City Council - Regular Meeting

Can I get everybody to turn their phones off or on vibrate? And if you have a question on any of the motions, you can do it at that time or in open business at the end. I'd like to call the meeting to order at 6.30. No gavel. And can I get Mr. Dragone to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? Outdoor voice, Nick. Roll call, please.

Mr. Patz? Here. Mr. Clark?

Here.

Mr. Armstrong?

Here.

Mr. Wallace? Here. Mr. Thede?

Here.

Mr. Thomas?

Here.

Mr. Johnson?

Here.

Mayor Woolley?

Here.

Mrs. Bauer?

Here.

Mr. Dragone?

Here.

Got a quorum? Okay, let's move on to, can I get a motion to approve the agenda? Motion to approve. Motion by Mr. Thomas. Support. Supported by Mr. Armstrong. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it, motion carried. Can I get a motion to approve the acceptance of the minutes of July 7th and dispense with oral reading? Motion. Support. Motion by Mr. Wallace, supported by Mr. Clark. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed, yeses have it. Motion carried. We're going to go to point five, it's mayor communication.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Item 5.1 is a motion to approve the new appointment of Brittany Carmona to the Downtown Development Authority for a four-year term to expire on July 21st, 2030.

Motion.

Support. Motion by Mr. Clark, supported by Mr. Thomas. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried.

Mr. Chairman, item 5.2 is a motion to receive and file the emergency solicitation request for Taylor North Little League to hold corner days for the month of July 20, 2026 to help offset the cost for all-star finals.

Motion. Motion. Motion by Mr. Thede, supported by Mr. Patz. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried.

Mr Chairman, I do have one more thing that I'd like to remind everybody. So this year on the 25th of July is the last year for running to honor. Uh, that's held at heritage park every year. Uh, a gentleman by the name of Aaron Bartels started this, uh, I think this is the 12th year maybe. I'm not sure. It's been quite a while. Um, but he's done a phenomenal job keeping the memory of fallen soldiers alive. and raising lots of funds for veteran organizations. So there's still time if you'd like to run or walk in this. It's a great event. Tons of people come out every year. And you can go to Running to Honor on Facebook if you'd like to participate in either walking or running or just coming out and supporting the cause. Again, this is the last year. Aaron has decided he wants to go and pursue other avenues. for bringing awareness to different veterans' needs, and I thank him for all the years he's done this. An incredible individual, sorry, tripping over my words, and I thank everything he's done. So there's still time to register, and you can actually register on the day of if you're waiting for that as well.

Thank you. Any discussion from the council on that? Okay, let's move on to the consent agenda. The consent agenda is normal routine items that we approve in one motion, unless someone wants to talk separately on it up here on council. Can I get a motion to accept the consent agenda? Motion to accept the consent agenda. Support. Motion by Mr. Wallace, supported by Mr. Thomas. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it, motion carried. Moving on to the regular agenda. Motion to approve going into closed door session, discuss risk management claim 0AB255656. May I could get a roll call vote, please? I'll make the motion. Support. Roll call.

Mr. Thede?

Yes.

Mr. Thomas?

Yes.

Mr. Patz?

Yes.

Mr. Clark?

Yes.

Mr. Armstrong?

Yes.

Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

Mr. Johnson?

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Amen.

Okay, we re-adjourn at 7 o'clock. Let's go to 7.2. I get a motion to approve settlement of verse management claim 0AB255656 as recommended by legal counsel.

Motion.

Support. Motion by Mr. Armstrong, supported by Mr. Thomas. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed, yeses have it, motion carried. 7.3, motion to approve one member of the fire department to attend the USAR medical team specialist training for amount not to exceed $3,195 funded through the general fund fire and training and transport. Motion. Support. Supported by Mr. Pass, supported by Mr. Armstrong. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed, yeses have it, motion carried. 7.4, motion to approve one member of the Taylor Fire Department to attend the hazardous material technical training through the State of Michigan State Police for amount not to exceed $995 funded through the General Fund Fire Department Training and Transport.

Motion. Support.

Motion by Mr. Armstrong, supported by Mr. Clark. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes.

Yes.

Yeses have it, motion carried. 7.5, motion to approve second reading to amend the code of ordinance city of Taylor by adding vehicle non-emergency response cost recovery for lift assistance and And other non-emergency response to chapter 22, fire prevention and protection, said code. Motion. Support. Motion by Mr. Armstrong, supported by Mr. Patz. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. Yes. Yeses have it, motion carried.

Opposed. Okay. Okay.

7.6, motion to approve national hose testing, sole source, lowest qualified bidder for the preventative maintenance agreement in amount not to exceed $10,940 funded through the general fund fire department repair and maintenance. Motion. Motion by Mr. Patz, supported by Mr. Thede. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it, motion carried. 7.7, motion to approve to set a public hearing date of September 1st, 2026 for case 2630V, request to vacate retaining all utility easements, the 20-foot public alley adjacent to lot 96 through 112 and lots 479 through 485, inclusive of the Patterson, Tricla?

Telerica.

Telerica, sub of the Southwest Section 28TSSR10E, City of Taylor, Wayne County, Michigan. Alley is located east of Telegraph between Mercer and Eureka.

Motion.

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

Yes.

All opposed, yeses have it, motion carried. 7.8, motion to approve opening a public hearing for the proposed receiving suggestions, proposals, and ideas from interested citizens and parties concerning the proposed HUD community block grant funds for the annual action plan 2627 and for 26 to 30, a five year consolidation plan. Motion. So moved. Motion by Mr. Thomas supported by Mr. Wallace. Public hearing is open.

Through the chair, some brief remarks before we open it up for the public comment. Chair, council, mayor, clerk, treasurer, members of the public, residents. We're proposing our block grant budget for the upcoming year. 2627 that's our action plan and this year it's also part of our five-year consolidated plan which will run 2026 through can I believe it 2030 the next five years that will set our goals and objective for using the annual block grant funding for the next five years those two plans will be submitted in early august we're part of the wayne county consortia so we wait for the county to submit their plan and we submit it with that in early august This year's block grant budget, I'll just briefly go over the items that are up for approval this evening. Housing rehab program, fish and loaves, the guidance center, senior alliance, senior services, ADA door systems for public buildings, and general administration and planning. And our total budget for this year is projected at $526,251. Thank you. Open to the public. Anybody got any questions or concerns or suggestions?

Okay. Go check the Internet. Okay. I'd like to entertain a motion to close public hearing.

I'll make that motion.

A motion by Mr. Clark, supported by Mr. Armstrong. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Opposed? Yeses have it, motion carried. Thank you. We're going to 7.9, motion to approve closing, no, 7.10. Motion to approve adopting the community block grant program for year 26-27 action plan budget and the 26-30 consolidation plan and authorize the mayor to sign the certification SF 424 application and SF 24D assurance and submit all required documents to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Motion. Support. Motion by Mr. Pat, supported by Mr. Thomas. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. 7.11, motion to approve temperature services low bidder to install one new train RTU HVAC unit at the Taylor Compost Facility for amount not to exceed $9,180, $88 funded through the TBA Capital Outlay Fund. I'll make that motion. Supported by Mr. Deity, supported by Mr. Armstrong. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it, motion carried. 712, motion to approve temperature services low bidder to install one new carrier HVAC unit at the petting farm for amount not to exceed $9,124 funded through the TBA Capital Outlay. Motion. Support. Motion by Mr. Thomas, supported by Mr. Clark. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes.

Yes.

All opposed? Yeses have it, motion carried. 713, motion to approve the city clerk to apply for a standard of excellence grants for election related items and amount not to exceed $15,000 from the US Alliance for Election Excellence.

Motion.

Support. Motion by Mr. Armstrong, supported by Mr. Wallace. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it, motion carried. Can I get a motion to amend CCR number 6.25-26 due to changes in vendors to Best Buy and 6.284-26 due to decrease of pricing on purchases of a laptop. For a new amount not to exceed $18,900 funded through the general fund election supplies. Motion. Support. Motion by Mr. Thede, supported by Mr. Thomas. Any discussion? We're actually lowering.

Yes, Mr. Chair, and I didn't know if I needed to put that on there, but it was a change, so I did. I want you guys to be aware. We did get them for a better deal. It wasn't really the laptops we wanted, but we have the laptops and I hope to never bring laptops to you again anytime soon.

Thank you. How many laptops?

There were 30, so two for each precinct. We have 15 precincts.

Thank you. Any other discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. Can I get a motion to approve the issuance of a solicitor's permit for power home remodeling for door-to-door solicitation of various home renovation services through October 21st, 2026? Motion. I'll support it. Did I say something wrong? No. Motion by Mr. Armstrong supported by Mr. Wallace. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried. 716, motion to approve the resolution to support law enforcement officers. Motion. Support. Motion by Mr. Thomas supported by Mr. Armstrong. And can I get Mr. Thomas to read it? Yes.

City of Taylor, Michigan City Council resolution, whereas the Taylor City Council recognizes the courage, sacrifice, and dedication demonstrated daily by law enforcement officers who faithfully serve and protect our residents, businesses, and neighborhoods. And whereas police officers willingly place themselves in harm's way in order to preserve public safety, uphold the rule of law, and maintain peace within our communities. And whereas the city of Taylor proudly supports all members of law enforcement and acknowledges the important role they play in safeguarding the lives and property of our citizens. And whereas the Taylor City Council also recognizes the profound sacrifices made by officers and their families in the line of duty. And whereas it is appropriate that we pause to honor and remember those officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving others. And whereas we specifically recognize and mourn fallen Auxiliary Police Lieutenant Dan Cromer and Corporal Matthew Edwards, whose service, dedication, and sacrifice will never be forgotten. And whereas their memory stands as a solemn reminder of the dangers faced by law enforcement officers each day and the extraordinary commitment required to serve the public. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Taylor City Council hereby expresses its unwavering support for all police officers and members of law enforcement who serve our community and communities throughout this nation. And be it further resolved that the Taylor City Council honors the memory of fallen auxiliary police lieutenant Dan Cromer and Corporal Matthew Edwards, extends its deepest condolences to their families, friends, fellow officers, and loved ones, and encourages all residents to remember their sacrifice and service. Presented this 21st day of July, 2026. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman.

Do I ask for discussion on it? Any discussion?

Chairman, this really resonates. or the incident that we had at the sheets where our officers were in harm's way and acted very bravely. So this really resonates with this resolution.

Well, I remember I was working for the city at the time when this happened. I was on Telegraph Road right at 94 when we heard the news, and it was devastating. I had just been to his house, Mr. Officer Edwards, maybe a month before that, doing some plumbing work, and just a really nice guy. It's a shame that it happened. We just wanted 16 years today, or no, two days from now, on the 23rd. Okay, all in favor?

Yes.

Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it. Motion carried.

And Mr. Chairman? Yes. We have retired police officer Dave Ziegler here with his wife and his family here to accept this resolution on behalf of Shannon Matthews.

Go ahead.

Thank you sir for accepting this on her behalf, thank you, what is the when is the candlelight did you Tuesday Okay, we're going to move on to 7 717 motion to approve CBTS the one-year renewal of Avia phone system support an amount of $4,890 funded through the general fund IT contractual services. Motion. Support. Motion by Mr. Wallace, supported by Mr. Armstrong. Pats. Pats, okay. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed say no. Just reading that, it don't seem important after what we just did, so who cares about the phone system? Sorry, just had to say that. Number 7.18, motion to approve resolution regarding the city of Taylor to purchase from Wayne County Treasurer Eric Seby for official capacity as foreclosing governmental agency under authority of Michigan General Property Tax that the real property described on Exhibit A attached hereto. Motion. Support. Motion by Mr. Thomas, supported by Mr. Clark. This is a roll call, correct? Resolution. Motion to approve. No.

Any discussion mr. Mayor Through the count through the chair. Would you explain this to us, please?

Sure So every year we get a list of first right of refusal from the county. It's foreclosed homes and properties in the city of Taylor this year we got a list roughly of 20 parcels of It was a pretty fast turnaround this year. We kind of let the county know we'd like a little more time next year, possibly. I think they gave us two weeks. There was nothing really that we saw right away. Basically, there's two parcels on here. They're vacant properties, and they sit right in the middle of properties that the city, in each case, it's a parcel between two pieces that the city already currently owns. One is between two lots that we believe are marketable. I think it's maybe Marvin Street. I can't remember. We believe purchasing this will allow us to either make two marketable lots or possibly three marketable lots. So that's one reason we looked at that. The other one is a larger piece of lot. It's kind of in a spot that you really can't get to. There is one off of the end of one street you could probably get to, but again, it's a small parcel in between two larger parcels that we would just like to see as the city own that whole complete parcel. There's what's called a second right of refusal that comes around after they go through the bid process and everything like that. We're hopeful that maybe that comes around. There's some parcels that we have targeted maybe that if they come back around, The county will usually offer funds to help tear down some of those homes there's two or three that went through our building department and they looked at them and So we're hopeful that those come back and we're able to get some funds to go with that to tear those properties down Okay.

Thank you, sir. Thank you Any other discussion? Here are none all those favor say yes. Yes all opposed yeses have it. Sorry Roll call, please.

Mr. Thede?

Yes.

Mr. Thomas?

Yes.

Mr. Pat?

Yes.

Mr. Clark? Yes. Mr. Armstrong? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Johnson?

Yes. Okay, we're going to go to open business, and we have one item in open business, and that's a motion to receive and file emergency purchase for pool supplies

Depot for a total of twelve thousand six hundred and twenty dollars funded through the TBA capital outlay fund motion supported by mr. Thomas supported by mr. Armstrong any discussion mr. Chairman just pointing out I did see some people asking why the Northwest pool has been closed that storm did happen to fry our pump and that's what this purchase is for we want to get that up and running so we get that pool running again

And then could I get, we'll do it in a minute. Could I get Guido up here? Sorry. Well, this is something our guys are doing.

Yeah, through the chair, to the chair. We did purchase these direct. As you see in the pricing we were receiving, it would have been thousands and thousands of dollars more. So we'll take delivery of these. We'll take them over. We'll get them in place. They're a direct connect. The bolt pattern, everything is the exact same. We'll get them plumbed in and get them turned on.

Okay, great. Okay, any other discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have it, motion carried. Mr. Ulan, one more time. I remember it. Could you tell us why the splash pad was closed last week for a couple days?

We did post. We had got warnings regarding air quality, and it was pretty severe. And using that information that was provided for public health and employee safety and public safety, we made the decision to not open on those days when it was super high alert. We also canceled Family Fun Day to help with public safety and our employees as well from being outside and exposed to the air quality. We were put under advisement of it was not safe. Okay, thank you.

Mr. Chairman, that was my decision. If anybody wants to point fingers, they can point them at me.

They canceled the senior picnic at Elizabeth Park, too. So, I mean, it's the right thing to do.

At the end of the day, it was all about kids that day. We had, as Mr. Ulan said, we had our family fun day. We talked about the splash pad. We also had our DPW workers and park workers trying to work inside as much as possible. Thank you.

