City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the Tay City Taylor council meeting at on 04/07/2026. Call the meeting to order at 06:30. Roll call. I pledge allegiance, mister Armstrong. Will you lead us? Roll call, please.

Mister Pats? Here.

Mister Clark is excused. Mister Armstrong?

Here.

Mister Wallace?

Here.

Mister Thede?

Here.

Mister Thomas?

Here.

Mister Johnson?

Here.

Mayor Woolley?

Here.

Missus Bauer is excused. And mister Droboni?

Okay. Can I get a motion to accept the the minutes from the last meeting and dispense the agenda from last meeting? And dispense with the oral reading.

Motion.

Motion

to approve the agenda.

I'd like to make a motion to approve the agenda with the following changes. Item 6.18 should read, quote, motion to amend CCR number six Dot two three two dash 25, adding an additional $425,000 in spending authority to Elle's Asphalt Paving Company, a current vendor, to perform asphalt pavement resurfacing contract work for an amount not to exceed $4,870,000 funded through the local street fund, major street fund, Taylor Building Authority or TBA, and Michigan Economic Development Corporation grant or MEDC grant, end quote. And item 6.19 should read, quote, motion to amend CCR pound six dot two three four dash 25, adding an additional $250,000 in spending authority to Audia Concrete Construction Incorporated, current vendor, to perform concrete panel replacement contract work for an amount not to exceed $1,765,000 funded through the local street fund, major street fund, and Taylor Building Authority. And item 6.21 to remove, quote, per the attached documents, end quote. Support.

We the We a the minutes foundation of the meeting held 03/17/2026 and dispense with oral reading. Motion. Motion by mister Support. Thomas. Supported by mister Wallace. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes. All

opposed? Motion carries. Mayor's communication.

Thank you, mister chairman. First, I'd like to start off with saying, I think many of you know, but yesterday, we lost a special member of our police department. Our canine officer, Cindy, lost her life yesterday. She was feeling ill. They took her to the vet and realized that, unfortunately, she was full of cancer. So she had to be put down. Cindy was a great part of our department. As I said, she put smiles on everybody's faces, but she was a great officer. Her specialty was, like, gunpowder. She found rounds and stuff like that.

That was but, you know, she was a great part of our department. Her handler was officer Nunley, technically her partner, but he was also, you know, her best friend, her father, you know, went home with them every day and part of their lives. So, you know, I wanna give my condolences to him and his family as well as all the officers over there. And then later on in the evening, found out that we lost, you know, former Taylor employee, Fred Taylor or Fred Turner, I'm sorry, longtime member of the city of Taylor. He retired from our DPW as a foreman.

Many of us know him from the VFW down the street. Fred was a great guy. And so I'd like to do a moment of silence for both of them, if that's okay with you. Thank you, mister chairman. And again, our prayers go out to both of their families. And, at this time, perfect timing, I'd like to, item 5.1 is a motion to approve the tribute to honor our own council person Ron Thinde by state representative Jamie Thompson.

Motion. Support. Motion by mister, Armstrong. Supported by mister Pats. Any discussion?

State rep Thomas Thompson is here if she'd like to come to the podium.

Thank you. Miss Thompson.

Thank you so much, mayor Woolley and members of the council, and thank you so much to the residents of Taylor for being here. It's truly an honor to be able to be here, not only to offer this tribute and recognition, but also to congratulate each and every one of you for your reelection. I've had not the opportunity to come down and congratulate you, but I really am impressed with what I've seen. I've heard great things from the community coming out of the representation of this council. It's an honor to be able to serve you at the state level, and I wanna make sure that you know that how much I appreciate your work that you do here in the city of Taylor.

So it is with great honor to offer this tribute to Ron Thede as being the first little person elected to office in the state of Michigan. So on behalf of the state of Michigan, we wanna offer you this. Yeah.

Come down.

Go. Can we

have a picture?

Sure. Go,

Ron. Wanna come around here?

Really appreciate it. Thank you.

We're hamming it up, Ronnie.

Through the chair, many of us have known Ron for a real long time, and he's a great person. And we were all very honored to learn that he was the first little person in Michigan to be elected. And I think that's a great attribute, and he does a great job. So far, so good. Right? Yep. So far. Uh-huh. I would

I just wanted to say that I worked with Ronnie for more than twenty years and never dreamed that we would be serving on the city council together. So congratulations, Ron.

Thank you. Through the chair, I just wanna say, Ron, you're you're a treasure to the community, and Taylor's better because of you. Thank you for all that you do.

Thank you.

And when you go pay me my $20? Can I get any other discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye.

Yes. All

opposed? Ayes have it. Motion carried. Thanks, Ron.

Thank you, mister chairman. Item 5.2 is a motion to approve the personal service contracts to the fire chief and the deputy fire chief.

Motion to approve. Support.

Motion by mister Thomas. Supported by mister Wallace. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes. All

opposed? None. Motion carried. Now we're going to the regular agenda. Can I get a motion to approve the City Of Taylor budget amendment dated '26 2026 dash zero zero five dated 04/07/2026?

Motion.

Support. Motion by mister Wallace, supported by mister Pats. Any discussion?

Jason, could you come up and explain this like you did last night for me and for the residents, please?

Give me one second here. Apologize to the chair. Let me get the document up. Here we go. So, basically, what this budget amendment two zero twenty six dash o five represents is transfer funds from the major road fund to the local road fund to cover additional costs related to asphalt and concrete projects that is part of the agenda item coming up for consideration. So if you look at it two pages, so basically, the total amount of the transfer is $675,000 from the major road fund to the local road fund. And then that $6.75 is being split between asphalt and concrete projects on the local road fund.

Through the chair, so to clarify, this is just a transfer. It's not an increase in expenditures.

It's just a transfer. Transfer.

Well, it's it's because there's two different funds because the road funds are split between local major road funds. Right. So, between the two funds, it's a net zero, but the city is allowed to transfer funds from the major road funds to the local road funds. It's an increase in expense in the local road fund, it's an increase in the revenue in the local.

Exactly. It's a net zero.

Between the two funds, it's a net zero.

Mix the roads.

Through the chair. This has also been done previous years as well. Correct?

Yes. As I said, we always transfer from the major to local roads every year. Like I said, the state allows that transfer to happen.

Thank you. Any

other comments? Questions? All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Ayes have it. Motion carries. Very company's foundation history. In amount not to exceed $3,237 funded through the general fund funded through the general fund. May I get a motion? Motion. Motion by mister Armstrong. Support. Support by mister Wallace. Any discussion?

Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. 6.3, motion to amend CCR 2.51 dash 26 to increase the authority of Magnet Forensics for the Advance x Exxon software by $2,255 funded through the general fund lease IT. Motion. Support. Second that. Motion by mister Armstrong. Seconded by, mister Thiede. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes.

All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. 6.4, motion to approve to receive and file the first reading of case 26Dash3ZC8 eighty seven fifteen telegraph. Ordinance to amend appendix a, the city of Taylor, Michigan code of ordinance regulating the development and the use of land to conditionally rezone partial six zero zero two seven nine nine zero zero four dash zero zero four of the Southwest Section 9 T T 3 S R 110 E, city of Taylor, Wayne County, Michigan, from B 3 General to I 1 light industrial.

The property consists of 2.525 acres located on the East Side Of Telegraph between Wolfhile And Mary Street.

Mister chairman, I'd

like to make that motion. Second.

Motion by mister Thiede. Seconded by mister Armstrong. Any discussion? Mister chairman. Yes.

While I appreciate that this proposal would bring occupancy to a building that has been vacant for quite some time, I also recognize that the structure is set back from Telegraph Road. It would not be highly visible from the corridor. Revitalizing unused properties is important, and I respect the effort to find a productive, uses for vacant space. However, I am not in favor of introducing another storage facility along the Telegraph Corridor. Having served on the two thousand six master plan steering committee, I remember the significant collaboration that took place between residents, the planning commission, and the city council.

Together, we worked to create a comprehensive document that serves as a blueprint for the long term development and character of our community. That plan emphasized strengthening our commercial corridors, particularly along Telegraph Road, with uses that contribute to economic vitality, encourage activity, and project a strong positive image for the city. While storage facilities can be appropriate in certain locations, I do not believe this use aligns with the vision we established for this corridor. Out of respect for the planning process and the community input that shaped it, I cannot support additional storage facilities along Telegraph Road. This evening, I'm proudly wearing my Telegraph tomorrow lapel pin, which was given to me during that planning effort, as a reminder of the commitment we made to protect and strengthen this important corridor for future for the future of our community.

That's all I have, mister chairman. Any other discussion?

Laura, could you come up and explain the conditional? And it's the first reading.

Good evening, council. Through the chair. This is a conditional rezoning at the former Coliseum on Telegraph Road. It's unique in that it's not a straight a standard rezoning to an I one, would allow many industrial uses that could cause noise, odor, other, this one is compatible as this conditional rezoning is specific to indoor storage, and it offers additional buffering, landscaping, and it's setback as greater than most any building on Telegraph Road. This came before and was approved in 2021.

The site plan was approved in 2022. The project then expired. It came before council again, but then was denied. The applicant has started this process again. This is a conditional rezoning.

In other words, a contract. And as you can see in your attachments, there was 10, more than ten, fourteen conditions posted to this of things that they must do here, and it's unique to they can only be the self storage unit as designed and as shown on their site plan. After eighteen months, unless substantial construction commences and proceeds diligently to completion, the project will expire. The planning consultant and planning commission has had both recommended approval.

Miss Phelp? And they've have they recommended it all three times?

Yes.

Thank you. Any other discussion?

Miss Phelp, things like the people are concerned about, like, hours of operation, is that restricted?

Yes. 8AM to 8PM.

What about, like, trash pickup? The dumpsters?

Yes. That's

let's see.

I believe that was five. Waste removal vehicles are only allowed between the hours of 5PM and 9AM.

What about you know, one of our concerns here is, like, drainage in that. Are they gonna, like, make a lot more pavement that's gonna drain less?

They're reducing they're reducing 10,000 square feet of pavement.

Oh, so they're actually improving that.

Putting in bioswales and, like I said, additional landscaping that would normally be required. They went over and above that.

Very good.

Any other discussion?

To the chair, I just wanna point out to to the council that this is the first reading of this particular amendment that in for our charter will have to go through a second reading at the next meeting. So if if it's denied tonight, then that would basically kill it. If it's approved, it would go forward to the next meeting for the second reading at which time councilman Clark would be here and have a chance to also vote on it.

Any other discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Yes. Yes. All opposed? No. Roll call.

Mister Wallace?

Yes.

Mister Thadde? Yes. Mister Thomas? Votes no. Mister Patz? Yes. Mister Armstrong? Yes. Mister Johnson?

Yes. Votes are five five to one. Motion carried. 6.5, motion to approve second reading of case number 26 Dash two, the southern the southern proximity 881 feet of partial 60 Dash 48 Dash 990013000 and zero six zero zero four eight nine nine zero zero one four. Lost my spot.

000 of the Southwest Section Of 18 T S R 10 E Taylor city of Taylor, Wayne County, Michigan for conditionally rezoning from 01 Dash R 1 c single family office, single family residential to light industrial. The property is located on the North Side Of Gardner between Beach Daily and Continental Drive. This is a conditional contract rezoning. May I get a motion? Motion.

