFHLC renovates homes for families who have income between 30% and 70% of the county’s average median income. One of their goals is to break the cycle of poverty. They aim to accomplish this by making families more financially stable with affordable mortgages that do not exceed 30% of the homeowner’s annual income including taxes and homeowners insurance. A second way they accomplish this goal is to lower utility bills by making Habitat homes energy efficient. As mortgages and repair loans are repaid, those payments are reinvested to renovate and repair more homes allowing more families to be served.

The Arts Alliance is offering a free training workshop on Tuesday, July 7 from 5PM to 7PM at the Lenawee District Library for individuals and organizations interested in applying for funds through the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs’ (MCACA) Minigrant Program. The workshop will provide guidance regarding the minigrant application process including eligibility, application requirements, using the online application submission program, and requirements applicants must be able to fulfill if they are awarded funding. 

Lenawee Carpet One Floor & Home will be hosting a reception on Tuesday, June 30 at 11AM at their location at 1416 S. Main St. in Adrian (in the Kmart plaza). During the reception Lenawee Carpet One will receive a piece of steel from the fallen towers of the World Trade Center, which will be presented by a 9/11 first responder from the New York City Fire Department.

A piece of steel is being presented to every Carpet One showroom in the United States as a gift of appreciation for their support of Building for America’s Bravest, a program of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which provides smart homes for Veterans who have returned home catastrophically injured during their service. Through Carpet One’s partnership with Mohawk Industries they provide both flooring and installation for these smart homes, which are custom-designed to adapt to the wounded Veterans’ physical needs - giving them back their independence and dignity.

Lenawee Carpet One invites the public to attend the reception on June 30 at 11AM, which will truly be a once in a lifetime event. The program will last approximately 30 minutes and will be followed by refreshments.

The Adrian District Library will be hosting a series of Genealogy presentations by Adult Services Librarian, Heidi Neil. Ms. Neil has been working on and learning about family research techniques for over 14 years and has taught numerous classes and workshops in the past. The series will focus on various genealogy websites.

Genealogy Series as follows:

Familyhistory.org    Wednesday June 24 at 2PM Olivetree.com         Wednesday July 22 at 2PM Mocavo.com           Wednesday August 26 at 2PM 

The Tecumseh Center for the Arts and the Tecumseh Youth Theater will be hosting drama summer camps during the months of June and July for elementary students and middle and high school students.

The elementary camp is geared for students entering 2nd-5th grades this fall and will be held June 22-26 from 9AM to 4PM, Monday throughFriday. This year’s theme is “Broadway Hits” and concludes with a performance on Friday, June 26. The cost is $120 per student and $100 for each additional student in the same family. Youth attending camp should bring their own sack lunch each day.

Middle school and high school students entering 6th-12th grades may participate in a two-week camp held July 6-17. The camp will take place each day from 9AM to 4PM. This year’s theme is a musical parody based on Harry Potter and Broadway Revue with a final performance on July 17. Registration is $210 per student and $190 for each additional student in the same family. Youth attending camp should bring their own sack lunch each day.

Opening the Black Box Summer Series at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts on June 25 is an exciting and compelling one-hour documentary entitled “Our Fires Still Burn: The Native American Experience.”

The documentary has been positively reviewed by Booklist and is airing nationally on PBS. The film invites viewers into the lives of contemporary Native American role models living in the Midwest, particularly Michigan.  It dispels the myth that American Indians have disappeared from the American horizon, and reveals how they continue to persist, heal from the past, confront the challenges of today, keep their culture alive, and make great contributions to society. Their experiences will deeply touch both Natives and non-Natives and help build bridges of understanding, respect, and communication.

The YMCA of Lenawee County and Bohn Pool invite you to attend the “Luau at Bohn Pool” on Friday, June 26 from 6PM to 9PM. This is a free community event and everyone is welcome!

The evening’s festivities will include an open swim at Bohn Pool, a bounce house, door prizes, games and fun activities. A DJ will be on hand to play some great music, and concessions will be available for purchase.

Make your plans now to kick the weekend at Bohn Pool, located at 631 S. McKenzie St. in Adrian. For more information, please visit www.ymcaoflenawee.org, call Bohn Pool at 517-264-4886, or call the YMCA at 517-263-2151.

The Adrian District Library is hosting a “Geocaching 101” event at the library for all ages on Saturday, June 27. The event will begin with a “Meet and Greet” from 9:30AM – 10:00AM followed by a “Geocaching 101” presentation from 10:00AM – 11:00AM. Participants will learn everything they need to know to find their first geocache. After the presentation, novice geocachers can team up with more experienced geocachers to head outdoors to look for nearby caches. Participants are asked to enter through the Breakin’ Away Café entrance off of E. Maumee Street. The Café will be open at 9:00AM and have coffee drinks and baked goods available to purchase.

Geocachers of all levels of experience are invited to attend as well as those with no experience or knowledge. No special equipment is needed but participants are welcome to bring a GPS unit or smartphone.

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices and is a fun, family-friendly activity. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache container hidden at the location. More information about geocaching can be found online at www.geocaching.com.

Educatius International still has exchange students waiting to be placed for the 2015-2016 school year at Adrian High School, and are actively seeking host families. The remaining students need to be placed ASAP - this will allow the host family and the student to start talking and preparing for the school year, as well as take care of any additional procedures needed if the student will be playing sports at AHS.

If you are unsure about hosting, consider becoming a welcome family. Welcome families greet the student from the airport and provide a home for the student for a month until a permanent home is found. If in that time you decide that you would like to keep the student for the rest of the year, that can be arranged as well.

The Adrian District Library will host Randy Hotton from the Willow Run Yankee Air Museum (YAM) on Thursday, June 11 at 6:30PM for his presentation “How Detroit Saved the World: The Willow Run Story” as part of their Adult Summer Reading Program.

Hotton’s presentation will include a short history of the Yankee Air Museum. The “Willow Run Story” starts with the failure of the US to rearm following WWI and Roosevelt’s call in May of 1940 for mobilization to build 50,000 airplanes per year. Hotton will describe the world and national events leading up to the decision to involve the auto industry in the construction of airplanes for WWII, and ultimately to build the Willow Run Bomber Plant.

Randy Hotton has been a YAM member since 1985. He is the former Executive Director of the Yankee Air Museum and now serves as a Board Member and Treasurer. Hotton is professional pilot with USA Jet Airlines and also flies as a pilot with YAM in the C-47 and B-17 airplane. A retired US Navy Captain, Hotton served as Pilot Plane Commander in the P-3 Orion aircraft while flying in Vietnam and during Anti-Submarine Patrols during the Cold War. A history buff, Hotton has done extensive research and reading on the reasons why and how Willow Run came to be built.

On Saturday, June 13 from 10AM to Noon, Ann’s By Design at 118 W. Maumee St. in Downtown Adrian will sponsor World Wide Knit In Public Day (WWKIPDAY) for Lenawee County knitters. This marks the first time Lenawee County knitters have had the opportunity to grab knitting needles and yarn, head for the benches in downtown Adrian and participate in this international event. Celebrating its 10th year bringing knitters together, WWKIPDAY is the largest knitter run event in the world.

WWKIPDAY is about showing the general public that knitting can be a social, community activity. Knitters are invited to bring knitting and a friend to celebrate “better living through stitching together.” Join hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other knitters around the world on the same day while enjoying your craft.