We would have been criticized had we not done it.

right decision you know so we'll go to audience for anybody that wants to come up and ask a question caroline pats 6860 jackson um i know councilman pats is going to be speaking about the wall that heals but i just wanted to add also in the back there are some koozies that have the wall that heals emblem on there So you're more than welcome. Anybody here? They're in the back on the table there. You're more than welcome to take those. And I do have a couple of flyers here for patron sponsorship for individuals. It's $100, and you get a hat, and your name goes into the sponsor program. So I do have a couple of those, too, if anybody would like to donate $100. But I'm going to let him tell you everything else. Thank you.

Anything else from the audience? Let's go to the council. I got one. I got a couple things. Guido. Might as well rent space up here. I think the chief is jealous. We're going to have to call him out.

Could you explain to me one more time about the gates at the police department? Two gates. We just voted on fixing them.

Now they're down again. That is correct. I feel mechanically they're fine. This is more of a software issue. My assumption is the storm has done something and we've done a lot of IT updates lately. So we do have a company that will be on site this week to check all those items from a network side to make sure they can get reconnected correctly and then they'll be functioning again. The IT department is working on that. And that's still under warranty through? If it's anything with the operation the mechanical components that were placed a hundred percent now if it's something due to a storm a power surge Or something of that nature with the software. I wouldn't be able to speak to warranties on that, but the IT department could Thank you, sir.

Appreciate it. Thank you thing else from council From the wall that heals It's gonna to tailor on Thursday, August the 13th through Sunday, August the 16th at Heritage Park. The Wall that Heals is a traveling three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The exhibit honors the 58,281 service members who lost their lives during the Vietnam War and recognizes all that who served. In addition to the 375-foot-long memorial, the exhibit includes a mobile education center featuring photographs, artifacts, and stories that help visitors better understand the Vietnam War and the lasting impact on all who served. Guided tours will be available on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for schools, veteran organizations, civic groups, churches, businesses, and other community organizations. Each tour is led by a representative for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. It lasts approximately 45 minutes, including time for questions. These guided experiences provide visitors with a meaningful understanding of the memorial, the history of the Vietnam War, and the personal stories behind the names etched on the wall. Admission to the Wall that Heals is free, and the exhibit will be open to the public 24 hours a day throughout its stay in Taylor, closing at 2 o'clock PM on Sunday, August the 16th. To schedule a group tour, please contact Caroline Patz by email at cpatz at yahoo.com, or you can also go to thewallthathealstaylor.com. Thank you.

Real quick, the administration, do you happen to know the Sergeant Major's name that's going to be there, that's going to speak on Wednesday? I cannot think of it. We got a Sergeant Major that's going to speak, and he's a Medal of Honor winner. So it's going to be pretty impressive. I can't remember his name.

Mr. Chair, I believe he's from Michigan as well. That would be pretty cool. Mr. Chairman, I do have one more thing, and I guess I should point it out that My 86-year-old father got a hole in one today at Taylor Meadows. Oh, yeah. I should have pointed out mentioning it today. So he'd probably be able to get on me if I did, and I already put it on social media. So I'm pretty proud of him for being 86 years old. And I don't have one in almost 40 years of golfing, and now he's got two. So I got to hear that. Both of them met at Taylor Meadows. So he's a he's an avid customer.

So I got to give him props today Okay, anything else from council chairman?

I just wanted to acknowledge that it's great to be back in the City Council Chamber. It looks amazing They did an incredible job and building it grounds to the really nice job of cleaning it up If anyone knows me didn't know how much I sweat and I had my sweat towel with me everywhere and I'm not sweating Because it's very comfortable in here And I also want to acknowledge the receipt of the flag of our sixth branch of the military, the Space Force. We have that thanks to Building and Grounds as well.

Charlie, his name was Terry Richardson. Okay.

Thank you. Mr. Chairman, that was actually just pulled that up in an email. So Caroline beat me to the punch. I've got some other announcements here. Early voting starts this Saturday. Runs through Saturday August 1st The hours are Saturday and Sundays from 8 to 4 and Monday through Friday 9 to 5 So come cast your vote come visit us and see us Do that absentee ballots also you have yours we recommend getting them in as soon as possible, please Also, the next meeting for City Council will be on Wednesday, August 5th due to the election and Now, study session we haven't discussed. I'm assuming we're going to want to do it at 5.30 prior to. That's what we used to do in the past. Okay. Other than that, that is all I have. Thank you.

Any other discussion from the council? Can I get a motion?

Motion to adjourn.

Motion by Mr. Armstrong, supported by Mr. Wallace to adjourn at 7.30. All in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed? Yeses have the motion carried. Thank you everybody.

Hopefully it's not over yet. There's still a few years to go. But the greatest thing that I have, okay, in everything, okay, is that I have the kids that I've coached, okay, 20, 30, 40 years ago, all right, come up to me at Red Wing Games and knock on the window, come down and see me and say, hey, Mr. 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 but that is the greatest compliment to me and 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

Hey, Mr. Rich, this guy does not turn down party invitations, so please join me in congratulating Michael Hargreaves. Please come up.

Our next inductee is Earl Jones.

One's passive, one's fast, and then there's Paul Jones. Paul has done this in the game of his life, one of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Eastern Michigan University Hall of Famer and Taylor Center graduate was a seven-time NCAA All-American in track and cross country. Unfortunately, a car accident cut short of Earl's brilliant career. We're going to learn more about Earl Jones through the eyes of his high school coach, Mickey Truncheon.

Earl was unable, unfortunately, he lives in Tulsa, and he was not able to get here to stand around, but Mickey tells a pretty good story, and certainly Earl Jones was one of a kind. Mickey, let's start with your trip to the 1984 Olympic Games. You were at the finals of the 800-meter, okay, when your own protege there, Earl Jones, gained the bronze medal. Can you tell us that story?

Yes, 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, myself, and the city of Taylor, we want to congratulate all of the other inductees. And it's proof, living proof, that Taylor has the individuals in it to compete on a national, state, and world-class level. And this is why we're here right now, so congratulations to all the inductees. Okay, reflecting on the meet, 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. It 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 right behind Johnny that were seasoned runners. They were in their late 20s. Earl, being the youngest kid eventually, on the Olympic team at 20 years old, really, really had no business being there because of their experience in running. However, In the Olympic trials, Earl beat Johnny Gay and set the American record at 143.7. So now here's a young man that wasn't supposed to be on the team that is now the American record holder and on the team.

many good runners in front of him he went right to the front last week to win the american championships and this week he's using the opposite tactic that's earl jones who has the 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 48, 49. They would go out in 50, 51. And coming off, he got boxed in the first, so he wasn't able to run his race in the Olympic finals. But anyways, when he got unboxed, he was coming on, and 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 wards table, and we were eye-level with Earl where he could see us, which I just think that may be an intervention of a higher source to put it that way. That was our experience at being at the 84 Olympians. Earl was the youngest athlete on the, he was 20 years old, running against 29 and 31, Joaquin Cruz and Sebastian Coe, who went one and two.

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

Well, Earl is 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 often believed that The people in the city of Taylor have the credentials to compete on the levels, which I just stated previously, that we can compete on a state, national, world-class level. And the people that are going to be inducted today are just examples of that. So we really have just a tremendously talented community here that I think that Earl and everyone can be very, very proud of.

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

Well, one of the things that jumped out at that Earl started to define himself as a world-class runner in high school is we were running against one of the best milers from Ann Arbor Pioneer. I think his name was John Davies. He had never been beaten, and Earl beat him in an indoor meet. And so Earl started opening eyes that 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. Chuckie Evans was with me, who's going to be inducted also tonight. And Warren Jenkins, who was my assistant coach. And Earl broke the 1,500 national 16-year-old record. So he became the number one miler, 1500, in the United States. Then we go on to 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 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 they asked him to run the 600. And Earl ran the 600 and ran the fastest time in the nation, 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 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 Winnipeg game at Madison Square Gardens. We took Earl there. And it was really a learning experience for Earl. Earl was invited as senior to compete in the Tri-State meet down in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And 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 4.07. 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, unbeknownst then, one of the quarter milers for the mile relay got injured. So they came to me and said, Mick, can he run the anchor, or they wanted 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, 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 ever high school miler had ever anchored. And he was only two seconds away from the world record in the quarter. So he got the most valuable athlete's 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 Costage.

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 Kostic. Bill would go on to lead TC to its most memorable season, a 29-0 run ending in a 2-1 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 Cabrini 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 my second year in professional sports where I actually made the all-star team. I think I only gave up two runs that season on a home run, a hanging curveball home run. Yeah, I ended up making the All-Stars that year, and then I also won the Fireman's Relief Award that year for that season. So that was one of my favorite memories.

Where were you pitching at that time?

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

Okay, for the Seattle Mariners?

Seattle Mariners, yes.

Okay. Tell me, what happens after that?

As far as in my career? Yeah. So after that, 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, basically you go out and you start on a whole other 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 think I ended up finishing pretty well with that year. And then obviously you go back and you start spring training, start all over again the next year. And then keep trying to get progressed, obviously, up through the ranks of the minor leagues.

You guys were really special in Taylor Center. Yes. That was a fantastic couple of years there. What do you remember out of that?

I just remember just how good the team was, the chemistry we had. I mean, we had a great coach in Tom Bloom. I mean, he was just an outstanding coach, right? He took care of you 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 out in the hallways when you shouldn't be in the hallways, you know, he's giving you that eye. So he actually took care of you on and off the field. But, yeah, no, the team was just, I mean, we had huge chemistry, right? It was just a really good team. We had myself. We ended up with Todd Boyke. He was on that team, too. So the pitching staff was very formidable. It was really tough to beat us.

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

The greatest influence on my athletic career, I'm positive. It's my grandfather, right? I can remember one of my earliest memories of playing catch or playing sports, right? So we're out in our front yard and we're playing catch. And I don't know how I can remember this. Obviously, I was very young. So we're throwing and I'm wild, right? I'm throwing it 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? So we keep doing it. We do it. I did it again. Broke a window. And finally, he's like, I don't know what's wrong. We're going to figure this out. I was throwing right-handed, right? So now they realize I'm left-handed. It was all uphill from there. Wow. It was all good. Once they figured I was left-handed, and I can remember, honestly, we had a mound in my front yard. We're in the middle of a neighborhood. I had a mound. My grandfather, he had that old 1952 baseball glove, you know, with the big roundy outsides. Everybody can picture what that looks like. And he'd go out there, we'd march it off, and he'd catch me all day long.

Headed into Hall of Fame here with a pretty good class. Who do you want to 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 wasn't the best person off the field as far as schoolwork, so he actually made sure I did all the stuff I needed to do. He watched me on the field and taught me a ton on the field, but he also watched me off the field and made sure I was doing what I needed to be doing when I was off the field.

Anybody else you want to thank?

My wife, a wife of 31 years, right? A drugger all around the country. She's seen more baseball games than most. I promise you that. I mean, between myself and my daughter, I mean, she's been with us.

Okay, our next up in line is Lisa Matley, otherwise known as Lisa Jamula, which you probably knew. This is the first of the two Jamula sisters. Notice how the older sister always ends up first going into something. 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 memory to have both in high school and 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 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, I didn't know where the UP was and 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 Wildcat. 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 know Wendy and I both made some great friendships. In terms of highlights, I think making it into the NMU Hall of Fame, being the all-time leading scorer, the second leading rebounder, MVP of the conference. It happened because I had great teammates and great coaches that believed in me. And I love the game and probably my parents for the continued support 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 a 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 friends, parents, coaches, Mike Lever, 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 you'd 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. But talent doesn't work hard. So I worked hard in the sport. I loved, again, I think 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 really truly understand the commitment and sacrifice that people make, especially when they coach or excel in a sport. So I just congratulate everyone and it's an honor and privilege to be here. And I truly hope we can inspire others along the way.

Perfect.

Our next Hall of Famer, Joe Marvin, is one of the longest serving coaches ever. and league officials of Taylor Youth Sports 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 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 chaired the bingo program until it closed in 2010. The Joe Marvin Field of Dreams at Pat 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?

Greatest memory or highlight of mine, well, I've been involved in baseball, football, and everything, but my first start off was when I was younger when 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 into 10 years or 15 years i said 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. I never complained. I mean, she always let me go do what I had to do and never complained.

Fantastic. Okay, now from a standpoint of thanking people, who would you like to thank, Joe?

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

Okay. Congratulations, Joe.

Very, very desirable.

Very few people have dedicated themselves to this. Wendy Warren, otherwise known as Wendy January, the second of our two siblings here. Wendy was one of Down River's most accomplished female athletes, starring in both basketball and softball before graduating from Taylor Center in 1990. She was 7th in the Miss Michigan basketball voting as a senior, a first team 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 on 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 Wendy Jr. My greatest highlight from my athletic career, I mean, honestly, there was a lot. The one that sticks out the most was probably sophomore year softball. 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. 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. 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. So that's probably the one that I remember the most, you know, looking back on it. I kind of wish I would have played softball, or both, or at least tried. But with basketball, we won four district championships. We had a great team. And college was fun, too. But my biggest memories are probably I guess from high school. In college, I was definitely more of a role player. And in high school, a little bit more of a leader, I guess. So more so, more memories from high school than from college. But I mean, college, we went to the NCAA tournament my freshman year. And we had a good run at it. So playing with my sister for a year up there, You know, a year in high school and a year in college.

What was that year like in college when you played with your sister?

How did that go? Well, not as good as when it was in high school. The year I played with my sister in college was not as good as the year in high school. You know, it was nice because I did get playing time my freshman year. I didn't start, but I got a lot of playing time. So playing with her, you know, she was an All-American that year. 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. Yeah. And she was a senior. So it flip-flopped. And, yeah, she made me earn it in college. She came after me, and she didn't go easy on me. Oh, my.

Yeah. So you were truly little sister. Oh, I was. Okay. All right. Greatest influence on your career?

The greatest influence on my career, I would, I mean, most likely I would say, you know, my dad. He got us starting playing sports early. You know, I started playing sports in Taylor. when I was three years old, starting at, you know, T-ball. T-ball at St. Pascal's, then I went to St. Cyril's to play softball, basketball there. So I've been in Taylor, and then to Taylor Center. But yeah, my dad would be probably the greatest influence. He was always there, he was always involved, he was always coaching us constantly, whether he was our coach or not, he was always coaching us. From a teacher and coach perspective, you know Jim Ryan was a great influence on me. He was my gym teacher in I want to say fourth or fifth grade, and then he was my junior high principal, and then he was my high school principal. So he followed me, or I followed him all along, and he really influenced me with sports, talked to me a lot, helped me get into basketball camp at Michigan Allstate. He was a big influence. And then I would say third would be Jerry Abraham, softball coach. He was phenomenal. And I still talk to him to this day. I mean, he was a great coach. We were lucky to have him.

Wow. That's very interesting. Yeah. Going into the Hall of Fame and going in with your sister and many others, who would you like to thank when it comes to, you know, this is your night, okay? Who would you like to thank?