Support.

Motion by mister Pat. Supported by mister Wallace. Any discussion?

Chairman, I've opposed to this as well, citing the same concerns that I have, with the master plan.

Mister mister mayor, can you talk about this a little bit, seeing as that you were the lead on this?

Yes. Mister chairman, you know, this was something that give a lot of credit to the developers. When they first came out with, you know, they reached out to the residents mostly amongst Continental Drive, and kinda talked to the residents about, you know, how they felt about the project, what were some of their concerns were. And, you know, and then had reached out to me and, you know, I said, well, let's let's wait a little bit and see what happens, you know, with the election, basically, after the election. And then so after the election, I sat down and we had talked.

And, you know, everything they talked to me about, I I kinda thought it was a good fit for that location. At which point, I decided to kinda have like a little town hall with the the residents that lived over in that neighborhood, mostly amongst continental, but I welcomed anybody in that neighborhood. We sat in this room, explained everything. And I think the one kicker was that really impressed me, that lot goes all the way back from Goddard Road, basically, almost all the way to I can't think of the road. Is it Canyon? Cuts in off of Beach Daily?

I think so.

Okay. Well, up to those apartments. But it's divided by a creek that runs through there. A drain, I should say. And they decided to basically it's a what what is it called? A DNR? Conservation easement. Conservation easement. That they agreed to give a city that give the city a conservation easement to where that area will remain a, you know, a natural setting for existence. The good thing on a city perspective is they have to maintain it and they have to pay taxes on it, and nothing will ever be built in that area even if they sell this location, which is good.

And the residents were really appreciative of that. They're gonna keep a green space buffer along the back of the properties. And, you know, they they understood that something was eventually gonna be there. And I felt this was the least invasive. And we all had a very good talk.

And at the end of the day, you know, there was really not a whole lot of upset people about it and realized that in since we've had that meeting, have gotten nothing about this being, you know, people being upset about this being built. And most people seem to be okay with it. And I don't know if anybody's here. And I told them about all the meetings we're gonna have. The planning commission meetings was pretty full and everybody was very supportive of it.

So I think everybody was in agreement and I told everybody where I had stood and I thought this was the best fit for that location. And I'm not always the biggest fan of these type of things, but I feel they do have a place and I thought this was a perfect place for this and those residents. So that's just my opinion.

Thank you. Any other discussion?

I also reached out to the neighborhood and I talked to several residents and they were all for it. They they said perfect. Yeah. To get something in that spot.

Well, I when I first heard about it, was absolutely that's not happening. And we can't do that. And then I started talking to everybody, and I started learning about it. And number one, my idea of indoor storage as industrial, I think it's BS. It's it's it shouldn't be industrial. That's that's the whole problem. Everybody thinks industrial. Well, this is conditional. They can only do certain things. And if they leave, it goes back to residential and office. So, you know, I I changed they changed my mind on it, and I'm glad they did. Any other discussion?

Mister chairman, I'd just like to point out to you, it was a definitely, it's a beautiful building that they're planning on

building. Yes.

Is. Good luck.

Okay. Can I all in favor?

Yes. Yes.

All opposed? No.

Roll call. Mister Wallace? Yes. Mister Thede? Yes. Mister Thomas? Bills no. Mister Pat?

Yes.

Mister Armstrong?

Yes.

And mister Johnson?

Yes. Motion carries five to one. 6.6. Motion to approve McKenna Associates planning consultant preferred vendor to provide professional services to planning department on an as needed basis. Motion.

Support. Motion by mister Thomas. Supported by Christian? Twenty. First and controls incorporate sole source bid quarter for the replacement of golf course irrigation pumps and piping at Taylor Metals Golf Club for the amount not to exceed $17,328 funded through the golf course capital outlay. May I get a motion? Motion. Support. By mister Wallace. I mean, mister Comms.

Thomas and supported by mister Wallace. Any discussion?

Through the mister chair, I just wanna point out that, you know, I'm one of the noisiest people about sole source contracts. I generally don't like them very well. But in this case, this was this is the only one who

will do it.

Able

to we're 6.8 motion to do approve twenty twenty six summer green fees rates at Taylor Lakes Of Taylor And Taylor Metals Golf Courses. Motion. Motion by mr. Armstrong. Support. Supported by mr. Wallace. Any discussion? Mr. Chair. Yes.

I just like to say I hope everybody has a great season.

Excited for golf. I hope so too. Any other discussion? That. And And to to to install new control panel on golf course fountain for Mount Nantic Seed, dollars 3,120 funded through Golf Course Lakes operating supply.

Motion? Support. Support. Okay. Motion by mister Thomas. Supported by mister Wallace. Any discussion?

I would like to just say, I asked last night the question. I know it doesn't matter, but I asked the question last night. What what does TIFF cover on the golf courses?

Well, TIFF funds things that what I said last night in study session is that we'd like for the golf courses to be self sufficient to fund their their own projects and they have a a slight fund balance. The mayor makes this this decision as as to whether he's gonna bring something to TEFA or if he's going to bring it to the council. Okay.

Through the chair or they use their fund balance. So TIFF is basically has to fall under like is it promoting the golf course. So there's there's certain restrictions that qualify for a TIFF expense. So there's certain things that TIFF can't pay for or sometimes refuse to pay for, future. Strong And we

Six ten. Motion to amend CCR number 7.295Dash25Sportsplex purchase agreement for be well, my friends, to my friend DJ Services LLC. Motion. Motion by mister Wallace. Support. Supported by mister Armstrong. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes.

And And do that. To $218 for required power and Cat six insulation funded through the TB capital outlay. I get a motion. Motion. Motion by mister Patz. Support. Supported by mister Wallace. Any discussion?

Could I have, mister Yulen come up? I just got one quick question. Would it be possible if we could get a map? Because I was confused on where this was.

Well, it's 18 buildings. So as these get completed, they're in the process of installing. These are auto call fire systems. So you want a map like the room

of is where the fencing.

Not yet. Bill, that's the next one.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

That's the fencing.

Hoping that

I need it. Sorry.

I was gonna say through I'm sure that it's gonna be a tough math. I'm sorry.

For the chair. I'd to take this moment every once in a while to talk to the people that don't come to the study sessions. For example, this expense here. We investigate all of these things in detail and have a lot of supporting documentations. So when we're up here and we vote easily, it's because all of the negotiation and all of the due diligence is done before this meeting, generally. I just want to point that out, that we don't just randomly approve these kinds of expenditures. They're well documented and they're being done, in our opinion, if we're going to vote to approve it, for the right reasons. Thanks.

Through the chair, that information is provided online as well now.

Mister Yulin, one question. Like I said last night, it's it's 65,000 Yes, sir. Additional to what was already approved?

That is correct. Okay. Any other questions? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes. All

opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. 6.12, motion to approve Cornerstone Fence low quote for installation of fencing at Splash Pad and Pavilion C at Heritage Park for the amount not to exceed $20,136 funded through the TBA capital outlay fund.

Motion.

Support. By mister Patz. Support.

Supported by mister Thomas. Any discussion?

Now, through the chair. I do have GIS aerials when I get back to my phone here or if I

can do

it right There's so many pavilions. I Yep. I will send

you the the aerial views, and it's mapped out with lines and drawings.

Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Yep.

Any other discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. Yeses have it. Motion carried. Six thirteen, motion to approve Wayne Lawn and Garden Center loan quote for two lawn mowers for the DPW in an amount not to exceed $36,009.99 funded through the act 48 right of way filing.

I'll make that motion.

Support.

Motion by mister Thiede. Supported by mister Thomas. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. Six fourteen, motion to approve American generator sales and service LLC for the emergency rental of a generator for the animal shelter for the mountain optic c twenty three thousand six sixty one funded through the act one seventy nine contractual services. Motion. Support. Mister Thomas, supported by mister Armstrong. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes.

All opposed, yeses have it. Motion carried. Six fifteen, motion to approve American Generator Sales and Service LLC for the current vendor for replacement generator for the animal shelter in the Mountain C twenty one thousand nine twenty three funded through the act January capital outlay. May I get a motion? Motion. Motion by mister Wallace. Supported by mister Thomas. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes. Yes.

All opposed, yeses have it. Motion carried. Six sixteen, motion to approve authorizing the city clerk to sign a resolution to remove the road roads from act 51 map per attached document. Motion. Motion by mister Wallace. Second. Supported by mister Thiede. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes.

All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. I'll slide. I'll May I get a motion?

I'll make the motion. Support.

Motion by mister Theiss. Supported by mister Armstrong. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes.

All opposed, yeses have it. Motion carried. Six eighteen, motion to amend CCR number six two three two dash five adding an additional 425,000 in spending authority to Al's asphalt current vendor for the amount not to exceed 4,000,880 400 $4,870,000 funded through the local fund, major street fund, Taylor Building Authority, Taylor Economic Development Corporation grant, and and MEDC grant. May I get a motion? Motion.

Motion by mister Thiede. Support. Thomas. What was it? Thomas. Mister Thomas. Supported by mister Wallace. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes.

Yes. All opposed, yeses have it. Motion carried. 6.19, motion to amend CCR number six two three four dash twenty five, add an additional $250,000 in spending authority to Audio Concrete Construction Incorporated. Current vendor perform concrete panel replacement contract work for Mount Knack to exceed 1,765,000 funded through the local street fund, major major road funds, Taylor Building Authority. May I get a motion? Motion. Motion by mister Patz. Support. Supported by mister Thomas.

Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. And moving on to 06/20. Motion to approve payment to the state of Michigan for the c city of Taylor M s four NPDES permit 2026 annual fee not for amount not to exceed $5,000 funded through the major road fund. Motion. Motion by mister Thomas. Support. Support by mister Wallace. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes.

All opposed? Motions have motion yeses have it. Motion carried. 6.21. A motion to direct corporate counsel to draft a ballot proposal to amend the Taylor City Charter section 15 chart chapter 15, section fifteen two, section fifteen three, and section fifteen four.

Motion to table.

I'd

like to make a motion to postpone until Chris is back, please.

I'll support. On. To do a specific date for the motion to You April 20

Gerald. You do it. No. Sorry.

I did motions to postpone until April 21.

Able able to And be do oppose house bill five five two nine five five three two and five five eight one dash five five eight zero. Motion.

Support.

Motion by mister Thomas. Supported by mister Wallace. Any discussion? Chairman?

I

would like to read the resolution into the record. At a regular meeting of the resolution in opposition to the passage of Michigan House of Representatives bills fifty five twenty nine through fifty five thirty two and fifty five eighty one through fifty five eighty five regarding local municipal zoning authority. At a regular meeting of the city council of the city of Taylor held on the April 2026, the following resolution was adopted by the city council. Whereas, house bills fifty five twenty nine through fifty five thirty two and fifty five eighty one through fifty five eighty five have been introduced in the state of Michigan House of Representatives, here and after bills, and whereas the above referenced bills have been referred to the state House of Representatives committees for consideration, and whereas the bills, if enacted into law, would impose new requirements for studies and documents for the city's site plan review that will interrupt or otherwise slow down the city's well established development plan review process. And whereas, if enacted into law, would restrict minimum home square footage requirements and add immense pressure on local infrastructure improvements such as water and sewer.

