Stories indexed with the term ‘anniversary’

Ann Arbor District Library board meeting (March 19, 2012): Monday’s relatively brief library board meeting was punctuated by a celebration of AADL director Josie Parker’s 10 years in that role.

During her director’s report, Parker spoke at length in praise of the library’s staff and their service ethic, saying ”that ethic is what makes this library a great library” and one she is proud to lead. The board passed a resolution recognizing her decade of leadership, citing a list of accomplishments that included the opening of three new branches and the library’s role in taking on the Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled and the digitization of the Ann Arbor News archives. Cake was served.

Earlier in the meeting as part of the board’s committee reports, Ed Surovell noted that for the first time in more than 15 years, the library staff doesn’t have sufficient information at this point to draft a budget for the coming fiscal year. Typically in March the board’s budget and finance committee, on which Surovell serves, will review the draft budget before it goes to the full board in April. That committee review process has been delayed because of uncertainties regarding future revenues, including funds the library receives from personal property taxes and penal fines.

Parker, who chairs the Michigan Library Association’s legislative committee, later told the board that she’s been spending a lot of time in Lansing, talking with state legislators and testifying in committee hearings about the importance of funding public libraries. She told The Chronicle that the budget process is expected to be back on track in April, after Washtenaw County’s equalization report is completed. That annual report is the basis for determining taxable value of property in the county, which in turn indicates how much tax revenue is collected by local taxing entities. The library board typically adopts a budget in May, for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

As part of another committee report, Prue Rosenthal noted that a new facilities committee had met to discuss the condition of the downtown building and what kinds of issues the board should be thinking about going forward. Board president Margaret Leary later clarified that the group met informally and that the committee hasn’t been officially created – that’s expected to occur with a board vote at the April 16 meeting. [Full Story]

Editor’s note: The monthly milestone column, which appears on the second day of each month – the anniversary of The Ann Arbor Chronicle’s Sept. 2, 2008 launch – is an opportunity for either the publisher or the editor of The Chronicle to touch base with readers on topics related to this publication. It’s also a time that we highlight, with gratitude, our local advertisers, and ask readers to consider subscribing voluntarily to The Chronicle to support our work.

When I worked on the business desk at The Ann Arbor News, we were awash with press releases about various business anniversaries, awards and other achievements. In hindsight, it’s fair to say we did not treat these accomplishments with the respect that many of them deserved.

Perhaps it takes being closely connected to a small enterprise – whether it’s a business, nonprofit or independent professional, or a program you launched or service you’ve been providing  – to appreciate the milestones that might seem trivial to an outsider. If you understand that making it through the day without quitting your business can be a pretty significant achievement, it gives you a visceral connection to those announcements.

That’s one reason why here at The Chronicle, we’ve started allotting some of our monthly milestone columns to congratulating others who’ve reached some kind of marker. Generally, large institutions are more likely to log higher numbers and get more attention for that. The University of Michigan, for example, is gearing up to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2017, and is already marshalling its considerable resources for that event.

But I have a soft spot for smaller, human-scale endeavors.

This month, we’re highlighting three such ventures: Local businesses – Acme Mercantile, Le Dog, and Anderson Paint – that all celebrated recent anniversaries, and whose owners have strong ties to this community.

And because tonight, Midnight Madness and Kerrytown Kindle Fest are launching many Ann Arbor shoppers into the holiday shopping season, with several downtown stores open late and offering special deals, I’d like to start by sharing a couple of thoughts about that, and by sharing a Twitter hashtag: #a2shoplocal.  [Full Story]

About a year ago, Dave Askins gave me a pocket watch. It’s a lovely device: simple in design, functional, evocative of a different era. The pocket watch holds all sorts of meaning for me, and it wasn’t a random gift – you might have noticed that here at The Ann Arbor Chronicle, we have an affection for watches and clocks.

Exactly a year ago today, Dave and I launched The Chronicle – with a watch in its masthead – intending to provide in-depth coverage of issues we felt were important or intriguing to the community. We believe that a critical part of the media’s watchdog role can be played by sticking to a simple premise: Just show up and watch. Observe, listen, notice, revel in seemingly unimportant detail – that’s how you discover what decisions are being made, and why. That’s how you learn about relationships, and how you notice the small things that sometimes turn out to be really important. [Full Story]

On Saturday, May 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Washtenaw Dairy will throw a 75th birthday party for itself.

Jim Smith, president of Washtenaw Dairy, didn’t send out any special invitations to people – everybody’s welcome to come enjoy the free hot dogs, 25-cent milkshakes, and entertainment from “Elvis Presley” and “Buddy Holly.” Not even Bill Martin – president of First Martin Corp. and athletic director of the University of Michigan – got a special invite.

So when Martin dropped by the dairy on Thursday, and a tableful of morning regulars wanted to know if he was coming to the party, Smith wasn’t buying the “Nobody invited me” excuse that Martin was selling. “We don’t send out invitations!” admonished Smith. “Well, you didn’t call!” replied Martin. Martin wound up saying he’d try to attend, asking, “About what time are you guys going to be there?”

The Chronicle didn’t hear anyone take advantage of the obvious opening for a wisecrack: “Are you asking so as to avoid us, or what?”  Missing that chance was a rare exception judged against the hour we spent on Thursday soaking up the atmosphere at the corner of First and Madison on the west side of Ann Arbor.  [Full Story]