Well, I'd like to thank you, the committee, everybody who got this going again, you know. It's been a long time. I mean, it's what, 30, 35 years? I don't even count it since high school. So it's nice to be back. I thank the committee for nominating my sister and I and everybody else. And I'd like to thank all the coaches I've had over the years, all the teachers in Taylor, the support I've had from my parents. I mean, my parents supported us through everything. They were at all of our games. So, you know, I really appreciate that. And, you know, my family, you know, my sons, my husband, you know, I coach them. So, I mean, I've had a big career in sports. And ironically, it ended last night. Yeah.

So it's bittersweet. It always ends somewhere, doesn't it?

Yeah.

And usually with an offspring.

Yes.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Our next Hall of Famer is Ann Gamper-Robb. Through pioneers of women's softball and basketball, she started her playing career at St. Alfred Catholic School right here in Taylor under her father Earl and Bob Wilkerson, who are both Catholic League Hall of Famers. She eventually starred at Divine Child High School and then Hillsdale College, where she was a rare two-sport standout. As a basketball player, she captained her team as a senior, setting records in assists and steals. On the diamond, her outstanding pitching led the Chargers to their first league title. Ann is also part of the Hillsdale and Catholic League Halls of Fame. After college, Ann became a longtime teacher and coach.

Let's learn more about Ann.

My greatest, one of my greatest memories would probably be when I was in high school and we beat Regina in softball for the Catholic league championship. I don't remember a lot of games and scores, but this one we beat them two to nothing at King Boring because my sophomore year, I kind of got thrown to the wolves and we, I think we got smoked like 10 to nothing. So it was good. You know, like I said, I don't really remember a lot of specific games, but that was one for the books. Most of my highlights and memories when I look back at all the basketball and softball probably comes from the bus rides, the meals, hanging out, laughing, the friendships. So it was really hard when I started thinking about what was the biggest highlight. It really was more like... off the court or off the field, just the friendships.

Are you still friends with a lot of your teammates?

Yes, and I also find that I'm friends with some of the people that coached me in the past, like Bob Wilkerson, who I'll talk about is a great influence. He was the one who got me my first teaching job, my first coaching job, and I probably drove him nuts. He was my first softball coach, and I probably drove him crazy. I know I drove him crazy.

Back then, how hard was it to create and gap of the picture?

Oh, boy. So one of the biggest influences for that and in my life was my dad. So he would... We'd go in the backyard, and if you ask Al Ruffner about this, he will attest to this, that there were a lot, a lot of hours in the backyard, and we would, my dad would take the mechanics from what a baseball pitcher would do as far as weight and shifting weights, and arm speed and we would take those mechanics and try to break them down into fast pitch. My dad had played fast pitch as a young man and he would actually, and school's very important to them, but I even remember one time he pulled me out of school and we drove to Detroit because he had a friend who owned a bar who used to fast pitch. And we went in the alley behind the bar as his friend, who was the owner of this bar, was kind of going through some mechanics with me. So my dad was the best at just, we just tried to figure it out. And if you went in my mom's backyard and dad's backyard to this day, We would throw up against the garage, and there are wood planks along the side that still have holes in them to this day from just our trial and error. But yeah, we just figured it out.

Who were your greatest influence?

So my greatest influence was obviously my dad, because he was my coach in basketball starting when I was in the fourth grade. And he was the assistant coach when I was in high school. When I got out of college and started coaching, he was my assistant. And like I said, with the softball, he was the one that helped figure out all the mechanics. And he pushed me. And I put in the hard work because of him. Other really big influences is my sister Bridget. I have a lot of brothers and sisters and they're fantastic. My sister Bridget, she's two years older than me and she was just probably the toughest athlete I ever met and she would probably never take that credit but she was the one who had to catch for me in the backyard. She was the one when we played softball and I would have to pitch batting practice at Divine Child. I hit her more than anybody else, to the point that one time she actually chased me around the field with a bat, which is a different story. But, you know, she was just a warrior and set a good example of how you're supposed to play. And then other really big influences, like I said, Bob Wilkerson, who put up with a young pitcher who would, you know, I might strike out 13, but I also walked 16 and hit seven batters in the early days, and that's the truth. I mean, it was everywhere. You know, my high school coaches in the summer, big influences, Mike Baum and Ray Koval. I had a lot of good times playing for those guys. You know, just probably every coach I came across that put in the time and had faith in me when I didn't have faith in myself.

Obviously, those coaches probably had a great influence as you were their coach.

Oh, yes.

Okay.

In fact, they held my hand as I went through, you know, when I coached softball at first, Bob, I worked with, so he went from being my coach to me coaching with him at Gabriel Richard. And then when I started in basketball, I coached my first two years. I coached under some great people at San Alphonsus and at Marion. But then I got right at Wyandotte at 23. And then my dad came over and he was my assistant. So I feel like I had so many people who helped me. It's hard to name them all. How did you end up at Hillsdale? I was stubborn and even though I was probably a better softball player, I wanted to play basketball because I think it's an absolutely beautiful game and I just love it. And so Hillsdale was going to let me play both sports. They were going to let me play basketball and softball. And that was the decision.

Was that difficult to play two sports? Very few people play two sports at the college level. No matter what level you're at.

It was difficult. It was difficult, but I also feel, and I think I look at high school kids today too, I was always better when I was in a season all around than I was when I was out of season. You know, everything, grades, getting stuff done, being responsible, and I just feel like playing both sports kept me very regimented. You know, this is what you do. You go to school, then you go to practice, and then you do. You know, so... It didn't feel hard at the time, but I look back and I'm like, how did I do that? And then you're doing your student teaching and you finish in four years. And I look back, but at the time it didn't feel as hard as it probably was.

Who do you want to thank?

Who do I want to thank? I want to thank my family, obviously, my dad, my mom for endless conversations. Like I said, I want to thank everybody that's coached me along the way and has been really patient with me. And there were a lot of them. Like I said, the Mike Baums, the Ray Kovals, the Bob Wilkerson's, you know, I had Nick Stan. I could just go on and on to all the different coaches that I had. You know, I just, you know, I want to thank my immediate family. I mean, I played for a long time. I played basketball as long as I possibly could, you know, in rec league, and I played softball for as long as my arm would hold up in adult league. and even those people who gave me a chance to keep playing. I also obviously want to thank the city of Taylor because this is really cool. This is a really amazing honor.

Next inductee is Alphonse Ruffner. Al is a track and cross country runner. He's already in the Wyandotte Hall of Fame for his achievements as a runner at Roosevelt High School and then Eastern Michigan. Today he enters the Taylor Hall of Fame essentially as a lifelong contributor to sports, spending five decades as a Michigan High School Athletic Association track and cross country official. His efforts helped His efforts help students gain thousands of dollars in scholarships, win titles at every level, and achieve All-American and Olympic status. If you need a reminder of just how good Al Ruffner was as a runner, he has led Roosevelt High School's two-mile record, he has held Roosevelt High School's two-mile record for almost 60 years. Let's hear more about Al Farnsworth.

Well, let's see, the greatest athletic memory is probably when I won the state championship my junior year because it told me that I could run with the big boys and it gave me confidence for the running that I would do in college. But that first race helped me know where I was going to go. Get over the hump, so to speak.

Now, you were a standout as a high school athlete, a college athlete, and then you move into a little coaching, a little consulting, and a lot of track officiating. Now, as an official, do you get to have a memory or a highlight?

Oh, yes. One of the highlights of officiating is when I see a kid that I've worked with or I've given some advice to, do Achieve they're gonna do what I asked them to do or Worked on something that we talked about and just watching the smile on their faces is is Worth millions to me because I said, okay, I've paid it forward and I've seen somebody else succeed Yes as an official do you have plate favorite places or favorite meets to work that you work on a regular basis? I've worked U of M. I've worked up at Michigan State. I just love going to any high school and working with the kids.

What about greatest influences on your career? Because you've been in sports for a very long time.

Well, some of the greatest influences in my career, I had a couple teachers in high school that wouldn't let me fail. I was an average student and I hadn't even went out for track. I couldn't swim, so the teacher would throw me in the pool and I said, how do I get out of swimming? And he says, go out for a sport. So I went out for cross-country, and these teachers wouldn't let me screw off in the classroom, so that contributed to me being on the track. Some of the coaches that I've worked around with now, Mickey Terchak. Tony Mifsud, guys that are in the area that have influenced kids, they took me under their wing. And just so many, so many people that I've come in contact with that have been an inspiration to me and helped me along my way.

Who would you like to thank as you enter an elephant?

Who would I like to thank? I would like to thank God first of all he gave me the talent to succeed and he also taught me that it isn't what you do but do what you've done but what you do for others and I've been able to you know I've been able to pass it forward for all these years I'd like to thank my wife who's her you know her standing behind me and her influence and her encouragement my children they've uh succeeded way past anything i could have done and uh the the staff i work with the the men in church that are that are just workers that want to feed their families and and they don't look for glory people like that inspire me and i want to thank them for all the All the encouragement that they've given me, not even knowing it, but helped me succeed. I've been able to do this for 75, I'm going on my 75th year, and I'm just thankful that I've been able to do everything I've done.

Our next Hall of Famer is James Seacott. A Palm River resident for over 80 years and a Taylor resident for over 50, Jim Seacott is known as the voice of the Junior League World Series. He was the tournament's public address announcer for three decades. He volunteered at the Junior League World Series for almost 40 years. He was part of the Taylor Northeast Little League from 1971 to 1985 and remains a lifetime member, having served as its president, vice president, sponsor chair, general manager, secretary, and equipment manager. Taylor Northeast softball field is named in his honor.

Greatest highlight or memory from your sports-related career?

Being the public address announcer for the Junior League World Series for over 30 years would probably be my biggest accomplishment, if you want to call it accomplishments.

How'd you get that job?

The tournament director of the World Series after the first two years asked me if I would be interested in announcing for the World Series and I thought about it a while and then I said yes and went on until I couldn't climb the stairs up the third floor of the World Series building anymore.

And those stairs are tough to climb. Very much so. Very much so. I have to ask you this. As the voice of the World Series, okay, it goes back so many years, so many decades. Do you have a favorite team?

I think the teams from Hawaii. I have a very good friend that was the district administrator in Hawaii. So I kind of was partial to, not in my announcing, but if I wanted to see anybody win, I would have liked to seen Hawaii win. They're very well behaved. Actually, back in the days when we used to house the kids in the homes, I actually housed kids from Hawaii the first year that Pearl City won the World Series.

Oh, fantastic. greatest influence on your sports-related career?

Who would be? Probably my father. He was big into sports, and he encouraged me to play different sports. They didn't have organized sports, but I played in a lot of sports until I grew up. And then I was attending a practice of my oldest son, And the manager of that team didn't have a coach, and he asked me if I'd help out with the kids. And I said, okay. And he then said, as long as you're coming out of the practice, why don't you become a coach? And so I did, and did so for about 30 years after that.

Who would you like to thank today? You're going into the Taylor Hall of Fame. Who would you like to thank?

well my wife put up with me all those years uh like that one she uh loved attending the games and everything but uh you know it's hard when when you're when you dedicate that much time it's got that much time yeah no doubt about that anyone else that you'd like to thank Probably Hall of Famer Greg Mazura. He had the confidence in me to be his public address announcer and if it wouldn't have been for him, I wouldn't have done that. And as I said, I consider that my biggest accomplishment.

Our next inductee is Chuck Sauls. I bought all those tickets for nothing, didn't I?

Chuck has a basketball life of it. A journey that started at a hoop in his Kentucky backyard. He eventually started as a player at Taylor Center. After vowing to never become a coach, he ended up doing just that. In nearly 30 seasons coaching both boys and girls, he amassed 473 wins and was a positive lifelong influence on thousands of Taylor children.

Let's learn more about Chuck.

Greatest highlight or memory in your athletic career?

My greatest memory is winning that regional tournament, I think. And it was against Romulus, who was being coached by Nate Oates. Now, Nate Oates was the coach at Romulus. I mean, Romulus is coaching. He was the coach at Romulus. He's coaching at Alabama now, University of Alabama.

Was that a big rivalry between Taylor and Romulus?

Oh yeah, especially we went to that league and competed very well in that league. It usually came down to us and Romulus playing in the regional tournament.

Who was your greatest influence or who were your greatest influences in your athletic career?

Well, my dad was the one that I really looked to because from the time I could walk, there was a hoop in our backyard. know because my dad played and my dad actually played in southeastern kentucky he was on scholarship he was a big influence my mom you know my dad was usually working my mom worked too my mom and dad both my mom was a beautician she uh move me around or my dad couldn't move me around until i started driving then had a great coach who was probably my next you know influence roscoe shackle hazard kentucky i patterned myself as a coach after him you have you have a lot of success as a player in kentucky but you eventually your family moves up to taylor

And who are your greatest influences when you come up to Taylor?

Al White, he just took a liking to me and he felt that, you know, here's a little hillbilly boy that's coming in here and can barely understand what he says. But he took the time and talked to me a little bit about his life and wanted to know more about mine. And, you know, for the time that we stayed at TC until they closed it down, you know, Al was, he had me under his wing.

When you start coaching, tell us the story of how you got into it.

Well, we had this little kid next door. He's a little guy, you know, weighed like 40 pounds or 27 pounds or something. But he was a basketball freak. He was dribbling his ball, you know. So then I finally got a hoop in my backyard and had it paved. And so then he's coming over, you know, visiting every day. And it was just a scenario where now every time I went to the game, he's with me. You know, he was about maybe fourth grade. Yeah, and so one day I come home from work and Jason's sitting on my front porch and he's crying. I go, Jason, what's the matter? Charlie is sobbing. Our coach quit today. Well, I told her that you would coach. know that's what he tells me and i said jason i'm i'm not i'm not going to coach you'll get it you'll have a coach you know by the end of the week so next thing i know he's got me out in the street and chris is coming over and they're tag teaming me about you know taking the team i said no i'm not i'm i'm never going to be a coach And nothing personal. So then the very next morning, it was like, it wasn't even 6 o'clock in the morning. It's like 5.30 in the morning. It's Pat Leiby on the phone. I go, Coach, this is Pat Leiby. I go, I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number. You know, and I didn't know who the principal was at the time even. She says, well, I have a couple people here who are telling me that you are our next coach. So anyways, it all went down to it. And, you know, Pat Libby got in my ear and she kind of locked down to it. And she said, well, I can't find a coach. You know, I need you to do this, you know. And I finally said, if you can't find a coach in the next couple of days, I'll help you out. And that's how it all started. I should get a hold of her and thank her for it. Because even though I'd said all my life I never wanted to be a coach, never would be coaching, but since I've done it, It's been one of the most rewarding things in my life.

Other than my wife. That's good, that's good. This is your night. You're headed into the Hall of Fame. Tell us who you'd like to thank.