And whereas, if enacted into law, would change parking and mobile home requirements that would disrupt disrupt decades of planning that shape the city's current residential zoning. And whereas, if enacted into law, would restrict a local community from deciding the distance between residential homes. And whereas, if enacted into law, would permit duplexes on parcels currently zoned for single family residential. And whereas Michigan law and the Michigan zoning enabling act have delegated local municipal zoning regulations to cities and townships, and the bills would be in conflict with the authority of local units of government to provide local zoning ordinances for the regulation of land development under m c l one two five point three two zero one one, whereas local communities can best determine orderly development plans for their city or township and in turn enact zoning regulations best suited for its residents. And whereas local communities are best situated to assess infrastructure capabilities such as water and sewer capacity so that future development may be properly planned.

And whereas local communities can best determine limits on land use so as to address the requirements of those willing to invest while ensuring the health, safety, and enjoyment of the residents that will call the community home. And that now, therefore, be it resolved that the city council of the city of Taylor opposes passage of house bills fifty five twenty nine through fifty five thirty two and fifty five eighty one through fifty five eighty five on the basis that local municipalities are best suited to enact zoning regulations to ensure health, safety, and welfare of their residents. And be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be distributed to all state legislatures legislators representing the residents of the city of Taylor.

Any other discussion? Mister chairman,

I would just like to point out from the day that I was aware of this, our lobbyist up in Lansing sent me an email and I read these these house bills and I think they're an absolute joke. And I made it very clear from day one, I reached out to all of our legislators and made it very clear that the city of Taylor are against all of these. I don't care they are claiming their bipartisan bills, and I don't care which party is for them. I don't care which of our legislators are for them. I've made it very clear that if they're for any part of these, I'm against them on these.

The city of Taylor doesn't need Lansing telling us how to run our business. We know what we're doing here in my opinion. We have a phenomenal planning board. We have a phenomenal zoning boards of appeals. As I made it very clear many times, if our city was in receivership, then Lansing can step in. But I think we're in pretty good shape here. And as far as I'm concerned, as I said many times, stay out of our backyard. I will continue to say that. I've joined on with the Downriver Community Conference. I've signed on to that.

There's not a single mayor that I know Downriver that is for any part of these. I don't think anybody that owns house wants a little tiny 500 square foot home being built right across the street. It's still been hasn't been determined on whether they even have to hook up the sewer or water. It's just it's absolutely crazy, in my opinion. If they want affordable housing, to me, there's many other avenues that they could go on.

First time homebuyers, down payment assistance. There's many other ways that they could look at doing this other than trying to tell the city what they have to do or not even give the city any rights on what they have to do. So, again, just stay out of our backyard and let us we know what we're doing here.

Amen. Well said.

Amen. Any other discussion? First

Same thing for Genesee. Robert Street. I just want note that we are approaching the one year anniversary of when the police chief decided to sign the two eight seven g agreement with ICE, and we continue to remain with the singular and dishonor of being the only city the only municipality within the state of Michigan signed on to ICE for the information task force agreement. The agreement which to this day has not been approved or disapproved nor has anyone attempting to make any motions to approve or disapprove. Nobody has made any attempt to vote on it or against it that, in essence, no one in either the last council or this council has had the courage of their convictions one way or the other.

It is just an apathy. And I'm gonna push it if a vote could be taken at some point because we'll come upon a near a lawless agreement by the chief law enforcement officer, and that shouldn't be a problem to people. It should matter. It seems to matter when Lance is talking about taking away local zoning. I would think it would matter if the local police chief is taking away this council's authority and responsibility to pass to pass agreements or not pass them, especially when they pertain to things like ICE. Thank you.

Any other discussion?

Eric Hall, 9555 Holland, Taylor, Michigan. I do this a lot. I'd like to come up and I'd like to ask the the chief of police how many immigrants we turned over to ICE in the last ninety days.

Two.

Two. So I really think that we're carrying this out for no reason.

Any other discussion from the audience? Anything from the council? Chairman? Yes, sir.

I would like to let the public know that Texas Roadhouse tomorrow is gonna be hosting tip a cop, April 8 from 11AM to 10PM. 10% of your bill is gonna go towards supporting the Taylor Unified Special Olympics. So if you go to dine at Texas Roadhouse, let your wait staff know that you're there to support the Taylor Unified Special Olympics.

Thank you.

Chair, I would like to make a motion to approve directing our corporation council to amend the current fireworks ordinance.

Support? Support.

Then motion by mister Wallace, supported by mister Thomas to direct the council to to direct the ordinance for fireworks. Any discussion?

Through the chair, it said amend. What what's the amendment?

That's Glad you asked that. What we're working toward is we have a permanent fireworks store in Taylor up on the entrance to Walmart. Twelve months a year, they pay taxes, they employ people, and they're always there. And I don't think it's a great idea that people should be able to come in and set up tents all up and down telegraph, in some cases, within a couple 100 feet of a business that's always there for us, with a much lower operating cost and be able to compete against, let's call it, for lack of a better word, a brick and mortar business. So I think that it is only reasonable that when we have brick and mortar businesses, that we should support them by requiring anybody who sells fireworks to be a brick and mortar business.

We wouldn't let somebody set up a tent in the middle of a parking lot and sell beer. We wouldn't let them even sell candy. So to me, it is ludicrous that we are not supporting our local business by restricting these types of sales to people who are willing to invest in our community and pay taxes to our community. And just for the record, I have never talked to the person who is involved in the ownership. I know nothing except what I just told you. That it doesn't make sense to me.

Mister chairman, I don't totally disagree with you, but I just think we need to be cautious because you used the word candy and stuff like that. You know, we we we walk a fine line because people complain about food trucks. And we do allow food trucks in from time to time at different events. You know, brick and mortar restaurants complain about food trucks. I've even gotten complaints, believe it or not, about Girl Scout cookies, party store owners.

So it's I think the only concern I have, there is actually income that comes in from it. But the question we have is is what do we hope to accomplish? Because we've had this debate before, and I I get both arguments because I do wanna support brick and mortar rust or any brick and mortar. But the other thing is is I a lot of complaints we get in the city is about fireworks usage. And everybody complains about, well, people are lighting up fireworks at midnight, 01:00 in the morning.

And believe me, it gets on my nerves more than anything. But I don't think if we only go to a brick and mortar to buy fireworks, that's not gonna stop people from lighting fireworks off at 01:00 in the morning. They're just gonna go and buy them somewhere else. That's my opinion. So I just I wanted I I would kinda wanna know what's the reasoning. Is it just to support that one store? Or is it to calm down the firework usage or something?

In my in my opinion, I would like to see it restricted on Telegraph.

I don't know if we can do that, though.

Yeah. I I

understand that. But this we're not throwing it in this man's face Mhmm. Whoever owns his building that here we are, you're paying these taxes and your employees and we're throwing this up and we're gonna get a thousand dollars for inspections. Mhmm. And and, you know, really break the bank on that. We got a tent set up. I just don't think it should be if you if other parts of the city, fine. But I don't think it should be on telegraph just putting it in the guy's face. And I don't think we're ever gonna stop the fireworks. It's not gonna stop.

Through the chair. Yeah. The issue of illegal use of fireworks is an enforcement issue. It's not a supply issue anymore than I won't even go there. You know, so I don't hope to accomplish that. But what I do hope to accomplish is that this year, they may still have time, I don't know. But certainly, by next year, we'll have more fireworks stores, more empty buildings filled that are willing to stay here and support the city. It just doesn't make sense to me.

No. Understand the thought, Tucker. I like the fact that, like you you mentioned last night, you know Yeah.

And that's the only only

Renting

motivation

I have empty buildings and stuff. I through the chair. I agree.

Caroline Pat, 6860 Jackson. I'm just looking at it as, say, for example, I own my own lot. I own that property there, and I wanna give somebody an option. I'm paying taxes, and I'm not for this or against this. I'm just putting this out there. I wanna, you know, give this person an option to sell underneath the tent on my property. I'm just looking at it that way because I pay my taxes, you know, kind of pretend. I I pay my taxes as that business. You know? So you're telling me I can't do that. I I just wanted to throw that out there.

Any other discussion? All in favor? Say yes.

Yes. Yes. All

opposed? No. Roll call.

Mister Wallace?

Yes.

Mister Thidi? No. Mister Thomas?

Yes.

Mister Patz?

Yes.

Mister Clark is excused. Mister Armstrong? No. And mister Johnson?

Yes. Motion passes.

Four Four

to two. Okay. Next up is anything else from the council? Nothing? I got something. My my new president of the museum wasn't here to read all this, so I have to

do it.

The whole Friends of the Veterans Museum invites you to pancake breakfast, April 25 at 8AM to 12PM at the Ford Senior Center on Troy Street. Donations are $10 per person. It'll include bacon, sausage, pancake, coffee, and juice. And serve the coffee will be served by our judge. So and you'll get a lot of it. So we would really appreciate the support and hope to see you there.

Charlie, do you purchase tickets right at the door?

You can purchase right at the door. Any other discussion? May I get a motion? Motion to adjourn. Motion by mister Thomas. Second. Second by mister Armstrong to adjourn. All in favor? Aye. Yeses have it. Motion carried. Meetings adjourned at 07:26. Like my fancy gavel.

He passed a few years ago. And we learned that Al Whited and Wayne Hamilton, always class ass, never really thought that they should be in the ball thing, but they will tonight. We learned how a young Mike Hargreaves used to feed out of town scores to Sid Abel in the old Olympia Stadium broadcast booth and how a young Earl Jones first met his coach, Nikki Churchill. Speaking of great distance runners, we learned that Al Ruffner not only still holds the two mile record at Roosevelt High School that he set in 1967, but it's over fourteen seconds than any other Roosevelt runner in history, which is an amazing feat. Billy Kostich told us that he looked horrible as a young boy pitching to his grandfather until they turned him around and realized he was left handed.

Did you have to pay for those windows, Bill? Bill and Waketop Buicki, who both pitched on the same Taylor Center staff, each signed professional contracts. Likewise, Ann Gaparau is still reminded of her wildness as a pitcher because the back of her father's garage still shows the results of many of the pitches that Earl had no chance of ever catching. And, by the way, looks like she can still pitch. We learned how special life can be when siblings when siblings are teammates from the fabulous Jen and

sisters, Lisa

and Whitney. We learned how a fourth grade a fourth grade neighbor boy literally dragged Chuck Subbels into coaching despite the fact that Chuck said he was never going to coach. Hundreds and hundreds of games later, Chuck is headed into the hall. We learned that Chuckie Evans made friends with Dexter Bussey when he was in the Detroit Lions camp. And while Greg Farner loved coaching his own boys, he really has his eyes on his grandson.

We learned that Joe Marvin still puts in more hours than most people four decades younger and that the only thing keeping Jim C. Got from announcing the Junior League World Series are the small narrow stairs in the press box. Great trip hazard. From all of our youth coaches, and contributors, we learned how special it is when a former player recognizes them now, even if the coach doesn't recognize the player right away because the player isn't 10 years old. So please take a moment to remember that tonight is about more than just outstanding athletic achievements.