So I'd like to thank all these people that I've got. And I probably have forgotten a couple here and there. But I'd like to thank my coaches for the hard work and dedication. Mike Pearson, who was from day one till the end, you know, till we retired. Tim Rogers. Tim Rogers was a Kennedy player that ended up on my staff. And just had a meeting with him this weekend. Went to watch a couple of playoff games. Me, him, and Mike Pearson, the first guy on the list. Tim Allen. Another guy that was with me the whole time, a Taylor Center guy, Brad Schwartz. Brad came from out of town somewhere, but he ended up coaching at baseball at Kennedy. And somehow he wiggled onto my staff at Taylor Center. Chris Simons, who now is the, I think he's the acting AD over there now. Chris Simons, a lifetime friendship, and Jason Stewart, lifetime friendship, both of those guys. They were both best friends. So Christian Moon, former player, is on staff over there now. Brian Keithley, former player, is on staff over there now. Darrell Thomas, I think he came from Kennedy and didn't have to twist his arm, but he was always around and he finally eventually worked his way on staff. And I think he played at Kennedy. And then the Gorski brothers, of course, everybody in Taylor knows them, that went to Taylor. Steve and Bob were on my staff at different times throughout their lives. But also I'd like to thank Pam Pearson. She was a central part of our basketball family right from the beginning. Thank you, Pam, for all your work and dedication. Judy Gorski, this is the lady that made it happen. She hired me. Someone else didn't want me. Melissa Skokinski. Hope I said that right. And I believe she's still the principal over there, right? And the basketball family when we moved to Truman High School was my wife Barbara. Could not have made this journey without her. From getting me to the games on time to shopping for concessions and so much more.

And don't forget, if you're without Barbara, you never make it, everybody.

It's somewhat ironic that after inducting Chuck Suttles, Our final inductee tonight is the late Al Whited, one of Chuck's mentors. Al was a very humble man who wore many hats, but sports lived in every thread of his being. As a young man, he dreamed of playing pro baseball, and he was drafted by the old St. Louis Browns. As a college athlete, he was an outstanding basketball player who was part of the Spring Arbor College Hall of Fame. He spent decades as an administrator in the Taylor schools and is still beloved by all of those whose lives he touched. Later in life, he became a tremendous golfer, recording six holes in one and five times shooting his age while earning championships in senior golf tournaments. Let's learn more about Al from his son,

Okay, Cindy, let's start with you.

You have a letter that your dad got way, way, way back decades ago when he was starting as an educator. Why don't you tell us about it?

Well, this is from one of his first students' class he'd had in 1951, and it was from a young lady named Judith. And it was to all the girls and boys that might have Al, my dad, in their class at some point in time. And she writes, going over it briefly and not taking every word for it, but basically she said when she started school, they were going to a new school, and she was going into seventh grade, and she'd always had men teachers for the last three or four years. And so she had gotten word that she had a young girl teacher coming in, woman teacher coming in. She was thrilled. Her girlfriends and her were thrilled because they were gonna be able to talk about sewing and all kinds of things related to what girls like. And so they ran down the hallway, got in the classroom, and they were stopped. They had a man. and it just happened to be our dad, Al White. And she says, after she cried a few tears, she said, well, I guess we're not going to do sewing and those kinds of homemaker things this year. And she said, she saw him reading the newspaper And he started by asking the class about a $64 question. And every morning he started with his $64 question for the day. And so they had to come back to school the next day and he told them they had to talk about what they liked to do, their name, and so forth like that. And of course she said she liked sewing. And she says, he seemed like a pretty nice guy. And so that she goes in to describe him. And it was interesting, her description of him. But then she said, he started talking about sports. Well, she knew nothing about sports. And throughout the school year, He became big influence on her as far as sports go. They started a baseball team and the girls got to play. And she decided that she did like sports after all. And she sort of forgot about sewing for a while. And pretty soon it came for the choir for the concert at Christmas time. And she said, and Mr. Whitey could sing. And she said she loved that because she could sing and she loved to sing. And then at the end of her story, she talks about seventh grade and she said, if I look back on my school career so far, she says, I think I had the best year I'd ever had with Mr. Whited and that she loved sports now and that she would go on later in life. And she said, I think I would tell all the kids they would be lucky if they got Mr. Whited as a teacher. And I thought that was so precious because you always are honoring your dad or your parents and everything. And she really was talking from the heart. And she came in not liking sports and left loving sports. And that's sort of some of my dad's legacy, I think.

Without a doubt, that's very touching. Gary, let's expand on that. Because you were telling me before we've gone on camera here that your dad used sports as a way to relate to kids.

Go ahead. Yeah, I think that he loved playing sports. He loved competing. But mostly, I think he loved the relationships he developed. Through sports, whether it was his buddies from golfing or mostly being in the high school and he would tell stories about going down to the gym and having free throw shooting contests with the kids or playing horse or jumping on the trampoline or I can remember one girl he challenged to a race around the track. And it didn't matter to him whether he won or lost those things. I think he would like to have won. But what was important is it was a way he could relate to the students through something that they enjoyed and something that he enjoyed. And I think he did that through his whole life. And so he loved sports, but he loved all the relationships and the friendships that came with them.

You were also talking about people and things that were influential on him. He talked about that a little bit. Go ahead.

Yeah, I think he was first. He played baseball when he was young and played. I think he said at one point in time, he's playing on four different baseball teams, one softball team in the summer, which is every stuff he did every day. But he distinctly remembers going to Briggs Field and walking out and seeing that beautiful stadium and seeing the players come out and the players cheer for them. And like many young boys of that age, he dreamt of someday being the guy that was that professional baseball player going out on that field and to all the cheering fans and everything else.

Cindy, did he talk very much about his athletic career? I mean, he had great success as a college basketball player. He also played baseball. He was drafted by the St. Louis Browns. He turns into a tremendous golfer. Did he talk about that with you two very much?

Yes, he did. He talked briefly. Well, you could always see the joy in his face when he talked about the sports that he played in. And again, the relationships that he built, because much of our family life was based around not only his church and belief of that, but around his sports activities and the people that he... developed friendships with that we came in contact with. We traveled a lot with him during the summer on the Publix tournament. And so we got to see some of his accolades there. But we really... I didn't really know how good he was until it was later in life and we started talking more and reminiscing about some of the things that he did that it really came to my knowledge that, wow, he was really good at a lot of things. And he influenced me because I became a phys ed teacher. and followed it with the sports. I'm very interested in sports, obviously, and had a very successful career as a teacher and related to sports.

Kelly, what about you?

Yeah, I think that, you know, growing up, sports was always at the forefront. I remember going out and we'd go play golf on Sunday afternoons after church. And he always had a transistor radio listening to the Tiger game while we played golf. And then we'd come home, and if it was football season, we'd have one TV on and another TV stacked on top of it so we could watch the games on both channels. It was just something we did as a family. I remember playing on the church softball league or the church basketball league or going to play hockey back in the day when you could actually have a nice rink outside in Detroit. And just anything to go compete and have fun and have that camaraderie.

If your dad was still around, who do you think he'd like to thank as he's inducted into this hall? I mean, he was a part of this hall for a number of years. It's one of the reasons why we're inducting him tonight is because he refused to go in before, okay? Which probably fits, right? It fits with his personality. But who do you think that he'd like? What do you think he'd like to say if he were here?

I think he'd like to thank all of his friends that he got to make over the years playing golf, playing basketball, playing baseball. I think he'd thank all the coaches that he had over the years at different schools because he felt they were very important to the development of the kids and their personalities and everything else as part of the education process. I probably want to thank my mom for putting up with all the weekends he was away playing golf tournaments. And everybody else that's kind of been involved with sports over his life.

Cindy, you're an educator. He was an educator. That obviously was a very, very big part of his life. It was probably the majority of his life. What was the most important thing he handed down to you?

to enjoy what you're doing. Again, sports for me became the connection to other people. And one of the things I remember most is that, and he was the example of that, is it's not necessarily all the content you give to them sometimes as an educator, but it's the feelings that they create And you want to be very careful how you choose your words and how positive you can be to a student that you never know, many times you never get to know the influence you've had on a student. And I use sports sort of in his footsteps at times to be that connection with kids. And I appreciate that from him. He's my hero.

Did he leave you, too, with any funny stories or anything from his golf days or his baseball days or his basketball days or anything like that? Anything jump to mind? It's okay if it doesn't.

One of them was, and I don't remember the gentleman's name, but he was, I think at Taylor Truman or Truman High School, and they had to hire a head football coach. And he interviewed... four players, or four coaches, potential coaches. One of them went on to be the head coach at the University of Colorado. One went on to be the head coach at Northwestern. The other one was Lloyd Carr, who went on to be a coach at Michigan. And he hired none of those three. But he does back himself up and say, we did win the league championship that year.

Oh, that's great. That's fantastic.

Representing a wonderful man, Al White, are his son Gary and his daughter Cindy. Please come to the Hall of Fame stage.

relatives, the boss, you know what I'm saying?

It's been an absolute pleasure to work with. They're just tremendous people. Every single one of them. I don't believe I ever met Al Whedon, and that interview says it all. He was a tremendous guy. On behalf of the city of Taylor, Mayor Tim Lowy, Parks and Recreation Director Guido Yuen, my partner David Corrigan, and myself, I'd like to thank everyone involved with this evening's induction ceremony. It's been a truly special group in this situation. It's been a pleasure to host this. We'd like to get all... Take note that Gerald Thomas of Gerald Thomas Photography is here. If you'd like to get more photos with your family and friends, if you guys want to come up here, Gerald will shoot anything you need and we'll eventually give it to you. If you want to look up Gerald's work,

Thomas Photography on Facebook. You are welcome to stay and enjoy yourselves here or go down the hall to the Lake House Bar and Grill for the rest of the evening. Our late staff is going to go back and forth. For all of you Hall of Famers, remember the plaques have to stay here because we're going to put them up in a sports box. You get to keep the keepsakes. And lastly, again, thanks for attending.

We apologize for any technical difficulties here with the Bluetooth, but we'll work that out eventually.

So, again, thank you, and there's no reason to hustle off if you don't want to. Thank you.

hi i'm carl zymek and this is another installment of from the mayor's desk with tim woolley in this show we're going to focus on business activity in taylor along with several city initiated projects and some other important issues that seem to be stacking up on us

Tim, welcome to the Media Center. How are you doing today? Thanks, Carl. It's good to see you. It's been a little while.

Well, yeah, it's been a little while, but all we've been talking about is Storm. But we're not going to talk about Storm yet. We're going to talk about it later here. Let's talk about some fun things. After sitting vacant for six years, give or take, It appears that the old Masco headquarters, probably the most iconic building in the city, is going to become a focal point for a new multi-use project, including professional services, medical facility, and a convention-type center. What can you tell us about the project that's been approved by the Planning Commission as well as City Council?

Well, it's actually really exciting. What I didn't really realize until I really went over and looked at the facility, there's multiple buildings over there as well. So it's a beautiful building. And when I came into office, we didn't want to see that torn down. The previous owner... We went over there and toured it. Me, Dan, and Tim Keys went over there and looked at it. And I thought the building was in beautiful shape. I think that might have been the first time I'd ever been in there. I couldn't believe how well kept it was. It basically just needed the dusting. And at that time, they were pitching tearing it down and making it a trucking facility. Just what you wanted to hear. Well, I made it very clear. I said, absolutely not. That's not going to happen. You know, I said, if you want to tear it down, that's up to you. But it's not going to be a trucking facility. You have a neighborhood there. You have a neighborhood there. You know, and so luckily that kind of, you know. So I got a call from somebody at Wayne County, reached out to me and said, hey, would you mind if I shared your number with somebody? They want to talk to you about potentially the old Masco building. And I said, sure. And took the phone call and he said, hey, you know, I have some gentlemen that are interested in possibly and they want to talk to you about what you guys may be envision going in there and stuff. And I said, well, absolutely. So. A gentleman out of Chicago, Sheboygan, and a few people we met over at a restaurant by the airport, and they came in and started telling me what they kind of wanted to do, and I said, well, as long as you let us know, we definitely are willing to work with you guys. And I learned about a PUD, which allows us to do different zonings on a property, almost even on different floors of a building. So I told them we'd be willing to work with them, and I walked out of there thinking, man, that was a pretty good meeting. I'm pretty excited about this, but you never know how things are going to turn out. Sure. Well, the phone kept ringing, you know, and so... I told Dan and Laura and said, hey, you know, I think this is possibly going to happen. Then we found out, you know, talked with them more that they were really interested and they ended up purchasing the building. Sat down with Laura, you know, Dan, everybody in the room and said this is what... And basically it was whatever... you guys are thinking about doing just come to us first and let us know and everything's conditional so they have to basically get our permission before they and if they change that then they'd have to go back through planning and everything and stuff so they want to do different things on different floors and that building's so big that we understood that, you know, and when I first walked the building, I instantly thought of a medical center because it reminded me of a smaller U of M. Yeah, kind of a hospital setting. You know, when my mom was out there, I was visiting there regularly, and when I walked in there, that's what it instantly reminded me of. And then when they talked about a potential, you know, convention center or something like that, a smaller one, you know, like maybe like a Novi Expo or what is it? Yeah, whatever it's called. Suburban, you know.

Yeah, suburban, yeah.

I guess they did their research and there's not one of those from either Troy or Novi, so one close to Detroit at that size would be great and stuff. I think they got a lot of great ideas and they're moving quick on it and stuff, so we're pretty excited about it. I think they already have a few tenants.

When you came into office, did you give any thought to the Masco building? I mean, it's kind of out of sight, out of mind for as big.

We have. We did, to be honest with you, because it's a big tax base. It was losing value, so that was a concern. That's one of our bigger buildings in the city. and so, you know, with it losing, you know, its value, you know, that was hurting when we found out, you know, Masco was leaving. I was on council at the time, and that was something. So we always kind of kept an eye out on it, and so it was nice to hear there was interest in it and stuff like that. There was a couple different pitches, but this one was the most exciting, and it stuck, and these guys have been great to talk to and work with so far and everything, you know. You know, not everybody's going to love everything, but I think it's great for what they're doing. And, you know, some people talked about, you know, because there is a storage part of it, but it's, you know, when people are like, well, the high-end storage, you know, Mr. Mnookian used to store his artwork in that facility, you know, so it was meant for that anyway. And this thing is built like a battleship. It's unbelievable, you know, the thickness of the concrete and everything. So, you know, there's limitations on what they could do in certain areas. So it made sense to us. And, you know, council and planning both agreed. And plus, that's what it was being used for anyway.

Get any feedback from residents? Because I know you've always been concerned, no matter what the project has been, about

That particular area because it is tricky because you have really strong housing on each side Well, the main thing was is which was we were glad to hear they you know, they want to keep the landscaping The convention center we talked about parking and stuff Between me and you and maybe all those that are watching We're hoping that maybe leads into them purge because they didn't purchase the Kmart right building, right? So talking with them I thought well you know hey if you're going to do that there you know the kmart would be great for maybe a a hotel and additional parking for that and they were actually pretty you know they're like you know that's a pretty good idea you know and i'm like that'd be great you know and stuff so of course i'm trying to spend their money and you know and uh so i mean that's a possibility in a couple years they said you know um the people that own Masco used to own Masco and the Kmart. So they still own that Kmart facility. I think they still have a lease with Ford for a couple of years to do the parking there if they choose. But, you know, absolutely. We keep in mind of those residents. They did pitch. They want to put a sign on 94. Right. So but they have to go through the state and DNR and things like that to get. But I definitely want to see how it's going to affect the neighbors. Mm hmm. that live right by that area where they want to put it.

Well, the architectural drawing is impressive.

Yeah, it's a beautiful sign, you know, but I want to see how much light it's kicking out. If I live over there, I don't want that thing going in my front window and stuff. Where they position it, how tall, and all that stuff.

So it's hardly, everything's hardly done on this thing. It's just started.

Absolutely, yeah.

Okay, well let's talk about another development and that's the development or redevelopment of the Eureka telegraph area. You've got a Raising Cane going into the Walgreens. You've got a second Kroger, bigger Kroger, coming in with a lot of different ramifications including to Pardee and things like that. Talk at that.

Yeah, so that was another great thing. You know, one day we get this call, you know, and Kroger was like, hey, we're... Because that was becoming a concern. Oh, yeah. You know, that mall was emptying out pretty quick. Right. You know, and then we got where Value City was kind of, you know, going into foreclosure or basically, you know, they were going bankrupt. Sure. And then... So we're like, you know, that's that's a big corner right there for us. And the Walgreens was sitting empty. And then all of a sudden we get a call from, you know, Kroger was interested. And so we all kind of sat in a room together and, you know, Paula, Laura. Caitlin, me, Dan, Tim, I mean, we had the whole team there. We were definitely pitching it because it goes through a process with Kroger. Like they go by region and then they pitch their areas and locations and all that stuff. So we were glad that that place got chosen, you know, and yeah. They took out the old, what was it, Michael's Christmas Tree Story, or Christmas Tree Store, Christmas Story. And then what was the other one, Bed Bath & Beyond. Right. And they're busting over there right now. I rode by there today, and I'm like, man, they're really cooking. So we worked with them, sat down, and that's been a really good relationship as well. They're like, hey, is there any way we could get maybe some demolition? And we said, sure, we'll work with you in any way possible. And so, yeah, they're doing... I think they want to be open by the end of the year. I know some people... They actually put some... In the drawings, I think they left some area for, like, potential outlot locations for maybe a restaurant or a store or something like that because it's a big parking lot.

Well, to be honest with you, you know, once all the construction and everything clears up down there, and I know it's been a long time and people get frustrated with it. Yeah, it's been nuts. But the reality is they're going to be finished with those bridges and things are going to get back to normal. And that is a... That is a really visible coin.

And we do know that somebody is going into the old Value City building. I just can't say who yet.

Gotcha. I think I know too, but I'm not going to say it.

Sworn to secrecy.

What about Raising Cane's?

You know, I'm very excited. That was, you know, there was some potential issues there with a company that we're going to be talking about later. But, you know, we're going to be the first city downriver to get one. And, you know, there was some issues with the electrical lines. We wanted everything on Eureka to start going underground. That was not... Another company didn't want it to do that way, but it was affecting their drive-through and everything. And so, you know, I handle everything privately, Carl. I'm talking about it now, but I see there's people out there, where's Wooly? You know, he's not doing this. He doesn't do that. You know me. I'm on the phone and I do things. I feel privately, professionally and all that stuff. I made it very clear that if I was to lose the title of being the first city downriver, to lose that title of being the first city, there was going to be issues. They worked it out to where they're going to run the wires all the way around. the property line or whatever to where it won't affect their entrance or their drive-thru because the wires were going to run right over the entrance where you can't walk in or out of a building with electrical wires or through the drive-thru with the wires going over. Long story, but either way, finally got it all worked out, and Raisin Cane's, I did see their, they did submit all their stuff, and I think they're just working on their Wayne County water permit right now, you know, for their... water discharge.

That's amazing. I think by the time everything is finished in that corridor there, it's really going to be pretty impressive.

Touching on what you said earlier, thank God Kroger is putting a gas station as well. Near the fire station. Yeah, right behind the fire station. And they even agreed to put in a road that's going to connect that mall area to that party that will get people to a light to get people in and out of there. Because, you know, anybody that goes to either that mall or to Famous Dave's, it's really hard to make a left. Right. And I wouldn't recommend anybody doing it. So that road will now get you over to a light, which makes it much easier to make a left if you want to go west on Eureka Road.

Again, if you're connecting all the way down to Pardee, that really takes you away from all of the other stuff that's going on there.

I don't know if it's Pardee. I don't think it is. It's the one just on the back side of that mall there. I'm thinking Pardee is one. Is it Pardee?

Yeah, because I was looking at their graphics.

Is it the one that takes you out by Myers? But I think it's not that one. I think it's the one just before that. I can't think of the name of the street.

Well, either way, it's going to give you an option.

Either way, it gets you to a row with a light. Yeah.

Exactly. On another hand, you've got Kroger now to the north, you've got Kroger to the south, and now we're going to have the old Meyer Eureka, and now we're getting a Meyer Mart, which is really a cool concept in the old... Well, it depends how far you go back. I'm thinking Handy Andy to me. What do you think?

It was Forest City to me, yeah. But then there was, I can't remember, Laura was telling me what it was when she was a kid. There was something else there, too. Yeah, I can't think of what it was called, but she said she bought her first pair of roller skates. I got to chuckle out of that. But it was Forest City before it became Handy Andy, so I always knew it as Forest City.

Well, I think Taylor residents are getting a reputation for eating because there's a lot of places coming in. We've got all these.

We've got two Kroger's. We've got two Meyers. I can't talk. Well, I'm far behind you. Yeah, it was kind of funny. You know, I was doing a radio interview for WJR, and he actually made a mistake. And he says, yeah, hey, I hear Taylor's getting a new Meyers. He goes, oh, I'm sorry. I mean a new Kroger. I said, no, actually, we're getting a new Meyers now, too, you know. So it was kind of a nice segue into promoting that we were getting that new Myers grocery store. And, you know, it's a newer model that they're rolling out and stuff. It's just grocery. Right. And I think everybody that I've talked to is very excited. I know my neighbors. I'm a stone's throw from it. Yeah. Talk to all my neighbors and everybody. You know, we're always a little... Nervous about traffic on the street a little bit, just like anybody else, but we thought it was a good fit. And so I think everybody in my neighborhood that lives by there has all been pretty excited about it.

It's really kind of cool. I was reading about the philosophy behind that concept, and it's kind of like, you know, Small has gone big, and now big is trying to go small. And they're giving their general managers at these particular locations a lot of leeway in their purchasing. Really? I didn't know that. Because they're really leaning heavily toward produce from the area. Mine has been good at that. Yeah, they have been. And Kroger has, too. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

And see, you know, I think it's all depending on what people want to where I'm if I'm going grocery shopping, I want the grocery store. I don't want the big. Right. You know, where some people like the big, you know, and I I don't like the two. You know, I guess, you know, depends on what you want.

You know, I know when when I found out about it, I know Kaylee Guffey works here. She just gave me a double take and said, hey, I get to walk to my grocery store.

Yeah, absolutely.

which is just fine, and the other Sheetz location, which is moving very quickly.

Yeah, I think they're starting to bring, I noticed they just completed all the asphalt, so I think all the surfaces are down, so I think they're going to, I wouldn't be surprised if they're just going to start stocking the store here. I think they're, I think they want it to be open by the end of this month.

Which is fantastic for that whole area jumps a little bit because it's not far away from Walmart, it's not far away from the Dairy Queen. All of those places up there when you look at it now and you've got that going in there and Hook and Reel is there too.

Yeah, they get a good crowd and me and Amy keep talking about it. We always forget about it. Really? It's right there. It's right there, yeah. I've never been in there, you know, and I like seafood, you know. But, you know, Dairy Queen does a great job, and, man, you talk about a drive-thru, but, boy, do they get them through there like nothing.

Well, I remember when they were putting that together, and I remember seeing the schematic, the aerial schematic of it, and I'm going, this is not going to work, and yet it works beautifully.

Once in a while you'll see them on telegraph, but I'm telling you, Carl, you can almost set your watch by it. 8 o'clock. Well, that's... Man, it fills up, but they get people through there, and it's unbelievable. And they're another great community partner. Well, I was going to say... Ali is unbelievable, and here's a guy that reaches out to me, and, hey, I know the crew's sent him over for lunch, you know.

Well... That's great. It's funny, because it's not like I hang around at Gary Queen's, okay?

But the reality... Me and... They might know mine and Amy's order. Yeah.

But, you know, with Ali and his group, that's a really good group. That's the kind of business people you want. Very clean, absolutely.

Oh, yeah, just tremendous. You know, when you walk in and they say the usual, you might not know. They're great. And you know their employees are happy there because they always got a ton of employees there. It's clean and they're great.

Your reputation just precedes you because you got the same thing out of the people at the roadhouse, if I'm not mistaken.

Well, I mean, I've known my daughter worked there. Don't forget. So, you know, I was nervous when they opened the Dairy Queen, like, you know, that close to my house. I'm like, oh, this could be a problem.

What about Lang Park? Moving very quickly, yet there's so much to do there, including at the end, you've got to do the road.

Yeah, so that's what we're basically waiting on. I think we're waiting on the pump track to be poured.

I don't think, when I was out there, I don't think that was right.

The skate, I don't know what they call it, the drop down the pool, I kind of call it. Yeah, it looks like a pool, but it's a skate park. That's all done. I think the pump track is next. Then they're going to go in and level certain areas and stuff. sculpt the sledding hill a little bit different, you know, and stuff. So there'll be final touches. Once all the heavy machinery is out of there, we're going to redo Lang Road. Gotcha. And we'll be ready to open it. So, I mean, it's looking really cool. I couldn't believe. Just going over there, Mr. Evans, Warren Evans from the county executive office and his team came over and we all met over there. He was very impressed, very happy with their partnership. Sure, because they're partners. He had to go, so he didn't even get a chance to go over and see the dog park and stuff. That was my first time seeing it all fenced in and everything. Guido was showing me how we got some old fire hydrants and stuff and put those in. I couldn't believe how big it was. I'm like, you know. Could you make it any bigger? But it's unbelievable. It's going to be another fantastic park here in the city of Taylor.

In 2013, when you first were elected to the council, did you ever think that you'd be seeing that particular event? area of land developed again? I mean, it turned into, it was long gone by that time.

No, I mean, you know, Lang Park, and Carl, I wasn't even aware of Lang Park, to be honest with you, when I was a kid. So, you know, when I heard it was like a water park and all that other stuff, I never went there. You know, we had the Northwest Pool. Sure. That's what we did. And I guess by the time maybe Lang Park opened, I was an older teenager or something, but I really didn't know of it or I think somebody said so I might have been even in the army when but I don't know so I never went over there and like just as I joined the little league board they moved the haunted house that used to be over there over to back to Pat Park so I never really was familiar with it at all and then one day And Guido, when I got elected, he's like, well, let's go over there. And we walked the whole place and stuff, you know. And I was like, man, this place does need some, you know, that's when the paintball and everything was there and stuff. But I was looking for deer the whole time.

That's still right. There's some big deer back there. I remember I took the tour with several people, but John Madrako was with me the whole time. And John knew everything about Lane Park. Yeah, and you know the Dodgem Cars used to be here, and the amphitheater was right here, and if we go around this corner where this tree is, this was here.

You know, it was really kind of comical. Yeah, we had the Northwest Pool, and then we would ride our bikes up to Midway. Sure, sure. You know, for the gold carts. But I had never really been there, you know. But to see what it's becoming, and that was just... Me, Dan, and Guido really sitting in a room and crunching something really quick with them. I think we had seven to ten days to come up with a new plan and to knock that out what we did and to see the county because I thought the county was maybe being a little cheap, only giving us 50% with the amount of ARPA funds that they had. But when I look at how much everybody else got on different things, we did really good. I'm happy that we got 50% now. And I think people are going to be very happy with that park when they see the finished product.

Tim, when do you think, I mean, realistically, when do you think it's going to open? I mean, we've had several different things.

Yeah, I mean, I was hoping for like July, August, but I'm thinking maybe end of August, you know, maybe. More ahead of 2020. Yeah, you know, I don't know. I was kind of. I don't know why the pump track hasn't been poured yet, to be honest with you, but Guido's got so much on his plate. Well, he does. I'll give my shout-out early. Between Summer Festival, we've got some big things coming at Heritage Park still, and then we've got Pickleball. So he's had a lot on his plate and stuff. Yeah, I think, you know, maybe, I don't know. We'll see how quick it goes, but I would love to see it happen in August, but it might be September.

Okay, all righty. Speaking of pickleball, those courts going in at Heritage Park, okay, I know there was a little bit of a delay. Yeah, we had a crack. There was a crack in the court, and they had to redo that.

We instantly said, no, we want a whole new, you know.

Right, but even better than that, Huge new playscape that's going just to the south that's going to connect with the old playscape and they're going to refurbish that and this is a biggie. So many residents, when they talk about playscapes and kids, they constantly refer to Heritage Park. And it's funny because that's... probably the oldest one we have, you know, compared with the others. Got to be excited about that because that really kind of makes everything come together. So many kids are there.

Carl, when I was on council, it was something that I used to talk to, you know, CDBG about. And I used to talk to Rick about it. And I said, you know, because, you know, I hate to say, but, you know, my kids, I didn't have any, but I have friends and family, you know, a lot that have, you know, disabilities, you know, and I just, I love the fact, I want to see kids to be able to play together. Sure. And I don't want to see, you know, this group have to play over here and this group over, so it was always something that I wanted to do, even when I was on council. So, you know, when we'd have, talk about CDBG spending funds, and it's like, well, what can we do here? Can we get the swings that, you know, and stuff, so... When I came in, that was something that I was focusing on. I had a couple priorities that I wanted to get, and that was definitely one of them, but we had to get the funds to do it. So when we did Lang Park, there's definitely a lot of those features, but not all the ones because I knew we were going to do this. And I think Lang Park will definitely compete with Heritage Park, but Heritage Park is our diamond. Sure. And I want it to continue to be our diamond, you know, and I think this park will be it will touch. Everyone. Everyone that has a child or even an adult child that has disabilities will be able to partake in something at this park. And probably multiple things. So we're kind of focusing on Lang Park right now. And once we get that, we're really going to blow this up. But people are going to start seeing work being done right after the Junior League World Series.

Well, when you look at Heritage Park, I mean, you know, there was a lot of heavy lifting that was done at the beginning, okay? And it set up what the park is now. But a lot of those, you almost can describe them as little things, but they're not little things. You came in, the very first thing, you were always on light the trails.

And when you lit the trails... Well, just bring the back of the park up a little bit, man.