It's about life, the lives influences influenced by these 18 people who are being honored along with those who helped mold these honorees into who they are today. Tonight is about decades and decades of Taylor history. Due to the huge size of this class, we're using video displays, the monitors that you see around you, to control time. Everybody's there will be no nomination speeches and no acceptance speeches. Dave and yeah.

I know. Dave and I are going to introduce each inductee in alphabetical order. We'll then be playing a video dedicated to each honoree. Those will include a short interview, their accomplishments scrolling on the TV monitors along with a disc along, excuse me, along with photos related to their lives. At the end of each video, the inductee or designated acceptor will come forward and be photographed with their plaque, then we will rotate to the next person.

Without further ado, I'm gonna stop talking. And, Sam, we're gonna go off to the races with this intro from the script. Had success at every level all the way back to West Junior High School, where he was a team member on eight championship teams in four sports, five of which were undefeated. At Kennedy High, he was a rare four sport no. Four sport letterman.

At Ferris State, he lettered three times in baseball. After his playing days were over, he started the Michigan Braves baseball program, rolling up a four twenty and one thirty five record over eleven seasons. He also official high he also officiated high school basketball for forty four years. Let's learn more about David now. Tell us the greatest highlight or memory from your career in athletics.

Oh, the greatest highlight or memory, there's so many of them. Just it's really tough to get it narrowed down. Basically, as a young child, we moved over into the central area of Taylor and went over to St. Pascal. In the city of Taylor, Parks and Recreation recreation would build outdoor rinks for us to play hockey. Back in the day, we had ice year round and that was that was really something special. And then that's kind of where my athletic career playing hockey on the outdoor rinks and then developed into the school system. I went to West Junior High, that's what we called it back in the day. We went undefeated in three sports for three straight years. I was spoiled.

I mean, was like football, basketball, baseball. We never lost a game. Great, great, great highlights there. Went to school. Went to Kennedy.

My my my coach, Jim gave me an opportunity to letter in four different sports. That was a great accomplishment for me, I'm not sure how many people were able to do that, but that was all because of coach Valmer because I was a good runner, I wasn't necessarily a sprinter but I was a runner, could do the quarter mile, half mile, mile and I was a good runner. And that helped me develop as an athlete as well. Got some great highlights in coaching, I had a travel baseball team called the Michigan Braves for ten years. 2001 we went undefeated down to Florida for the triple a national team of the year.

Those are great highlights. The pitcher in the championship game was TJ Smith from Kennedy High School, Kennedy kid. And the most valuable player on that team was Bobby Schufel, Truman kid. So it's a lot of a lot of Taylor influence on that. Just like I said, so many so many different things, so many different highlights there.

I mean, I I could probably go on and on with with, you know, this and that. But I had some great accomplishments in coaching. Coach Steve Avery at West Junior High in basketball with Mickey Tomaszewski and we went undefeated with that team. And we also coach Steve Avery soon to be after high school's wife, Heather McMillan and and Julie Hudson and Wendy Jamula who's coming into this class on that team. We went undefeated in that category as well. So that those are some great highlights. Again, those are wonderful wonderful

David, you're like mister undefeated.

That way you know what? That that those are some great highlights. You asked me what the highlights were, and and that's exactly what they were. There were so many of them. There's so many. Most influential person? Influential person is I I gotta start with my family. I mean, my father was the reason I was involved in sports. He he would take me to the Red Wings game down at Olympia. He take me to the Pistons game. Got to see guys like Spencer Haywood in high school because he would take me to all these sporting events. Chuck Suttles over at Taylor Center High School who's coming into this class. My father would take me to all these games. We were very involved in sports. He taught me so much along the way.

My mother was Irish Catholic, I had 11 brothers and sisters in her family, both my mother and father graduated from Saint Anne in Detroit, so I had a good Catholic background, my mother was the one that kept everything straight in the house, I mean you, she she she was very happy go lucky at the same time, disciplined, make sure that we went to church, make sure that we are good kids. My father was a disciplinary at the same time and but he was more at the athletic end. I had an older brother who was a great athlete, looked up to him, he was in gymnastics and track. He was a great influence, but I had one coach in football that really stood out was James Walmer. He was the offensive coordinator at Kennedy and and again we went undefeated at West Junior High in football and and I was a quarterback for those three years and he came to me and he said look at this, I want you to be my quarterback and he says but you're gonna have to run track and if it wasn't for him I would have never levered lettered in four sports but he was a great influence and everything that he told me and to do as an athlete run, lift weights and he made me a better athlete and I got so close to him because he was my coach and and I was the quarterback so we had to communicate constantly.

He became a lifelong friend. He passed in 2009, but he was as a coach probably my most influence throughout my career. He was a great, I mean, life life life lessons, you know, athletic lessons. We we became great friends. It was it was a great it was a great influence. It's fantastic.

David, who do you wanna thank?

Oh, I wanna thank so many people. Like I said, the teachers in the city of Taylor. I mean, I started at Taylor Parks and Blair Moody and Saint Cyril and then went over to Saint Paschal and West Junior High and Clarence Randall, John F Kennedy High School. I loved all my teachers, there was never a teacher that I didn't like. I'd to thank all of them, all the coaches, fan, Roger Bechtel, know, Bob Slater, James Palmer, Dick Hayden, Bill Shudlick.

Again, just like to thank all of them for everything that they did for my career and they influenced me at the end of my career obviously. My brothers had, you know, they they they did so much for me, my mother and father. But, yeah, I'd like to thank each and every one of them and I'd like to thank the city of Taylor for everything they did. My first job was Parks and Recreation working for Ken Avery. And my last job here is soon to retire here at the as a building code official in the city of Taylor.

So it couldn't have ended any any more perfect than having this ceremony here today and thank the committee for the votes and and the privilege to have this honor be sown on me. I would like to make a special thanks to Dan Edmonds who nominated me for this honor. Dan was the athletic director, we coached together in Truman High School, Dan you've been a great part of my career, I just want to make a special thank you to you and your entire family for everything you've done for my career and especially for this great honor.

Is Todd Boyke. Late Todd Boyke was what commonly is referred to as a money pitcher. When the most was on the line, Todd wanted the ball. A multi multisport athlete at Taylor Center High School, Todd became a hall of famer at Siena Heights College, where he was a four year starter on the baseball team. He recorded a college playoff pitching record of seven and one and eventually signed with the Montreal Expos. Let's learn more about Todd through the eyes of his brother, Mark.

Since you're speaking for your brother, in his mind over the over the course of time, greatest memories or highlights in his athletic career? First,

I would have to say being elected to the Santa Heights Baseball Hall of Fame. Okay. He still holds records for innings pitch, wins

Mhmm.

And strikeouts. Mhmm. And then, of course, signing he signed with the expos in '95. Mhmm. So, you know, that was big. He talked about it all the

time. Mhmm.

And then there was one spring training story. Vladimir Guerrero was on reassignment in an inter squad game. And he struck him out. So that that he he loved that. The story goes that Guerrero snapped the bat over his leg. Oh, no. But yeah. We Todd's favorite movie was Big Fish. So we're not sure we're not sure if that if that story was true.

I hear you. I hear you.

And then the he coached Taylor Northwest, 2005, eleven year old state championship team. Mhmm. So Todd always said that that season should have been made into a movie. So if you hadn't heard stories from that season, then, you know, you didn't know Todd. Those were just some of the stories he told that Mhmm. You know, I remember him talking about.

Why do you think you know, so many people have told me that your brother really really resonated with the young athletes that he coached. Why do you think that was?

He just cared about him. He wanted to share his knowledge of the of the sport, mostly baseball. Mhmm. And he just wanted to share that with him. You know? Mhmm. Our work with them. Mhmm. So

yeah. Did you get very many chances to coach with him?

Yeah. In in the early two thousands all the way quite a few years. Mhmm. Seven, eight years maybe. And then he got a job with Kennedy High School, and I had the little guys. I had two boys. Mhmm. So I I went to the farm, and then he went on to coach high school.

Mhmm. What who were his greatest who or what were his greatest influences in his baseball career?

Well, I'm here, so it's gonna be me. But at a young age, he played with us older kids. Mhmm. So, I mean, from Nerf football to street hockey to wiffle ball. Mhmm. It was he was always playing, you know, with us.

Mhmm. Mhmm.

And then I would have to say his college coach, Gordy Tyson

Okay.

And his American Legion coach, Lenny Malkowski. Mhmm. He talked about them all the time and I you learned a lot from those two guys.

Mhmm. Now speaking for your family, I mean, you've been sounds like you've been voted on as the delegate to to do this. Who would you like to thank in your brother's place? Who would who do you think he'd like to thank as he heads in the

this hall of fame in Taylor?

Well, I I know he would like to thank the city of Taylor. Mhmm. He was really excited about this. Mhmm. I talked to him the the couple days after, and he was excited, and he was talking about this and that. You know? And I'm sitting there going great at the hall of fame. You know? And, yeah, he would thank my mom and dad for all the sacrifices. Mhmm. And, of course, my sister for being dragged to all the games. You know? I I he would thank all the nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles, grandparents. Mhmm. You know? Mhmm. Think he would he would really think, you know, the one he would think the most is his son Cole.

Okay.

You know. Alright. Just he's the one that made him a father, a sports dad. Mhmm. You know. Mhmm. So

And Cole is gonna be joining us very shortly to accept the plaque on his on his dad's behalf. Yeah.

Yes.

Played the noted New York Yankee killer, Frank Larry, a Detroit Tigers pitcher in Boyd Crystal's movie 61. The movie depicted Roger Maris' pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record. That makes Luke Bonner the only movie star in this room. But better yet, Luke is now the CEO and founder of the Bonner Advisory Group in Ann Arbor, and he was a four year letter winner in both high school and college baseball. His teams at Divine Child and Dearborn won the cap two Catholic league titles and a state championship.

His teams at the University of Michigan captured the Big Ten title twice. Let's learn more about one of my favorite people people, Luke Bond. Greatest highlight or memory in your athletic career?

Oh, greatest memory in my athletic career. The older I get, the kinds of things that me and my old teammates talk about are usually things that you can't say in front of the rest of the public. We talk about all the fun times that we had and all the goofy things that we did and that was always, you know, the best part about playing sports growing up is the camaraderie and the partnerships and the friendships for life. But if I if I have to if I have to talk about one of my my best memories from playing, it was my senior year at Michigan, and we were playing in the big ten tournament at Ohio State. And I was the closer, and I got the the save against Ohio State on their field to win that game to then put us into the the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament.

And why that was so special, a few years earlier, Ohio State was on our field at Michigan at Rael. I was actually injured. I'd had shoulder surgery. It was a downer of a year, and Ohio State came in and they won the Big Ten championship on our field and they sing their fight song in our mound. So as a going out present, I got the save against them on their field and we charge them out and we sing the fight song on their field. So that was that's probably my greatest sports memory.

It probably doesn't get any better

than that,

does it?

Doesn't get any better than that. I ended on a high note.

That's for sure. Influential people in your career, what do you think?

I've had a lot of influential people in my career and it it all starts, you know, we start talking about memories. You know, some of my greatest memories growing up. You know, one is is playing catch with my mom in the backyard, to be really honest with you. And I always joke that, you know, my mom caught like this, so I caught like this for the longest time. But my mom always willing to go out in the backyard and play catch with me no matter what.