Well, when you lit the trails, though, it... It really changes the whole park at night. I mean, it really makes a gigantic difference. And then you look at Pickleball, which is very, very popular. You look at the playscape, because you have so many kids at the park. And I mean, every 11-year-old that's playing soccer or baseball at the park has probably a five-year-old brother or sister whose mom is looking to where can I take this kid, you know, and... Well, we met with, you know, we met with all these different groups that came in and pitched ideas and stuff, and many of them have actually

kids and people with these disabilities, whether they're in a chair and some can get in a chair, some can't, you know, and stuff, they work for these companies. And some have just like kids that come in and test their, you know, and it's awesome, man. It was, watching these videos was incredible. So we learned so much about just each one's needs and requirements, you know, learning about, you know, kids that can get out of chairs, and kids that can't, you know, and stuff. And kids that can get out of chairs can transition onto it, and they love to climb, you know, but they need that little resting spot, you know, or something. So you'll see that at Lang Park and stuff, but there's also kids that can't get out of chairs, you know, and, you know, that's on the lower end of, you know, but still, I want them to be able to partake, and they make things where kids can play with, kids in chairs can play with kids that are not in chairs and they make equipment and it's it's pretty cool i don't want to give too much away right now but it's it's going to be awesome but i'm sure somebody you know i mean i think it's going to be absolutely incredible and you know i do talk to people that have those children and stuff that are my friends and family and i try to get their feedback because you know i'm i even asked them about like hey I don't even know how to say things. As long as your heart's in the right place. They can't even keep up with the lingo anymore.

Oh my goodness.

I'm very excited.

When it comes to weather in Michigan, this has been one of those, it's either hotter than the 80s or it's colder than that. We recently have replaced HVAC systems in a lot of these buildings. And talk about a time that makes it tough when you don't have air in these buildings. Because you can't open the windows. You can't do a lot of things. It seems like that's coming to its fruition, though.

Yeah, everything is done. I think they're finally, we ended up having to get a mobile unit for lakes. Mm-hmm. Because there was delays, they have a certain type down, coils in the basement or something. But yeah, it took a little, we didn't expect to get the hottest spring that we did. And as you know, me and Mr. Bezzura probably suffered some of that. We stuck it out, and we said we probably could have asked for one of those mobile AC units. I said, no, we're not going to do it because we understand people are hot, and if they want to complain, they can come up to our office. And it was funny, every time somebody was in our office, they were like... My God, how are you doing? And trust me, me, Dan, Michelle, and Sam, we were all, it was tough.

The last time I remember going to your office during that time frame, when it was really hot and they were working on the HV, you were stuck like this to your desk. Oh, yeah. Hey, Carl, how you doing? I can't move.

Or if I was on my computer and I'd lean up and I'd have papers stuck to my arm. It was brutal, and it's kind of funny now because me and Dan don't want to say anything, but sometimes we're actually freezing over there right now.

You've got to watch what you ask for. Well, amid all these projects and improvements, we've had major renovations to the course.

at the lakes of taylor and now they're moving over to meadows have you been out there have you seen i have not okay like there's been multiple times that i wanted to go over and see you know the work that's been done but it seems like every time i get a little free time to think about it starts raining you know or something so i've heard it's beautiful you know everybody that i i have been out to meadows but there hasn't been any work being done um they uh that course looks great but i have not been out on lakes you know so um but i hear everybody that i know that's been out since it's been reopened all the way has been good it was uh it was tough you know when we did the nine holes you know there wasn't we thought more people would maybe golf the nine you know so that was a little tough and then the fact that we were having it was so hot in the building people weren't going and eating and stuff so it was kind of But we wanted to time it to where, hey, let's get this done at one point, you know. Sure. It was tough, you know, and it was tough on those guys. And, you know, there was, you know, I'll tell you, the spring was warm. Well, it was warm. A lot of people in some of these buildings, I know police were struggling. I mean, there was a couple of times I called Guido, like, I don't know how much longer I can do this. Where we at, you know, and stuff. But I think lakes should be, I don't know if they're actually running fully on their own area, but we did have to bring in a separate unit for that.

Let's go on to Priority Waste. That's our city's curbside service provider for trash, compost, bulk. Recently made the news for everything that they didn't want to make the news for. A lot of struggles. Various cities had them. We've had them here with them keeping up with the job that they're employed to do. led to some major changes with the company. I know just in the past couple weeks, you had them in here and had what you termed as a really good, frank conversation with them. What can you tell the residents about where is this going with Priority Waste? Because we did sign a 10-year contract with them. We're three years in, something like that. That saved a lot of money from the tax dollars viewpoint. But now you have...

You know, there's issues, you know, so, you know, not many times do you see a company remove their CEO. No, basically the guy that founded the company. Right. So kudos to them for doing that. You know, I often say sometimes when I came into council year one, we came into a deficit. And it took us some time to get out of that a little bit. So they brought in a new CEO. And we have a rep. You know, his name's Paul. He hears from me often. I'll tell you that. He's a good guy. I have nothing against him. But he knows how I am. And business is business. You know, we can be friendly and everything. But when it comes down to business, sometimes, you know. But again... I do things privately and professionally. That's the way I like to be treated that way. So he explained to me what was going on because the company that took over, a little bit of a hedge fund company type thing, made us a little nervous, like, uh-oh, what's going on here and stuff. The fact that they invested a ton of money, I think it was like $100 million, that made us breathe a lot easier. That, okay, they're in for the long haul. The thing that I really liked hearing, you know, Paul's a garbage guy. He had his own garbage company and stuff. This guy was part of a garbage company. His dad founded, you know, so he grew up in the business. He knows. And just from meeting with Paul, and actually I'm having a meeting with the new CEO, I think, in the next couple weeks or something like that to meet him and stuff. So I feel they're definitely on the right track. Mm-hmm. They're actually doing pretty well. I mean, on average, I think they're maybe a day behind on compost, sometimes two days. One of the issues is there is compost requires throwers. They need people behind, and that's becoming harder and harder to hire. You know, people don't want to do that job, you know. They're getting new trucks, you know, and there's a lot of things these new trucks can do, which is going to help them, save them time and money. I think, you know, they were talking about like the arm actually tracks. It's going to help us track things and stuff. So I definitely feel like they're on the right track. We're working with them, but we're also letting them know that, hey, you know, we're on it. Sure. you know I don't Carl, you have a job to do. Me and you talk about things. We'll get into this maybe more with the storm, but when there's things to be put out, when there's things to be discussed, I reach out to you, and I have you do it. That's your job. I can talk sometimes once in a while. I will do it, but there's times that I don't. I don't feel the need that I need to stick up camera in my own face and talk about this and rah, rah, rah, rah, rah, rah. I'm not doing that. And you know why I'm not doing that? Because I'm not running for any other position ever again. You know, I don't want to seek any higher position or anything like that. So I'm content on being the mayor of Taylor. And when I need to call somebody and let them know I'm not happy about something, I promise you I'm doing it. And you know I'm doing it. So these people that want to get on there and Where's Wooly? I'm right here. Yeah. I'm right here. I'm right here all the time. Right. You know, so I got it.

You know, so. Well, you know, you've been around the block with these waste haulers a little bit now. Yeah. Okay. Started with Midwest Sanitation, which was our carrier when I first got here 13 years ago. We both came in.

Went to GFL.

Well, then it went to Rizzo.

Oh, Rizzo, yeah.

Then it went to GFL. And we had to remove. Right, and we had to remove GFL. We had to be careful. Exactly, we won't talk too much about that. And then we went to Priority Waste. And it seems like, you know, the big, whoever gets to the top of the mountain eats everything else around them, you know. Who are you going to turn to? Well, that's the other concern.

You know, Carl, I mean, that's the other thing. You have to see, you know, I don't think a lot of people realize that there's not a whole lot out there.

Right.

You know, waste management is very, they don't even bid on it. Republic's basically gone on household pickup. Right. You know, I think they only do roll-off, and I think they're even almost getting out of that a little bit. Right. waste management doesn't really do a whole lot unless it's like right next to one of their dumps that's where they make you know and they're very expensive right um you know they they're they're even having issues you know so there's not a lot out i think there's a new startup sure but I think the owner might have one of those last names that you said earlier. So we're willing to work with this company, we have, and see the direction they're going in, but knowing that they just had a hiccup in their company and we're willing to work. But in the same sense, one of the biggest things that you didn't talk about too is cans. You know, that was a big issue, you know, and we're addressing that, you know, and like, hey, where are we at on that and stuff? And so we were really happy with, you know, what we got. And we're seeing if that comes to fruition, because if it doesn't, then, you know, I think that was one of the issues that maybe led to the change, because. A lot of people, including us, yeah, we're getting cans, we're getting cans, we're getting cans. And when nobody was ever getting them, and I don't even think they were being ordered.

That was a real big portion of the frustration on the part of residents. It's one thing if your trash is out there for longer than it should be. It's another thing if you can't replace the container. Well, not only that, especially if I paid for it. Right.

If I paid for a can six months ago and I still don't have a can, you shouldn't have took my money.

Right. and i think if i'm not mistaken the the new ceo's latest uh correspondence with residents in the cities and stuff i believe they said it was a 19 000 can new containers i think they ordered that many and those aren't

that this sheet this next batch i believe you know we're you know they're we were told because there's still people waiting you know this would catch them yeah yeah we're hoping that yeah it gets caught up and stuff but you know it's it was uh you know there was a lot of there was quite a few issues there right and stuff so um you know we're we're working with them but we're also letting them know you know hey you know but i think the difference too is And maybe I've been told this too, the way you handle things might work in your favor as well.

In your favor at times, yeah.

Because I think going publicly bashing somebody and doing something, do you think that's going to get them to pick your trash up? Because some people think that. Some people think if I go on social media, the squeaky wheel is going to, and you know as well as me, that... it don't work with me if you go on social media and you rip me apart all day long that's not going to get me you're going to there's other people already waiting right that have gone through the process so that you can go on and talk bad about me or the city we're not going to now if it's a legit something or but you're not going to go to the head of the line because you're talking bad about me right that's just that's part of you know hey there's people that have done it properly and that are waiting so you know there's a process

Well, I think when you're associated with these companies, and again, I don't get to make the call on this, okay, but when you are associated with these companies, you do develop A partnership, a professional acquaintance, whatever you want to call it. Some people would call it friendship. It's not really friendship.

No, there's relationship there, but there's also business.

Yeah, exactly. I know that the council and the city has covered its behind here because despite the fact you have a 10-year contract, you can get out of that contract at almost any period of time. That said, I don't think anybody in their right mind wants to switch providers'

just to switch providers okay if they're my opinion is give them an opportunity to get the thing right well if you remember when we did do that the last time sure it was no it was unbelievably not even comparison to what we're going through right now right right you know so there was a big difference you know and uh you know there's frustration i get it and stuff like that but they're also going through changes in their company and i think it's for the better

Right. And hopefully this will all be just part of the past, you know, when we move on. Over the, well, no, I'm going to skip the question here. Junior League World Series is coming up in Taylor, August the 9th through the 16th. At the same time in Heritage Park, the wall that heals, a three-quarter size replica of the Vietnam Memorial will be on display on the northern part of the park near the soccer fields. Mm-hmm. And that will be going on from August the 13th through the 16th. You're a veteran. You're a sponsor. This sounds like an exciting time in Taylor history.

Yeah, I'm always excited for the World Series, but to be able to bring that wall here this year is absolutely incredible, and we did. you know at first but we thought it would be great to be able to combine the two as well because we're going to have a lot of people going through here are going to have this there you know people from all over not just taylor i think are going to come see this um dennis i always slimmer slimmer yeah i kind of messed it up but he was responsible for getting that to come here he created a group of volunteers that are are heading it up i know um we're always looking for volunteers angie went is heading that up, our former councilwoman. You can find her on social media. She's always posting because there has to be somebody at that wall 24-7 the entire time it's here. So we're looking for volunteers to kind of help set it up, to help break it down when it's ready to go. I think they're looking for... Motorcycles are going to bring it in, you know, like once it gets to the Michigan border, I think, and stuff. So I think it's going to be incredible. I mean, we're already, Dan, you know, being the director of the Junior League World Series. We're going to have the teams come over and check it out, you know, in between games and stuff. And so I think it's going to be a great addition to that park, you know, during that time. And we're making, you know, we're going to have... Golf carts there for people that might not be able to make it over there as well. There's going to be parking. There's going to be signs lit up, everything. But that is going to be a 24-7, you know, people can go there. And you can actually set up tours as well, like if you want to bring a group of kids or something like that. So we're looking for a tour, people that will do tours as well and stuff like that. So I'm hoping to do some of that, you know, like... I told Angie, I said, you know, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to commit to anything until we get right close, which she totally understands. But I'm looking forward to seeing it. I know, you know, they're also going to have like a projection room, like for people that aren't on there. But if, you know, like I think Angie's dad's going to be on there. Kimber and Michelle's dad will both be in there, you know. that lost their lives because of Agent Orange, you know, and stuff. And so there's going to be, like, a reel and, like, I think a little trailer or something that will show, you know, those. And I think it's going to be a great thing, and I'm looking forward to it.

I'm glad you mentioned Schlimmer because he's going to be on with us in a couple of days. Oh, okay. And we were going to do a preview for Destination Downed River in addition to our cable network. He deserves a lot of kudos. He's not the type of guy who goes for, he doesn't strike me as the type of guy who's looking to make a name for himself or anything. But his story is interesting because he's not a veteran.

No, I think he did it for his dad.

And he did it for his dad. And it's really kind of a good story. It's what it's all about.

You know, Carl, you see so much of that, and that's what makes me... You know, as a vet, I can tell you, you know, when I was the president of Victory Gym and just being part of VAW because you got auxiliaries and stuff that even people that, you know, Charlie Johnson with the museum, you know, his dad was a vet. There's people that just aren't veterans, but they do so much for veterans. You know, Mayor McCray to Romulus with Foundation 14 and stuff. There's, you know, when I was in Mecca, I saw Gary Sinise talk. That man's story. He's an interesting guy. the things that man has done for veterans. It's unbelievable. There's so many people out there that are either just trying to honor a family member or something that they may have never served. But to me, that's incredible. And to me, you might not have the title, but you're an honorary.

It's amazing how that goes sometime, how it develops sometime. And I get it that... Somebody like Tom Hanks is on maybe a little different level than what we're talking about. But even him, okay, when you're looking at a guy like that, and I remember watching, it was on Government Channel or something, the ceremonial D-Day thing, and it wasn't this year.

He's doing one this year, I think. Yeah, he does them all. World War II or something, yeah.

But it was amazing, because this was a couple years ago, and... And when he got there, the whole thing changed. It was like he was... a celebrity because he's done so many different, profoundly good war films from Band of Brothers to the rest of them. It's really kind of amazing how it draws you in from everywhere. That's really pretty cool. Lastly, let's take a look back at the Taylor Summer Festival. We just had that a week and a half ago. Seemed really successful, June the 25th through the 28th. Tremendous fireworks show. I mean, just amazing. Sponsored by J&T Crova. Concerts by country star Chase Rice, along with Zach John King and the family tradition. A rock concert with Yvonne DeFire, along with Daniel Harrison and the $2 Highway. And local talent Dave Feo. Did we have any significant problems? No.