My dad coaching all my teams growing up. You know, obviously, you know, having your dad as a coach can be tough sometimes because they're always very hard on you, but also really kinda pushed me. It was really tough on me, which over time you get to really appreciate. Mark Falvo, the head coach of Divine Child, who had a big influence on my pitching career in particular, you know, took me from just a raw, you know, kid and actually taught me how to pitch. Kevin Walters, who is the assistant coach of Divine Child, had a huge influence on me because he was the one that actually promoted me to varsity as a freshman when coach Valvo was on vacation.

So, if it hadn't been for coach Walters putting me up on varsity, I wouldn't have had that opportunity to meet and work with coach Valvo so quickly. You know, I I think those are, you know, the biggest on on my life. My, you know, my family and my high school coaches, think did everything to build me up, make me tough, teach me the right way to do things, and I think those, you know, carried me on at the University of Michigan in the time that I got to play in the Indians organization.

When you were promoted to the Divine Child Varsity as a freshman, was it easy or did or was some of it tough? Because I know when kids are that age and then they're playing and then then you all of a sudden you're playing with kids three years younger than you, maybe even four years older than you. What was your take on that?

Well, I think the hardest part at first was, you know, living in Taylor and having to drive to DC every day. But even more difficult than that was, varsity practiced in the morning, 05:00 in the morning. Because coach was coming off his shift at Ford and coming right to DC for practice. And that lasted for about two or three weeks before his shift changed and before we could go outside and practice started. So for me, that was the biggest shock, you know. In terms of like, you know, going in through tryouts and doing all that stuff, it was just, hey, I'm playing baseball, and everything just kinda happened so fast, you don't really know what's going on, to be honest with you.

You just do what

you're told, you go to the JV practice, and you go to the varsity practice. The varsity practice is being at 05:00 in the morning, and God bless my mom for taking me every single morning to those practices. It was a that was a little bit of a shock. The other thing too, our that ninety two divine trial team was a senior heavy team. And, I mean, in these seniors, guys that I still talk to you today, the these were like tough guys. Right? Like Jason Nickerson and Toby Worley and Rob Valentino. These were no BS guys. So to play as a 14 year old, at that time 15 year old freshman to play with those guys, I mean, was both awestruck and also scared at the same time. Like I was not I was not screwing anything up.

I was not messing up in any way. But but even those guys, you know, those guys being leaders as seniors when we won the state championship and just how tough they were. I'll never forget and even coach Travo, when we have these get togethers over time, we talk about how tough those guys were. And just learning from guys that were really, really, really physically tough, mentally tough, and their will won us that state championship that year. So it was it was a great experience for me being a freshman on varsity. Not only that, being able to contribute pretty regularly that year. It's not like I was varsity and set the bench. I was varsity. I played a lot. I played all the time.

And to be able to play alongside all those guys, learn from them at that age was was very special and important. You grew up quick. Oh, yeah. You grew up you grew up really quick. And I've got lots of stories that I'll never be able to tell here, but I grew up really quick.

Who would you like to thank? You're headed into the hall of fame with a lot of other really quality people here. You have a long illustrious career. You're doing really well now. Who would you like to thank?

It's a long list of people that I'd like to thank. And and first of all, it's it's an honor to be inducted with all of the other inductees. I got a chance to read through the bios of all of the other inductees. You know, I walked in this morning and I saw Billy Kostich. First thing, I remember you. Billy Kostich was the guy that I looked up to. He played with my brother. My dad coached him. And Rob, we talked to also went to Divine Child and we were connecting about a bunch of people that we knew. Very very special to be with this group.

No doubt about it. My mom and dad for everything everything they did and all of the sacrifices they made to get me, you know, to get me the divine child every single day, to coach my teams, to be welcoming parents to all my teammates growing up. Without a doubt, my own family, obviously my wife, Sarah, my son, Noah, my daughter, Anna. While they they weren't around in the glory days, of course, they hear all the glory days stories probably way too much. But, yeah, couldn't couldn't have done done anything today, you know, without their support.

And just the, you know, I've mentioned coach Valvo and coach Walters and all of my teammates over time, who are all still my best friends today. Everyone from Ryan Kelly, who's the head coach at Wayne State today, then we went to Divine Child and Michigan together. JJ Putz, who we played summer baseball together, we went to Michigan together, still my dearest friend to this day. You know, and and I can go on and on with the guys that I played with that I'm still tight with today, and are like my brothers. And, you know, those experiences and those relationships that I formed, you know, through travel ball and high school ball and college ball, those all carry on and are all a part of who I am today and are a part of of how I live my life, how I run my business, and I'm so thankful.

Baseball gave me so much. It gave me absolutely so much to be thankful for.

It's amazing that somebody like you who went all the way up the ladder. Okay. I mean, you know, it comes down to it's not about scores and things like that. It's really about relationships, isn't it?

It's all about relationships. Absolutely. I have my my son who has a number of division three college football opportunities that he's still contemplating right now. Talking him and and my teammates who come in and and talk to my son and we tell him, you know, at the end of the day, it's not about playing college football. At the end of the day, it's about all the friends you're gonna have for the rest of your life and all the memories that you're gonna make while you're there with your teammates, all the different experiences that you have doing that and the things that you're going to laugh about later in life will have nothing to do with anything you did on the field. It'll be all of the other things that you did as part of your relationships and your friendships. Is nothing like it.

State representative Desana, would you like to come up too? You're a friend.

Our next inductee is Charles Evans. This mid nineteen seventies graduate of Taylor Center High School was a three sport athlete, football, basketball, and track. He turned into a member of the Ferris State University Hall of Fame. And Ferris Charlie? Charlie.

Thank you. Was the most consistent and dangerous runner in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1974 to 1977. He was the first bulldog to earn all America honors and was a two time NAIA first team selection. In 1976, he ran for more than 1,400 yards, fourth best in the nation. Overall, during his college career, he ran for 3,546 yards, scored 22 touchdowns, 148 points, and averaged 5.2 yards a carry.

He had three two hundred yard games and 650 yard games. You also spent time in the Detroit Lions training camp after graduating. Let's learn more about Charlie.

What do you what do you recall from your Taylor Center days as a football track person, essentially?

Oh, the com the camaraderie, of course, you know, with with with all the guys, especially in track and field because Mickey, he kept the the group tight. Mhmm. You know? It was a team concept. It was the key team concept. Although we were individual Yeah. Events, but it was a team concept. If I was not performing at that time, I was over there cheering on you. Mhmm. Making sure you're doing your best you can do. And get on your case because you're not doing it and we know it. Because in practice you did this, but you're doing this in in the track meet. Come on now. No. We're trying to win a a city championship here. Okay? Okay? Maybe a state championship. Who knows? Okay?

Mhmm. So And Mickey had

tremendous team.

Oh, he had. Every time we was always in in in contention. Always good decisions. Yes.

What did you what did you usually run? What did you I

ran a 100. I ran the the low hurdles, and I ran the relays. And the low hurdles and the the 100 meters. Yeah.

How big were you in high school when you started in in football?

I was probably five foot four, maybe a hundred and

fifty pounds, maybe. Maybe. Okay. And then I I I had a a a gross

A gross perk?

A gross perk when I went to college,

so I I I I wind up being about five six, five seven. Okay. Okay. Yes.

Alright. How heavy did you play in college?

One one eighty, one eighty five. And and when when I made it to to the lions, I was two zero five.

Okay.

Yeah.

Alrighty.

Yeah. What do you remember from your Ferris State days? Because you you were thoroughly amazing. I mean, as a running guy. Yeah.

We we we won the Great Lakes intercollegiate athletic conference, the Gliadiac Mhmm. My freshman year. Okay. Okay? We got blasted my sophomore year. We went o one ten. Mhmm. My junior year is when I made my first all American team. My senior year, I made another all American team.

When you had your trial with the lions Yes.

Okay.

What was your impression? How did certainly, really moving up several levels.

It was so fast. It was so fast. Everything was coming at you so and you had to retain so much material in a short time. Mhmm. You know? And so it it it was a challenge because unlike at Ferris, we changed our offense junior year in in in a week. We changed the whole offense.

Really?

Okay. In in a week. And we the the first game we played with that new offense was against Sacralovelli. They know what the heck we we normally, we're in a in a wishbone. We came out of the single t or split t. Okay? Mhmm. And they couldn't figure out what's going on. Okay? Mhmm. But that was not anything to do with how every day in the pros, you had to learn ten, twelve, maybe 20 pages of material and perfect it on the field by the time you got there in the next practice. Oh, it it it was brutal. It was brutal.

Yeah. I've I've talked to others who have teammates and and others who have tried the

pro route.

Yes. One of the things that many of them said was that it somewhat took the fun out of things because it was it was literally a job twenty four seven.

You had to you you had to be in that book because if you if you weren't in that book and you were called upon to go in there and you got and you didn't have your your your material down, it was out the door. You know? There there was a coach, Jerry Granville, NFL, not for long.

Very much so.

That that's that's the NFL. That's what he used to always tell these guys. You would not for long if if you don't have it together. Right.

Did you do you recall did you did you get a chance to make any relationships with with other players with the lions or anything?

I did. I I I did. Dexter Bussey and I, he was a running back. We we we we stayed in contact for maybe a year or two after after football, but other than that, you know

When you look back back at influences, whether on your athletic career or on your life, who who do you who stands out in your mind? Who made who made Charlie Evans who he

is? My dad. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. He simply said, be the best you can be. But be the best that you can be in anything that you take on. If you're gonna be anything Right. Be the best that you can be in it. And that's how I try to direct my son, you know. Whatever you do, son, just be the best you can be. Mhmm. Okay?

Who would you like to thank when you're when you're being in the house?

Well, there's there's there's two people. Of course, Mickey Church and coach Bob Rakowski. Yeah. He was a high school football coach. He coached me my senior year at at Taylor Center. And two years later, he came to and he he he coached me there too. So but he was an influence also.

Gregory Farner. Few people have coached as many seasons as Greg, 80 in total. The 1970 Kennedy High graduate who worked at Ford Motor Company for thirty seven years, all while coaching youth league and high school teams. He spent four decades in Taylor South coaching his sons Corey, Dustry, and Nathan. Corey didn't didn't fall far from the tree because he coached Woodhaven, I believe, last year into the state finals in baseball.

The first of several inductees who made their names coaching in the youth leagues, one of Greg's fondest memories is about just making young players better. And the farmers are far from done. Two of his grandsons are already making their lives in baseball. Let's learn more about Greg. Tell us the greatest highlight or memory from your career in athletics.

My favorite memory was when I was at Kennedy High School, JV level. JV went seven and two that year and I thought that that was that was pretty good,

you know.

Is that how you got

involved originally? I got involved through my next door neighbor who was involved with Taylor South Little League. He asked me if I wanted to coach a team. And I I'll I'll try it. I must have been 19 years old at the time. Yeah. I'll I'll try it. And I met the guy that that had the team that couldn't do it because they put him on a different shift. Mhmm. And I just took over, you know.

I I didn't consider myself a great athlete, but I I did pretty good when I was young. Mhmm. And I wanted to put that out through my boys in the team that I coached. I wanted to teach them everything that I knew. When I coach my boys, they were just like the rest of them. The own.

That's

And

I

I way adjust and put them where I thought they were going to be. Be And the best for the team. Mhmm. I got two ball playing grandsons, Lucas and Jackson. Lucas is a good he's a good baseball player. Mhmm. He's a lot better than his dad was. He's probably the point point

of the athletic career.

And Sam Pizzo, I played against him when I was 10 years old.

Anyone else that you can think of besides Sam? Greg Bazura. Okay. Those two guys?

Yeah. Those two guys.

This is your night. You're headed into the hall of fame. Tell us who you'd like to thank.

Everybody that coached with me, they helped out a lot, especially Gary Okay.

Alrighty. Okay.

We would take turns of being the bad guy or the good guy. Go ahead. Just wanted them to play the best they could.

He's a tremendous youth baseball pitcher who blossomed into a professional prospect. He gave up Pro Bowl to teach and coach in the Taylor schools. He eventually helped create a full time parks and recreation department in Taylor. Let's learn more about Bob.

Your career, unlike some others that we're inducting today, tonight, a little different because you have a lot of different levels, all of which are related to your hall of fame induction. You were a very good youth player. You were a good college player. You were you you made significant inroads as a coach city and you took the city from this point to that point. When it comes to highlights, how do you how do you address that?

I I guess I have to say that, you know, from my youth, my dad taught me be competitive. He always said trust your abilities, get a good education, believe in your fellow people, and so I went through my youth, got into high school and I was very lucky. I was as a sophomore, was 14 years old. I was six four two twenty five and obviously, my physical stature as is my family since I'm the shortest in the whole family played an important part as far as athletically. Then I went to college and my dad was a big influence on me as far as that went because he said, you know, don't ever question your ability and what you do and don't ever question your academic ability.

And let that help you choose where you're going to go. So that's how I wound up choosing going to Michigan State to play ball. After going to Michigan State and playing, I was out of ball for a while. I went back into teaching. And then I got a call from the Pittsburgh tyrants who said, you know, we haven't seen you in a couple years.

We want you to come to spring training. I went to spring training, my dad went with me and I wound up signing a contract. And then he came back, finished off my teaching over at Kennedy High School. Then went into the minors and played and had some very good experiences there. While I was in high school, I worked part time for the recreation department and all the way through college.

And then when Dick Marshall ran for mayor, he asked me if I would become his recreation director that the department needed to grow and since I had been working in recreation, since my sophomore year in high school all through college and that, that he thought I would have picked up some things and I would have a chance to let the public's view work through me and what we needed for the city. So we went and we started Al Sheridan Community Center. From there, we finished the ball diamonds, the hockey arena. We did Heritage Park. And we were looking for more things because our programming was basically basketball, baseball.

It was it was all sports. So I sat down with Dick and then eventually with the other mayors, Dan Zub and Kim Prieby, and said, you know, we need to expand. So we went ahead and we brought a swimming program in, Taylor Pool Sharks. We went ahead and brought the Taylor Drummer Bugle Core in. We brought the program for the handicapped children, and then we also had the first handicapped park in the entire Mid West. Totally accessible. And we put it next to an elementary school. So they got a double use. So the school system got a use and all the handicapped kids. And we continued to go like that.

And then he said, well, we need some more pizzazz. So we started the summer festivals. And from the summer festivals, we started our five k run and things just kept expanding and expanding to the point we said, you know, we need a golf course out here. We proceeded to put the first golf course in and then we started the second golf course. The first golf golf course actually paid for itself and was so successful that they took some of those general funds, put them in, and we're helping to pay salaries to bring new employees into the programs.

And I'm sure the second golf course is doing the same thing. I've had a chance to play both of them and a chance to be with Arthur Hill who designed them. And they're very competitive. They're for the average golfer, your beginning golfer, and a lot of good holes for that golfer who has a four or five handicap. So that gave me the chance to give back to the public, to expand programs, to even add some senior citizen programs. So we went from sports to an expansion where everybody in the community had a chance to participate.

Greatest influence on your career?

Greatest influence on my career was my dad. My dad taught me everything. He knew ahead of time. He was a catcher at Northwestern and he saw that I had potential. I was 14 years old going to high school. I was double promoted twice. He taught me everything. He taught me how to look at batters in a batter box. He taught me how to look at their hands. He taught me how to throw a fastball four different ways.

He didn't let me throw a curveball until I was 12 years old. He would give me a baseball and he say, okay, I want you to snap your fingers and I want you to grab the ball and I want you to and for four years, all I did was spin, spin, spin a baseball and that was my curveball. When he let me throw a curveball, I then had a real good curve ball, but I didn't have to worry about hurting my arm. So as far as influence, to him, he said, I never want you to question your ability, and I never want you to question your intelligence. He says, you keep those two things in mind and when you make your decision, were you gonna go to college in that?

I expect you to graduate because I was the first one in our family to go to college. And again, he taught me everything and he taught me to be a man.

Excellent. You're going in the hall of fame tonight.

Who do you wanna thank?

Who do I wanna thank? Well, I wanna thank one of the person, Van Kestijan. He was my cross country and basketball coach. He helped me build stamina. He helped me build strength in my body to pitch, to to to be a good athlete.

And and he also taught me, he says, I want you when you go in a competition to be gracious when the game is over. He says, I want you to remember when we win, we win, but I want you to be gracious and accept the fact that there is defeat out there and it's only gonna make you a better person. My family for always backing me and being there as often as they could be when I was participating in different athletics. And I like to thank my wife because we started dating in high school. And as I said, I was quite busy playing sports.

And she stayed by my side even during the summers when I was playing. And and then when I signed my contract and that and she backed me a 100%. And she always told me, you know, Bob, you gotta be true to yourself. Go as far as you can. Be the best you can. And when you feel it's over and you need to do something else, but I'll be there for you. I mean, she even took a part time job while I was playing pro ball to make extra money so we can make our ends meet. And then she eventually, you know, became a teacher. And it's with her love and backing that I had a chance to fulfill my dreams.

And he was eventually drafted by the Detroit Titans. He gave up that to go into public education. Eventually, he stopped coaching football in the Taylor schools to focus on the Kennedy High School baseball. He took the program to new heights, dominating the Tri River League and making its mark across Southeast Michigan. Its teams captured three straight league and regional titles.

The 88 team led by Hall of Famer Steve Avery, who would go on to start with the Atlanta Braves, set numerous records, and ended up in the state finals. We interviewed Wayne who spent his time golfing in in Florida now. We interviewed him on a Zoom call, so that's gonna look a little bit different. But let's let's learn more about Wayne Hamilton.

My greatest moments, probably as far as the coaching is concerned, was my second year at Taylor Center, of which I was coaching the JVs as a matter of fact with Jim Clauson. And it it was kinda gratifying because on on Friday night, of course, you're working with the varsity, but with the JVs, we didn't quite have the numbers. We only had 13 kids when we went to our very first game. Really? And even the whole season, those same 13 kids stuck it out.

I mean, they never complained about an injury or anything like that. And you know how you have some kids that that you coach and they're just afraid to hit because of football and and but they wanna be out there with the boys. Well, even those kids started hitting, and it made a difference in the team.

Now we didn't win

a game all year, but we did improve quite a bit.

That's amazing because I know you've had so much success in your coaching career, yet the first thing you mentioned is a team that didn't win. You know? But there's there's a lot more than winning than this, isn't it?

That is correct. That's correct. And and the desire of the kids changes somehow with with the way you coach, I think. And and I always promise the kids I will never yell at you, never yell at you during the ballgame and embarrass you. I won't do that. Maybe when we get behind closed doors, I may say something that you have to improve on, but not in front of parents and not in front of coach and things like that. I wouldn't do that.

From a success standpoint, you really you really did have some teams. You may have coached the arguably, the finest baseball player to ever come out of the downriver area, arguably. Okay? I mean, I probably put Steve up there against anybody, but I know there were others. But how do you how do you balance those, and and what do you what do you remember from those from those special teams?

You know what I remember most is the kids were all smarter than I was. The the whole team, the grade point average of the year with Steve Avery, the whole team, I'll bet your grade point average was around three three, three four on an average. And I know that they were smarter than I was. And it it was kinda satisfying as far as that's concerned because they would come to me and say, well, shouldn't we do this? Shouldn't we do that? I said, yeah. But what about this? Okay. You're right, coach. You know, they respected for what I had.

But about the best player down there ever, I won't take the credit for that. I will not take the credit. It's his dad. The dad taught him everything that he knew because, you know, Ken was part of the Detroit system for a while. He was down there with Sparmer and McLean and Lolich in the minor leagues. So, you know, he pitched with the best, and he was one of the better ones that taught Stephen how to react on the mount. And and I won't take the credit for that. I'll take the credit for what was behind Steven and that was up what was on the mount.

Did you ever did you ever have to fill a void with let let's talk about Steven for a second. Did you ever ever have to fill a void anywhere in there in the psyche thing, in the keeping him on the right track thing? I mean, Steve was a bright guy on top of being an exceptional pitcher. Did you ever feel like, hey, you know, at the end of all of this, I can maybe take credit for that particular thing. No. Not really. I hope

to I I I as I said before, there isn't anything in particular that at the end of the season, it made me feel good that Steve and I would talk during lunch hour, his lunch hour, that we would talk about, well, what do you think about this? Because he did have a scholarship to go to Michigan. He had a scholarship to go to Stanford, but he was also drafted, and he was trying to make up his mind what he wanted to do. And as far as knowing that and and me being the next pro ball player myself, I as a player, I would not suggest a player to go to the major leagues or or even to the minor leagues. What I would suggest is a pitcher to go, but not a regular player.

Get your college education first, and then if they still want to, they'll draft you right out of college.

In your lifetime, who was your who were your greatest influences or your greatest influence?

Two people come to mind as far as that's concerned. One is my dad. My dad tried out for the old Saint Louis Browns, and but he knew the writing on the wall. Mean, baseball is a business, and he saw it early on that it was a business. And I didn't realize until I got home that it was a business, and that's the way you treat it.

The

second most important person to me was a gentleman by the name of John LaFever. He coached at Gibraltar Carlson. So he was at Carrollton Airport where I went my freshman year. And we didn't have a freshman team, so I was I was sitting on the bench for the varsity all that time. And near the end of the season, he put me in a game. And and it just I got a base hit. And the first base coach says, man, you did well. I said, well, I don't like sitting anymore. And I never sat another game after that. I played Garcia as a freshman at airport.

Wow. That's that that is an interesting story. You're bringing up some really big names from the past. I mean, John LaFever, when you mentioned Jimmy Clauson, you were in the sweet spot of some really, really talented coaches there.

Oh, was I ever with Bechtel.

Oh, yeah.

Roger Bechtel, Ken Avery. I mean, there was so many good coaches during that year that that I learned a lot from all of them, taking a little bits and pieces from all of them. It was it was made made me well rounded, thought.

Well, heading into this hall of fame,

who do you wanna thank? Who do wanna

I want a hall of fame in particular for even considering me, number one. Two, this is such a great class that I'm going in with that that every one of them deserves special attention without a doubt. But the person I'd like to really particularly give thanks to is Danny. Danny Danny already put me in once, but I turned it down. And I turned it down because I didn't think I I really deserved it.