Saturday we had one little teenager fight thing. We were showing that we weren't playing. We had multiple cop cars over there and threw them in the back of the car and got them out of there. I was happy with everything. Everything was great. I would have liked to have seen maybe a few more people, especially on Friday night. But talking with some people, I think this whole teen takeover definitely hurt a little bit, which is sad. It really is. I'm not a big country. You've heard me say that. But I thought that was a solid lineup. The shows were great. I watched them and stuff. Got to meet the guys. They were all super cool. Chase Rice was really cool. He brought his dog with him. That Zach John King was really cool. I enjoyed him. I think my wife's got a little crush on him now. I really enjoyed his show and stuff. And then the Family Tradition Band, those guys are super great. They've played here before, and they're always willing to... I talk to those guys on a regular basis and stuff. I thought it was a great night, and I really enjoyed it. We had a good turnout. I was just hoping maybe expecting a few more people there. Saturday night was awesome. It was unfortunate. Bad Flower had to cancel on us, so we kind of had to scramble. We could not get another huge band with that short a notice. The ones that we had were either... Not worth bringing in. They wanted way too much money for the bands that I thought, you know, I'm like, there's no way we're paying them this much money. And then some of the people, you know, I don't know, maybe they knew we were in a buy and they wanted way too much money. I'm like, there's no way. So it worked out good. I ran into... So my friend is the drummer of Daniel Harrison, $2 Highway, Rich, who was also on Hardcore Pawn, you know, everybody. So he reached out to me. He's a good drummer. Yeah. He drummed back in the day, you know. I was joking because a lot of my friends played drums for some reason. And then so he reached out to me. He's like, hey, it's been a while. We ran into somewhere. He's like, let's get lunch, you know, and something. Because we were buddies in high school. And so we actually went to BJ's over here. It was so funny because everybody, you know, he's got the goatee. Everybody recognized him from the show. And so we're eating lunch and people would come up and, you know, you could kind of see them, you know, and they're like, are you the guy from that movie? And you'd see people try to, like, why is the mayor meeting with this, you know, and stuff. And it was so funny. But we had a great lunch and it was nice catching up. And I told him, I said, hey. You know, we'd love to, you know, we need another band. And I know, you know, I've seen you, you know, and he's like, yeah, let me let me check the date. And I said, well, we did put another we did put an offer on somebody. Right. But their bass player was out of town or something, you know, I'm thinking, man, don't you have a that's the way it's on or something, you know, or something like that. So, at that point, I said, hey, you know, would you guys be willing to play, you know? And the only thing we knew is, like, Rich's band is kind of, like, country-esque, you know, but they play a bunch of different things. And then, so, because we ended up having to go with, like, the hometown crowd again, you know, because Eva's right here in Taylor, which is awesome. Sure. Amanda and Rob, they're great people, man, and just nice as can be, always willing to play here, you know, as they said. Oh, yeah. they're they're ready to boom I know they are and then David lives here still and he's a great kid and everything you know it's just a man you know but I always think of him as a kid I thought it was a great show too you know and it was just you know a little bit of country a little bit of hardcore rock and roll

Oh, yeah, definitely.

It was a great show, too, for $20, you know. And I thought, man, if people wanted to just come see some good all-around music and have a few beers and then watch an awesome fireworks show. And I thought there was a pretty decent crowd there on a Saturday night, too, you know. So talking to Guido, I think we did okay.

Well, I think, you know, Yvonne Fire is always going to put on a good show. Absolutely. She is the energizer bunny, okay, and the band is solid. And like you say... Every time you see them, they're incrementally better.

What I love about them, too, is the whole time when David was playing, Rob and Amanda, or people call her Eva, they're out talking with people in the crowd. People are like, hey, is there any chance? I'm like, she's over here. She's right there. Go meet her. They wanted to meet her, and I'm like, she's out here. in the crowd, you know. She's never changed. Yeah, you know, and they go out and talk with everybody. But I thought it was cool night one, too, which, you know, Chase Rice and all them guys coming out to the, you know, and signing autographs and talking with people. And, you know, Tierra gave Chase Rice that bandana for his dog, and then he brought his dog out and it had the bandana on it. So she got a nice plug out of that, you know.

Well, I will tell you this. Daniel Harrison can sing. He can. And that whole act, I'll tell you, and I've heard them all for the last 13 years, and some have been really out of sight, and some have been not as good as you thought maybe they would be. But we've had our share of really, really good. That Daniel Harrison and that band, which is like almost a show band. They've got bongos going. They've got all kinds of stuff. But he's got a great voice. Yeah.

You know, it was funny because, who was it? I can't remember. I think it was Kyle from the Family Tradition Band. He said, hey, have you seen Daniel Harrison? I said, no, but my buddy Rich is the drummer. He goes, you know, he took two years off. He goes, you're going to be impressed. He goes, that guy can sing. He can really sing. I can't remember. But anyway, somebody, they were like, you're going to be impressed. That guy can sing, you know. And he reminded me of a cross almost between Charlie Daniels and Hank Williams Jr. You know, it came off that way. I was blown away by that because it was so funny. Amanda from Eva was walking by and they started out with like masters of puppets. And I'm like, how are they going to do this in country? And then they went into a sad but true. And she looked at me and she's like. you know this is good and i'm like yeah this is good and you know we kind of had a little bit of chuckle you know and i was impressed by them they were really good yeah i was very well and it's and it's funny boy that boy's got the pipes well he he really does and the the whole band is just

Really good. I mean, you sit back and you can watch any portion of the band at any time and get a show out of it.

Well, it was funny because I was walking through and David Field was doing his warm-up. And, you know, I grew up on Motown, man. I love, you know, Aretha, Smokey, all them guys. And he was doing something. And, I mean, he made the hair on my arm stand up, man. And he finished up and I started clapping. And he's like, thanks, Mayor. You know, and I'm like... Dude, you got my, you know, you got it. No, you just, you got it. Keep working, you know.

Well, you know, Tim, the funny thing, and I know you know because you've been behind the scenes, but it is funny because these people, they aren't above anything. interacting oh no not at all at all no you know you want this done you want that done you want to just talk about how they're doing or whatever uh it's fascinating how accommodating they once it was funny because once bad flower backed out david's like hey hey mayor i'm here if you need me hold on buddy you know you might be hearing from me soon because you know we do those meet and greets and and we had that one young lady who brought her bachelorette party of 15 and got dressed up like Eva and Eva said yeah I'll meet with them and she was when I told her you know I was in the back and they come walking up and

You know, Rob, I saw Rob first and he's like, you know, he he was telling me and then, you know, Amanda come walking over and I said, hey, if you guys don't mind, I said, there's a bachelorette party that's going to be here. And the lady that's getting married, her second date was your concert. And she's like. oh that's awesome yeah you know so she was like all into it you know and stuff and they're just great people you know and like i said you know the fact that they go out and hang out and right talk to everybody and stuff and you know i'm sitting on the picnic table when kyle pulled up from the family tradition band he's like man what are you you know and stuff so they're all very cool people and um even chase rice was very down to earth and so was zach john king yeah they were all very accommodating yeah very calm i've never had any issues with it you know some of their managers can be a little well they you know i don't i don't hardly ever deal with them to be honest with you i'm just walking back and forth and stuff that's peter's job you know and uh So, but you know, I will say I never really had a bad situation with any of them or whatever. I did have a band member kind of bark at me one time and I'm like, Easy, dude, you know, just like, you know. But it happens. Yeah, you know, like. It does happen, you know. It was just, you know.

You brought up a good point, though. A shout out to Peter Kite. Yeah. What a job he's done in two years with that stage production and those lights. If people haven't been to our summer festival. In the last couple of years, definitely make the next one because Peter, he's got a touch with lighting, with sound, with everything.

Well, I think like if you paid at the door, because the lady from 95.5 was there. I can't think of her name. But she's like to have Chase Rice and Zach John King and the Family Tradition Band. Right. and i think we were charging 40 dollars right she goes to get in this and that's for a seat oh yeah she's like but you're you're 10 feet away from these people oh right she's like you you can't that she goes that's 100 150 ticket all day long you know in some places it's 200 and she goes and that's way out and you know 100 200 yards away and she's like i you know this is unbelievable you know and stuff so it's like yeah you know it's just a matter of you know people I don't know what it is, and we do it on Friday because we know some people don't want to come down because of the fireworks. They're worried about the traffic and stuff, which I understand.

Although a lot of people were online on social media right after the event saying, you know, it used to be 45 minutes to get out of Heritage Park to go three miles, and now I'm home in 10. I thought it moved pretty quick. Yeah, everything.

I usually hang out for a little while to let it kind of calm down, but the police do a really good job. They run everybody down the north line, and it moves pretty quick.

It's always nice because people don't realize that the festivals around here pay for themselves, essentially. I mean, we do throw in X amount of bucks.

Sponsorship is huge.

But sponsorship is huge. Deity Corva needs a shout-out because, you know, they put on a lot of that, and we had Taylor Ford in there.

We do not make, I can tell you right now, ticket prices on the bands do not cover the bands. Oh, not even near it? Not at all. No, right.

Yeah, yeah.

And it's, yeah.

And that's a whole different story.

We hope for good beer sales, and, you know, it's good sponsorship. Barking, good beer stories, you know, that type of thing. Exactly.

But it was another, and it was a great day.

Yeah.

You know, so that's fantastic. Well, Tim, hey, I think we've gotten through another episode here. Okay, yeah. You know, but we're not going to wait another whatever. Yeah. We'll do one maybe next month or something like that.

Well, let's just touch on the storms real quick. You know, like we talked. Oh, yeah. You know, then I'll skip through them. No, that's okay. Crews are going to be going through the neighborhoods. Right. Picking up limbs, but they've got to be out at the curb. You know, we're not going in anybody's backyard or any of that stuff.

Mm-hmm.

We're not going to sweep and rake up all the leaves that are there and stuff. We're going to grab the limbs and stuff. We're going to try to get to them as soon as we can. We're going to try to kind of maintain the pickup, you know, the trash pickup. But depending on how much stuff is out there, we may not be able to keep up with that and stuff like that. So I know we put that out there, but we just want to talk about it too and let everybody know that our crews will be doing that to help.

Yeah, DPW really emphasized the, hey, look, we know you're out there. Be patient. We're going to be coming through, but it's not going to be just picked up in a day, you know, that kind of thing. And I think they will get to it. And we also have through next week, okay, we have the compost center. You can drop off your stuff for free if you want to take it there. You don't have to, that kind of thing. DTE. Seems to have a handle on, you know, we're doing this show on, what, Tuesday after the storm, and they're down to, I believe, 1% now of power outages. But that's a whole different thing. And, you know, Tim, you guys don't, at the local level, you really don't have a lot of leverage.

No, I have a representative. We have a DTE, and, you know, and I'm not afraid to say it. I am not a fan of DTE. You know, I think they're a monopoly. But they're also, these are people that, you know, Our state legislators, you know, they dictate whether or not they get to raise their rates. In my opinion, DTE gets to they make, you know, hundreds of millions, if not billion dollar profits. And then they say we need to raise our we need to hike our rates up because we got infrastructure problems. Well, wait a minute. That's what you should be using your profits for. You would think. That's the issue that I have. So I encourage everybody to look and see who is on those committees because they're subcommittees that are appointed by the governor and see who's on there and start reaching out to them and tell them, stop doing these. Stop giving them the right to raise our rates. I don't like paying these rates. I pay them just like everybody else. In the same sense, the... state of michigan has a lot of trees you know and i know some people are not going to like hearing this but you know as well as i do every time we cut a tree down we got people that are throwing a fit right you know so that's part of the issue too but it's dte's responsibility they hire companies it's been probably almost two decades since I had a company come through my backyard and trim the tree, and when they did, 12 inches. Hey, do you guys, you know, if I give you a little money, you think, nope, 12 inches.

Really?

You know, that lasted, what, a year? Yeah. So, I mean, I got my issues, too, and I voiced my concerns to them, and I'm not happy that we have residents that are still out. But, again, I let them know, but... What are they going to do?

Yeah.

I could make a Facebook video. I could get a petition signing. But what are they going to do? They're going to look at it.

Well, the reality is you have to have you have to like you just said, the people who control this situation have to have a come to Jesus meeting. OK, they just can't. hand them all the cards on every hand. They just can't do that. It doesn't work that way.

It has to stop. I mean, we're paying a lot of money for electricity. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm grateful that I can walk in my house and flick a light and have light and press a button and have either air conditioning and heating and stuff. But in the same sense, it gets to a point where Okay, when's enough enough? You keep charging us this. You're making record amounts of profit, but yet you keep hitting us up to fix your product. Right. You know, when you're making these profits. It doesn't make sense to me.

Did you read the piece that... Christy McGuire put out. I did. That was very well put out. I was very impressed. You could feel the heat of the anger. There's a lady who, her and her husband have four local places. They've got all those people. They're all dependent on you or me or somebody else out there walking through their door so they can feed them or get them a beer or whatever they need. And All of that network, all of the girls that walk up to your table, everybody making the food, the food itself.

They're doing a GoFundMe because there's a gentleman, I know he's associated with the Little League football here. He was just getting ready to open his barbecue business. and lost like thousands of dollars worth of meat.

Was that the one that lost $8,000? Yes, they're doing a GoFundMe for me.

So I know Chrissy and Jay well and Chrissy doesn't, you know, I give her kudos for that. And here's what, you know, she wasn't bashing the workers because the workers are working her tail off and actually her daughter's boyfriend works for the company that she's talking about. He's a lineman and he's working seven days a week right now and stuff. And you know, one of the issues was is which what we experienced It was a holiday weekend. Oh, yeah. So they have a lot. I think they had a lot of people on vacation. I do want to give a shout out to those that, you know, I had animal control. Oh, yeah. I had, you know, Parks and Rec. Right. You know, working in our DPW and on the water crews. We had seven water main breaks and stuff. So, I mean, I understood people were on vacation and they couldn't make it in and stuff. So, I mean, there's no ill will there. But I appreciate those that did come in and work in different departments. And kudos to Guido and Johnny that said, hey, all of our parks and our buildings, everything's good that can wait till Monday. So anybody that's available can go work in DPW or water if they need it, you know, or if they want to and stuff. So, yeah, it was nice, you know.

And well, hopefully. Somewhere along the way, some of this is going to improve because it really needs to. This is a problematic area and it doesn't help that. And I think I can say this accurately in Taylor. We're in a bad portion of their grid. It just is. It is what it is.

You know, and that's the thing. It's just it's like, OK, everybody barks now and it just goes away. Right. And I mean, we saw that in Romulus with the well and everything. It just needs to continue to be. That's why I encourage people to find out who's on those committees. Sure. And reach out to them. Right. And say, listen, this is enough is enough. Enough is enough. Stop raising our rates to, you know, feed them.

Bingo. We'll leave it at that. Thanks to Mayor Tim Woolley for coming on today and for all the updates he gave us. Also, thanks behind the scenes to Joe Camilleri at our production desk. We hope you enjoyed the show today, and we'll see you on the next From the Mayor's Desk.

Give us your name, rank, and branch of service. My name is Nicholas Dimitrichina. My rank was Gunnery Sergeant, E7, United States Marine Corps.

Okay, so you stand, you set up pridefully.

Yes, I do. You know, the saying is, once a Marine, always a Marine. Exactly, no doubt about that. Once you go through that crucible of fire, of boot camp, forever, you're gonna be a Marine.

Tell us about your area of expertise.