There's there's a lot of people in Taylor that have done a lot more than I have. But Danny Edmonds, he he never gave up on me. He kept talking to me about it. You gotta do it. You gotta do it. So I I really like to thank him for pushing me. And last, I'd like to thank my wife for pushing me also. She said, you deserve it. Go ahead for it. All the players that played for me, I appreciated them all. I mean, I really do. There there are some that really stick out in my mind. There's probably others that I have forgotten about. I'm wondering how they're doing, but thank you. This was really great to have this honor.

Mike has been a certified hockey wrestling referee. He has served almost four decades as an off ice official with the Detroit Red Wings, including more than twenty five years as a crew supervisor. Mike helped teams to five national titles and two second place finishes, not to mention a few Stanley Cups. Let's learn more about Mike Congraves.

Michael, greatest influence or memory in your sports career?

The greatest memories that I have in my sports career, you know, it it it's hard to pick just one, but some of the highlights locally, the Taylor Junior football program, I was privileged enough to assemble a staff that won the championship and gave 40 kids the thrill of a lifetime. During that championship too, we did something that I don't know of anybody that's ever done it. Every single player on my team, whether they were alignment, a kicker, or whatever, got to carry the ball during the course of the season to see what it was like and and we just you know we really really did a a great job with the kids and and the the morale and everything like that was great. NHL you know, I mean, I've been blessed to work with, you know, six Stanley Cup finals, the outdoor game in Ann Arbor, all star games, travel to Sweden to work games, and, you know, so there was a lot there. But there there's two points that I really wanna highlight on that revolve around sports.

One revolves around my daughter. In 2002, the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup here at home, and I was lucky enough to have them at my game or at the game. After the game, we got I got to take them to the NHL party. Okay? With the Stanley Cup and everything like that which was, you know, an unbelievable privilege and and something that they could talk about. But my daughter, she had just she was a freshman in high school and she was complaining because finals were tomorrow. Okay? And she was gonna be tired and everything like that. So she walked into school the next day and everybody was asking her, you know, why are you so mad Stephanie? Why are what's going on?

Oh, my dad made me stave to a party last night. Well, what party? Stanley Cup party after the Red Wings won the Stanley. She was the most popular girl in school in heck that whole day, you know. And and and then another story with my parents, they were not sports minded whatsoever, you know. So I had set up a red wing old timer game with the Taylor Hockey Association coaches at the L. Sheridan Community Center. And I invited them down to the game and everything like that. And so just before we went on the ice, I'd gotten half dressed and I was out in the lobby just making sure everything was going well. The lobby was packed and here comes my parents in.

Okay? And now mind you, my dad is is very very old school. He had a bow tie on. I mean, he dressed for the occasion. And but he also had on his his hat and scarf and gloves and a big coat. They had blankets and everything. He he thought that they were going to the winter classic outside. They didn't realize what the temperature would be like. And and just the smile that they had when I walked out there and and that meant an awful lot to me. Just being able to share that night with them, you know.

That's fantastic. What about greatest influences in your sports related career?

Greatest influences have to be my parents. Even though they weren't involved in sports, they taught me to value my mom with her kindness and her respect for people. My dad, his dedication, and always out there wanting to help people, you know, through the church and different things like that. He he never turned anybody down and that instilled in me, you know, the the what I wanna say, the way to get involved, to give back, and, you know, you're not better than anybody else, you know, to just go out there and and do what you can to help people out.

What about who would you like to thank?

Basically, there's a whole lot of people that I've crossed my life with. But the bottom line is my mom and dad number one, you know, because they instilled in me, they gave me the opportunity to, you know, be involved in what I wanted to be involved with. My family, my daughter, Stephanie, and my son Ryan and their spouses you know, into Ann Arbor and and and diplomas and different places like that at the high school program because I wanted to give back. I wanted to be involved to help other people too, not just my kids and it was never about them. It was always about the team, you know.

Wow. So, you know, those things, you know, really stand up and then there there's a a family, the Sobre family, they're the ones who got me involved in hockey period. They had heard that I was at Oakland Community College and working with the hockey team there, and they weren't very fond of their coach. Alright? So they said they introduced me to their coach, and as soon as he heard that I was with the college hockey team, you know, oh, wow. You know, come on. And that was my start in Taylor, Taylor and and the rest is history. It went from Taylor Hockey Association to Little Caesars. You know, we had five national championships in Little Caesars. So, you know, those things that build your bridges, you know, that that's that's the exciting thing.

And and the the the hundreds of people that I've been blessed with, you know, the the families, the moms, the dads, the brothers, the sisters, the administrators, all those people that I got to work with through all these years and even at the NHL, know, the the the gentleman by the name of Don Archer, he gave me my start. He pulled me in one day and asked me if I wanted to go work in the press box because they needed press box help. Okay? My first job, okay, was to run the teletype machine for out of town scores at Olympia. Okay?

And people don't even know what teletypes are, but, you know, that those are the starts that that that you get. But without him, I would have never gotten that opportunity. And then the people that had faith in me to put me into leadership positions and support me and everything like that, you know. And the bottom line is is I've had a great I've been blessed career in sports. Hopefully, not over yet.

There's still a few years to go. But the the greatest thing that I have, okay, in in everything, okay, is that I have the kids that I've coached, okay, twenty, thirty, forty years ago, alright, come up to me at Red Wing games and knock on a window, come down and see me and say, hey, mister h, remember me? Unfortunately, I don't because they were 10 or 12 and now they're 30 or 40 years old. So they've changed, you know? Mhmm.

But that is the greatest compliment to me and the the greatest memory that I will have in all my years in sports is that people respected what I tried to do and still remember me and thank me for that. And the biggest thank you is to those people, you know, for what they've given back to me so that I could, you know, just give to them.

Mickey, let's start with your trip to the nineteen eighty four Olympic games. You were at the finals of the 800 meter. Okay? When when your own protege there, Earl Jones, gained the gained the bronze medal. Can you tell us that story?

Yes. We'll we'll try to reflect on that. First of all, before we begin, on behalf of Earl Jones, whom we spoke with, and my wife, that can do

only that I

we

do

class level. And this is why we're here right now. So congratulations to all the inductees. Okay. Reflecting on the need, it's a really, really interesting legacy that we're gonna have to share with everybody is that, first of all, Earl was not expected to make the team. And he was a long shot. The paper said that he was a long shot and that he would probably be not on the team. Well, that is not Earl Jen's mentality. Number one, when he went into the Olympic trials, there was Johnny Gray and two other people be right behind Johnny that were seasoned runners. They were in their late twenties.

Earl being the youngest kid eventually on the Olympic team at 20 years old. Okay. He really, really had no business being there because of their experience in running. However, in the Olympic trials, Earl Earl beat Johnny Gay and set the American record at one forty three point seven. So now here's a young man that's wasn't supposed to be on the team that is now the American record holder and on the team.

The final with so many good runners in front of him. He went right to the front last week to win the American championship, and this week, he's using the opposite tactic.

Earl Jones.

That's Earl Jones who has to lead. That's Stanley Redwine from Arkansas in second place at the moment. As usual, James Robinson, easy to spot on the candy stripe.

When he actually got the bronze medal, he wasn't able to run his race that he normally runs. Earl would go out faster than any other athlete in the history of the half mile. Earl would go out in forty eight and forty nine. They would go out in fifty fifty one, and coming out, he got boxed in the first so he wasn't able to run his race in the Olympic finals. But anyways, when he got he was coming on.

If I think there would have been five more yards, I believe he would have taken the gold. However, our seats were five yards from the finish from the awards table, and we're eye level with Earl where he could see us, which I just think that may be of intervention of a higher source to put it that way. So that was our experience at being at the eighty four Olympiads. Earl was the youngest athlete on the he was 20 years old running against twenty nine and thirty one, Joaquin Cruz and Sebastian Coe. Mhmm. Who went one and two.

Mhmm. Mhmm.

I think given the fact that we couldn't get Earl on on video, but Earl is in the audience tonight. How would you like to welcome him officially to the Hall Of Fame?

Earl is the most one of the most humble human beings you'll ever meet. And first of all, he would like to welcome everybody in becoming, you know, a part of the hall of fame here at the city of Taylor. And once again, I've all often believed that the people in the city of Taylor have the credentials to compete on levels which I just stated previously that we can compete on a state national world class level and the people that are gonna be inducted today are just examples of that. So we really have just tremendously talented community here that I think that Earl and everyone's, you know, can be very, proud of.

Whether it's high school, college, track and field, or cross country, what are the what are the things that jump out at at you, Mickey?

Well, one the things that jumped out at that Earl started to define himself as as one of world class runner in high school is we're running against one of the best milers from Ann Arbor Pioneer. I think his name was John Davies. And he had never been beaten and Earl beat him in an indoor meet. And so Earl started to opening eyes that here's here's an individual that may have some really, really outstanding talent. And that summer, we took Earl to the national junior championships in Bloomington, Indiana.

Chuck Evans was with me who's gonna be inducted also tonight. And Warren Jenkins who's my assistant coach, and Earl broke the 1,500 national 16 year old record. So he became the number one miler 1,500 in The United States. Then we go on to a his senior his junior year, we ran him in the state finals. We ran him in the mile and the two mile, which is unprecedented for somebody to do do a double of that nature and try to win.

Well, he took second and a half mile and lost by a tenth of a second, but he won the mile. And he came up to me and he said, coach, everything comes down to a kick as you say. And he said, I could have kicked and he said, I could have won that. Well, he didn't. Well, then that next season as a senior, we took Earl to a meet, which is in Oakland, and he they asked him to run the 600.

And Earl ran the 600 and ran the fastest time in nation, the not only for high school, but for collegiate. He had the number one time in the nation for everybody, college and high school kids as a senior. So then the other then he got invited. The very first kid in the history of the Midwest to be invited to compete in the high school mile in the Winnebago game at Madison Square Gardens. We took Earl there, and it was really a learning experience for Earl.

Earl was invited as senior to come compete in the in the tristate meet down in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And he there was a kid there that had never been beaten from Indiana who was the three time mile state champion. And we set up a way for Earl to run the race, and he beat the kid and ran a four zero seven. And so he came up to me and said, hey, coach. He said, I could have broke four flat today if we did. Our strategy would have been a little bit different. Well, the of the the quarter milers for the mile relay got injured. So they came to me and said, Mick, can he run the anchor or the they want him to lead off. I said, no. Anchor him.

Anchor him. So the kid that he was running against, Indiana, that was a three time state champion and had just won the quarter mile at 47 was when Earl got the baton on the anchor leg, the kid was 30 meters ahead of him. And Earl caught him before he went into the last turn, stayed behind him, came off the turn, and sprinted down and ran a 45.4 quarter, the fastest of ever a high school miler had ever anchored, and he was only two seconds away from the world record in a quarter. So he got the most valuable athletes award in that regard, and then it was on to the Olympic games as we just said.

Wow. Wow. Fascinating stories.

Our next inductee is Earl Kostich. They called him Earl Kostich. They called him Billy the Kid. Back in 1988, pro scouts were following Kennedy High School's Steve Avery around. Steve would become the number one pick of the Atlanta Braves.

Along the way, those scouts watched a Kennedy Taylor Center baseball game and loved the fastball curveball combination of the Rams young pitcher, Bill Costich. Bill would go on to lead to TC to its most memorable season, a 29 and o run ending in a two to one loss to Detroit Catholic Central. Bill, unbeaten on the mound that season, was drafted by the Seattle Mariners and was eventually named a 1990 Arizona League All Star and minor league relief pitcher of the year. Overall, he spent six years in professional baseball, and then he was able to return home and follow his daughter, Kayla, to state championships at Caprini High School. To learn more about Bill, let's check out the video.

Greatest highlight or memory among your athletic career, your achievements. My greatest highlight or memory of my athletic career,

I would say is the my second year in professional sports where I actually made the the all star team. I think I only gave up two runs that season on a on a home run Mhmm. A hanging curveball home run. Yeah. I I end up making the all stars that year, and then I also won the fireman's relief award that year for that season.

So Mhmm.

That was my one of my favorite memories.

Where were you pitching at at that time?

I was pitching in in Arizona, Tampa, Arizona in minor leagues.

Okay. For the Seattle Mariners?

Seattle Mariners.

Yes. Alrighty. Okay. Tell me what happens after that?

As far as in my career? Yeah. So after that, so we I got promoted up to the next level, which is like a high a level. It's above the rookie level. So after that year, you basically, you go out and you start on a whole another team. Right? You get promoted and then it's just like starting all over, starting the season over. It's all new teammates. Everything's all new new opponents. So yeah. So I got moved up to that. And then I I think I ended up finishing pretty well with that year. And then obviously, you go back and you start spring training, start over again the next year. Okay. And then keep trying to get progressed obviously up through the ranks

of the minor

leagues.

You guys were really special at Taylor Center.

Yes.

Okay. That was a Yep. That was a fantastic couple of years there. What do you remember out of that?

I just remember, I I mean, just how good the team was, the chemistry we had. I mean, we had a great coach in Tom Bloom. I mean, he did a he was he was just a, you know, an outstanding coach. Right? He took carry on the field. He also, you know, he was a coach at our or I'm sorry, a teacher at our school too. So he was always looking at you, you know, if you're on out

in the hallways when you shouldn't be in

the hallways, you know, he's giving you that eye, so he actually took carry on and off the field. But, no, the team was just I mean, had

a huge chemistry. Right?

We it's it's had really good team. We had myself. We ended up with Todd Boike. He was on that team too. So the pitching staff was, you know, very formidable. Right? It was really tough to to beat us.

So Which is fantastic. The greatest influence on your athletic career?

The greatest influence on athletic career, I would I'm I'm positive. It's my grandfather. Right? I can remember one of my one of my earliest memories of playing catch or playing sports. Right? So we're out in our front yard and we're we're playing catch. And and and I don't know how I remember this. Obviously, I was very young. So we're throwing and and I'm I'm wild. Right? I'm throwing it all over all over the yard pretty much. Well, finally, I break a window. It's like, oh, no. So I'm getting kind of in trouble. Right? You know? So we keep doing it. We do it. I did it again. Broke a window. And finally, he's like, I don't, you know, I don't know what's wrong. We're we're gonna figure this out. I I was throwing right handed. Right? So now they realize I'm left handed. It was all uphill from there. Wow.

Yep. Yep.

It was

all good. Once they figured out I was left handed and then I can remember honestly, we had a mound in my front yard. We're we're in the middle of a neighborhood. I had a mound. My grandfather would he had that old 1952 baseball glove, you know, with the big around the outside. Everybody can picture what that looks like. And he'd out there, we'd march it off, and he'd he'd catch me all day long.

Headed in the hall of fame here with a pretty good class. Mhmm. Who do you wanna thank?

I'd like to first thank Tom Bloom. Like I said, he really had and even more so myself, he really had an eye on me. Right? I I wasn't the best person off the field as far as, you know, schoolwork. So he actually made sure I did all the stuff I needed to do. You know? He he watched me on the field and taught me a ton on the field, but he also watched me off the field and make sure I was doing what I needed to be doing when I was off the field.

Anybody else you wanna thank?

My wife wife of thirty one years. Right? A drugger all around the country. She's seen more baseball games than than most. I probably see that. I between myself and my daughter, I mean, she was she's been with us.

Yeah. Next next up in line is Lisa Mackie, otherwise known as Lisa Jammula when she played a group. This is the first of the two Jammula sisters. Lisa, notice how notice how the older sister always ends in the first going into school. Lisa was a graduate of Taylor Center in '87.

She went on to become one of the most accomplished basketball players in Northern Michigan University history and a hall of famer there. She was a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year as a senior. All these years later, she still remains Northern's all time leading scorer with 1,699 points and 111 games. She now teaches at Escanaba High School. Let's learn a little bit more about Lisa.

Tell us the greatest highlight or memory from your career in athletics.

I think some of the biggest memories I remember are the people that I've come across and played with throughout my career, whether it was at Taylor Center or Northern Michigan University. I remember we had a team of seven at one point at Taylor Center where we excelled. I remember playing basketball with my sister. That's a great member to have both in high school college. We always joke with my parents they owe us some money because of our success at Taylor Center.

We both got full ride scholarships, but I realize now that that's just a select group of athletes that get get this chance. Again, I really do remember coach Lever a lot giving everything to our program. He was one that pushed us and loved the game just as much as we did. I also remember when I was recruited by Northern Michigan University, didn't know where the UP was. My parents have never visited it.

My dad flew up here, and it was really bad turbulence. My mom said it was too far away to go. But, obviously, it was a great decision for me and eventually my sister to become a wild cat. We had some great teams with great work ethics, goals, and lifelong friendships. And I know today that my best friend is my roommate from college and played on the team with me.

And I don't know. Wendy and I both made some great friendships. In terms of highlights, I think making it into the NW Hall of Fame, being the all time leading scorer, the second leading rebounder, jeez, MVP of the conference. It happened because I had great teammates and great coaches that believed in me, and I loved the game. And probably my parents for the continuous sport and the memories we made along the way.

Tell us your greatest influence on your athletic career.

My greatest influences are probably my parents. They met on a basketball court, in the middle of court, actually. They were introduced to one another. Their best man in their wedding was the University of Detroit coach. I know my dad coached me for years. My mom was the scorekeeper. I know this wasn't something we planned after high school. It just happened. But having influential parents, coaches, Mike Lever, you know, coach Gary recruited me, coach Stein, my assistant coaches, player development. I think I couldn't accomplish all that I've had along that way.

This is your night. You're headed into the hall of fame. Tell us who'd you like to thank.

I guess I'd like to thank my parents for introducing us to the sport. My sister for always making me better because she was always better than me. My favorite saying is hard work beats talent. My talent doesn't work hard, so I worked hard in the sport. I loved again, I thank all of my coaches, all of my teammates, and I thank Taylor Sports Hall of Fame for recognizing this great honor and being part of this great group. I don't think people truly the commitment and sacrifice that people make, especially when they coach or excel in a sport. So I just congratulate everyone in this honor and privilege to be here, I can only hope we can inspire others along the way. Perfect.

History. Now he's still going strong. He still shows up two hours early for practices and games and is one of the last to leave the field. A mainstay in Taylor Northwest's Little League for four decades, Joe managed baseball teams to state titles in 1989 and 2003 and others to district and regional titles. He was the Northwest vice president from 1983 to 2011 and shared the bingo program until it closed in 2010.

The Joe Marvin Field Of Dreams at Pep Park is named in his honor. He's also held coaching positions in the treasurer's post with Taylor Junior Football for over four decades. He coached the Taylor Eagles to the Peanut Bowl title in 1990 and the Taylor Seahawks to a championship in 1994. Let's learn more about Joe Marvin.

Joe, what is the greatest highlight or memory in your sports related career?

Oh, well, the greatest memory or highlight of my well, I've been involved in baseball, football, and everything, when I first started off, it was when I was younger and my son was in baseball, but I had a team that went to the state, won the state, went to regionals in Peru, Illinois. We lost in Peru, Illinois, but that was probably the most memorable thing. I'm always so happy when I see one of the kids that I coached in either football or baseball that say, hey, coach Marvin. And after they've gone to ten years or fifteen years, I say, yeah, but I forgot your name.

From an influential standpoint, who is the most influential person in either your sports career or your life?

My son was very influential on me. He got me into baseball and football. My wife, she gave me no hard times about going to practice, going to games, going to out of state for tournaments for I never complained. I mean, she always let she always let me go do what I had to do and never complained. Fantastic.

Okay. Now, from a standpoint of thanking people

Mhmm.

Who'd you like to thank, Joe?

I like to thank all the people like, well, Lanny Hall from baseball and Paul Sparks from football. They were both influence with, you know, were very helpful in helping me get through all the programs.

Starring in both basketball and softball before graduating from Taylor Summer in 1990. She was seventh in the miss in the Miss Michigan basketball voting as a senior, a first in all state selection, a USA Today honorable mention pick.

Thank you very much.

She finished with school records in scoring assists and steals. Her efforts on the softball field mirrored what she did in the basketball court, whether it was as a dangerous hitter or as a standout pitcher. Wendy followed her sister to Northern Michigan, finishing among the school's top 15 in three pointers, steals, assists, and scoring. Let's learn more about winning.

My greatest highlight from my athletic career, I mean, honestly, there was a lot. The one that I re that sticks out the most was probably sophomore year softball. Okay. And we were in the pre districts, and we were playing the number one team in the state. I think it was Monroe High School. Okay. And bottom of the seventh inning, and I was up to bat. I got on first base. Jerry Abraham was the coach at the time, and he had me steal. He had a girl bunt, and then I was on my way to third.

They overthrew it to first, and then I slid head first home, and we won one to nothing and knocked them off. Oh my god. And that was the year we went to the state championship. Wow. When we were with Taylor Kennedy and Steve Avery.

Right. Right. Wow.

So, yeah, it was great because we were both there at the same time. Mhmm. So that that's probably the one that I remember the most, you know, looking back on it. I kinda wish I would have played softball or both or at least tried. But with basketball, you know, we won four district championships. You know, we had a great team. And, you know, and college was fun too. But my biggest memories are probably, I guess, from high school. Mhmm. You know, in college, I was definitely more of a role player, you know, and in in in high school, you know, a little bit more of a a leader, I I guess.

Mhmm. So more so more memories from high school than from college. But I mean, we went to, you know, the NCAA tournament my freshman year. Mhmm. And, you know, we we had a good run at it. So that know, playing with my sister for a year up there. You know, a year in high school and a year in college. Mhmm. So

What was that, you know, what was that year like in college when you played with your sister? How did that go?

Well, not good as as when it was in high school, let me tell you. The year I played with my sister in college was not as good as the year in high school. You know, it was nice. Like, you know, because I did get playing time my freshman year. I didn't start, but I got a lot of playing time. Mhmm. So playing with her, you know, she was an all American that year. Mhmm. And that was different than in high school because in high school, I think I was scoring more points than her when I was a freshman. And she was a senior. So it flip flopped and, yeah. She she made me earn it in in in college. She was she came after me and she didn't go easy on me. Oh my.

Yeah. Yeah. So you were truly little sister.