I was a helicopter mechanic and eventually became a crew chief or a flight engineer on the CH-46, which is a tandem rotor helicopter. I did that work for about 16 years. And then my last six years, I was a presidential support specialist with Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, supporting the president of the United States, foreign dignitaries, vice president, and others as directed by the Department of Defense.

Now that's about as intriguing as it gets.

It was a very interesting time in my life, to say the least.

Now, I had asked you this before, but let's outline the years again. Your era would have been?

I went to boot camp in October of 1988, and I retired in March of 2011. Now, back in 88, where'd you go to boot camp? I went to boot camp in San Diego, so I'm one of those Hollywood Marines. Oh, okay. A little luckier than others? A little luckier than others, yes.

Okay, all right. Did you have some type of background that put you automatically on a quick path to the job that you served in the military?

I had no mechanical experience prior to. Really? Just based on the aptitude tests that you're given. I came in as an open contract, which means I had no guaranteed job. The Marine Corps would just put me where they best saw fit. And fortunately, I ended up in the aviation unit.

Now, Nick, were you ever deployed in any type of conflict?

Yes, I was. Desert Shield, Desert Storm. I did that one. Then back to the Gulf again for operations Desert Fox and Deny Flight. And then back again to Iraq for Operation Enduring Freedom. Or, I'm sorry, Iraqi Freedom for two tours. Wow. That's...

Kind of a mouthful right there.

Yes. And then, you know, several pretty much unknown or unnamed combat operations. The big one being Operation Stabilize, which saw the separation of East Timor from Timor-Leste and become its own country. We were there as a quote-unquote peacekeeping mission to support them and their fledgling democracy. Whereabouts is that? It's down near Australia.

So in the Borneo Archipelago area.

Okay. And it was an Australian led operation, but we were there in support.

Okay. Alrighty. Okay. How did that go in support of another nation like that?

It was amazing to be there for the birth of a country and to see the president of the country. One of my fondest memories, and I might get a little emotional here, was the new president of East Timor. We were giving him a brief on helicopter operations because we were flying him to someplace else. And when I was done giving my brief, he came up and gave me a hug and said, thank you for helping my country. Wow. by far and above the most rewarding situation, rewarding thing that anyone's ever said to me in my life. Thank you for helping my country.

Yeah, it's kind of, you don't expect, you don't get that every so often.

No, it was a pretty deep moment. I'm getting a little emotional talking about it.

When you're talking about that helicopter, what's the crew, how big's the crew, what's it like?

It's a crew of usually three, so two pilots and a crew chief, which was my job. And then during combat operations, you'll have two pilots, a crew chief, and two door gunners. The capability of lifting 18 fully loaded combat troops or 20 to 25 folks that are not in combat gear.

Okay. Kind of an air, the air version of a landing craft?

Sort of, yeah. You can say it like that. We did a lot of troop transports and cargo, ship to shore operations, shore to shore operations, just depending on how the mission dictates.

Any dicey situations?

Yeah, I had a couple. Actually, my most dicey situations were in non-combat situations. Really? Can you tell us about them? Yes. So my first tour of duty was in Hawaii. Okay. It's good living for a 19-year-old kid. And there's a training area over on the island of Molokai. And we were based out of the island of Oahu at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay. So we flew over there. We conducted our training. And we were flying back across the Molokai Channel. And we were halfway. So it was either back to Molokai or push home. And that was it. And heard a strange noise in the back. started smelling something funny, went to the back, and my utility pump, which provides utility hydraulic power to the aircraft, was glowing red. And as I'm walking to the back, it exploded. So we lost utility power. Not really a big deal. There is a redundant system. However, the cabin's full of oil and fumes and things like that. You're risking a fire. And the pilot's like, well, we can go home or we can turn around. And it was 50-50 either way. So we just limped it back home. So that was my first pretty dicey situation. And then another one that sticks out We had just landed on a small helicopter, the carrier, and got fuel. And so both engines were, both fuel bladders were completely full, about 3,200 pounds of fuel. And as we lifted off the deck and transitioned to forward flight, our number two engine just shut down. And we dipped down into the water, kind of drug the helicopter through the water for about 100 yards until we were able to get enough forward momentum and lift to get it out of the water, and then flew it back to base about 20 miles away with just one engine.

Wow, that sounds like something you'd see in the movies.

Yes, and once we got to home base and landed where everyone's doing an inspection, trying to figure out what happened, And we just tried to start the engine and it start and ran fine and never had a problem with it since. It was just a freak thing that happened.

That's pretty weird. Yeah. Tell us, you obviously switch gears here and you get on this presidential detail thing. Tell us about that. People, what's the behind the scenes?

It's very interesting. The movement of the president is the number one priority of the military. They're involved in every movement that he makes. And my job was production scheduling for all the maintenance, planned and unplanned, on the presidential helicopter fleet, and then scheduling those aircraft to go to the various locations the president visits to support him. And the job is apolitical, so there's no appointments or anything. It's just this is our job. We support the office of president of the states. And I would I worked a lot of hours. Believe it or not, that was the toughest job that I had. Combat was a relief to that job because it was a 14, 16 hour day on average, 75 to 100 emails a day that needed to be answered to. You know, the movement of the president is a very choreographed thing. So the president say he was recently here in Detroit to give a speech at the auto show. And wherever the president goes in the world, there's going to be at least one helicopter with him. and that is to support any type of emergency situation. When he was visiting here, they were doing a motorcade from the airport to the venue and back, so there was just one helicopter here for an emergency situation. Now, if the president leaves Detroit and he's going to Milwaukee and then going to Greenbow, South Carolina, wherever he goes, I was in charge of scheduling the aircraft and personnel to go there. So it was very intricate in the planning and the support. When we were moving the president, everything stopped. So if, say for example, there's a jet loaded with equipment that has to go to Iraq to support the effort there. If something happened to the helicopter or the jet that I was going to be flying on, I would steal that one. I had the authority and the power to say that jet's mine. And they would download all the gear off that. We would take it and complete our mission. It was the number one priority of the military is to move the president. And so Everything stops when he's moving. And it can be very interesting. You know, it's not as planned as, you know, things aren't spontaneous with the president. You know, I remember, fondly remember President Obama stopping at Ben's Chili in D.C., I knew four days ahead of time that this unplanned event was going to happen, because they just can't do that. And our office received a lot of criticism, and so did the president's office. Well, the president's not going to this flooded area quickly enough, or he's not going to this tornado zone quickly enough. And it's just not that easy. The infrastructure has to be there to support the president. His safety and security is paramount.

Did you strike up any unique friendships that you otherwise would never have struck up?

I don't know if I'd call them friendships, but I did meet some interesting people. Okay. During the State of the Union, there's one person who's designated as the designated survivor. In case of a horrible event at the Capitol, there's one government official that's singled out.

Okay.

And so there's a facility in Washington, D.C. that we would work out of. And Justice Alito was the designated survivor. And I got a call, hey, he's running early, make sure security knows you can get him in the gate. As I go running down the hallway and round a corner, he's already in the building and I ran smack dab into him. And all I could think to say is, Your Honor, you're early. And so we had a laugh. So that was kind of neat.

So it was a justice. It was not Kiefer Sutherland. No, no, no, no. It was the actual Supreme Court justice, yes. That's kind of amazing, though. Yeah.

And Camp David, interesting interactions up there. President Bush was very... folksy, very friendly. He was a down to earth. He has that reputation. Yes, down to earth, genuine guy. And when he would go to Camp David, within 15 to 20 minutes, he was on his bicycle riding the trails. And he would ride down to the hangar where we kept the aircraft, and he'd walk around the room. All right, you're new, you're new, you're new. Hey, Nick, let's go. And you're new. Get a bike, and you'd go ride the trails with the president. And he would tell you the history of Camp David and discuss things that happened there, significant events, you know, the peace accords with Egypt and Israel and all those things that happened up there. He would tell you the stories. Wow. It was very interesting. You know, he came off as a good old boy, but he was very knowledgeable of history and of what went on. And so that was interesting. And I remember, you know, the thing was, if the president or his guests came into a room or part of the facility, you discreetly just left. Camp David's time for them to have their own time to relax away from the press, away from everything. So there's a library and there's a camp photographer and he records every presidential visit to the camp and those photographs stay on camp. Actually to date there hasn't been one photo leaked from Camp David. They take it that serious because it shows an intimate side and a personal side that may skew some appearances. And they have photo books. And I used to go into the library and look through them just to see the history. And I'm in there one night, and I hear the door open. It's President Bush. And I close my book, and I put it on the shelf. I said, have a nice evening, Mr. President. And he looks at me, and he says, where are you going? I said, oh, I'm done here. He goes, no, you're not. He goes, I'm thinking your Marines don't like me. Every time I come into a room, you run away. I kind of laughed. He goes, let me show you something. He goes over, and he kind of looks through. He grabs a binder out, and he's thumbing through the pictures. And he says, look at that. And it was the family portrait that they did when his father was president at Camp David. And I could see like a twinkle in his eye. He got excited. And he pointed to his dad. He goes, it's my dad. Not many kids can say their dad's the president of the United States. And I'm thinking to myself, but you're in the presidency. You know? But he was very gracious about his father. And so he closed the book and he put it on the shelf. And he says, now, he goes, Nick, you better get out of here because somebody's going to yell at me for talking to you. And then they're going to yell at you for talking to me. And I don't think either of us want to get yelled at tonight. So we had a nice laugh and went away.

Just Bush, Obama? Yes.

The last three years of President Bush, the first three years of President Obama. President Obama was an interesting person. He was friendly in a different way. He was a matter of fact friendly. How you doing? How's it going? But he knew your name. I interacted with them a little bit more often than other folks did just because of the position that I held. But he would remember your name. And he knew your rank. So it was different. It was friendly, but it was just a different kind of friendly. Nice guy. They were both very nice and both very engaging.

You know, Nick, in the type of position that you were in at that point in time, how much interaction did you have in your capacity with something like the Secret Service? Or was there an absolute finite line that separated?

No, there was intimate interaction. action with the Secret Service because their plans, our plans, we had to mesh. And the Secret Service needed to know which of my folks were gonna be traveling, who was traveling with them, and things like that. To get into that position also, you had to go through a security screening process, which I ended up with a top secret security clearance. And contrary to popular belief, there's nothing higher than top secret. The Department of Energy has their own security ratings, which are different. But for general purposes, there's nothing higher than top secret. However, there are different compartments within the top secret world that you can be allowed to have or enter into. And I ended up with a top secret Yankee white clearance, which gave me one-on-one access to the president. So I could be in a room alone with the president, no secret service. And it was a very extensive background investigation. They came back to Truman, now Taylor High School, got my transcripts. They talked to a couple of teachers that were still there, friends, family. It's about a six-month process to do this background check. And so, yes, you end up with that. And then I had several other compartments that I can't discuss that I was attached to.

When you look at your background, your service in the Marines on the whole. What was your favorite takeaway and what was the least favorite?

My favorite takeaway would be the friendships and the camaraderie and the new family that I gained while I was in the Marine Corps. There's a group of us that all went to Desert Shield, Desert Storm together. Every two years we have a reunion. And there's 10 to 15 of us, maybe 20, depending upon what's going on. And we get together, and it's like nothing's changed. It's like we hadn't been apart for any period of time. So the friendship, the camaraderie was a big takeaway. Also, a strong work ethic, because you have to get the job done. You can't, I'll do that later, or I'll do that tomorrow. The job has to be done. And not just that, but the ability to... think on my toes was enhanced, split second decision making, things like that, those were all enhanced. And again, like I said, the work ethic is huge. It taught me a lot and it made me better at what I do now.

Gotcha. What about, I guess, the biggest negative? The biggest negative?

That's a tough one. For me personally, I would say it was some inherited mental health issues that came from being in that high stress environment and combat operations, things like that. I would say that would be the biggest negative out of the thing. And fortunately or unfortunately, during my time in the military, mental health was not treated. It wasn't treated. It was shut up, do your job. That went on for a long period of time. It went on for a long period of time. And as I was retiring, they were transitioning over to getting mental health counseling and having people have the ability to talk. When you're living 24-7 in an environment of alphas, one sign of weakness and the sharks are going to come in for the blood. So you can't show that. And you bottle it up and you suppress everything. And especially after a lengthy combat tour, all that gets released. So I would say that would be my negative takeaway was the, I hate to say damage, but the mental health strain that I went through that I'm now dealing with.

I take it if you could do it all over again, you'd do it in a second. One second.

There would be no hesitation. It shows, Nick. No hesitation. I would go back in a second. Unfortunately, I've hit that 30-year of service. So it's funny. When I retired in 2011, I was technically not retired. I was transferred to the Fleet Marine Reserve. And I'm obligated for 30 years. So anywhere up to that 30 year mark, I could be recalled. So at the 30 year mark, I finally got my retirement certificate in the mail where I can finally say that I'm retired. So in a sense, I was kind of in limbo, but it's very rare that people get recalled. I guess you were earning your points until that day came.

Yes, sir. Thanks, Nick. We really appreciate having you. Thank you, Carl. I appreciate it. That was interesting.

Thank you.

Good morning everyone, good morning, good morning. Welcome, welcome to the annual presentation of the State of the City for the City of Taylor. My name is Tanya Clayton and I proudly serve as the president currently for the Rotary Club of Taylor. Thank you. The Rotary Club of Taylor proudly serves this community. Rotary is an international club and Rotary is one of the largest service organizations in the world. So I am very proud to be serving in this capacity this year. Equally proud to serve this community of Taylor and our mayor, Mr. Tim Woolley. So in Rotary, first of all, you all can just assume that you are at a Rotary meeting. This is one of the largest Taylor Rotary meetings that we have every year. So welcome. It is customary for us to open with the ringing of the bell. So here we go. Rotary is now in session. So we will begin with the invocation by Pastor Ryan Bettinger.

We knew God was gonna hear me, but now you can. So that's good. But let's pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you for this day and for this time that we have together. I thank you for the privilege of living in this great city and being able to serve it with our hearts, Father. And we ask that you would just bless this time today and that it be just a time of encouragement, a time of blessing. Lord, I also ask now that you, we know that we also come as a community with hurts. Father, a lot of things that have gone on, and Father, with 11-year-old Jacob Robinson passing tragically on Eureka Road for the Bezira family and the loss in this community, God, I ask that you would be near to them, the families, and all those that... maybe don't get that publicity. Father, we ask that you would be near to this community in that way. That's what we are. We're a community of people together and we hurt when each other hurt and we rejoice when each other rejoice. And that's why we've gathered. We're also not only hurt, but we're hopeful. for all that you have done, but all that you are going to do in our community. And Father, we just thank you. We ask now that you would just bless the rest of this day and the rest of this event. May you be glorified and honored through it all. We thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who paid the price for our sins so that we could be in a relationship with you and know you and know that you hear us even now in this prayer. And Father, we love you and we thank you for all that you do for us. It's in the name of your Son, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

All right, technology. Thank you, Pastor Ryan. Pastor Ryan is a pastor of the Northline Church right here in the city of Taylor. So as I mentioned, Rotary, is one of the oldest service organizations in the world. We are actually the oldest organization in the world. We have over 1.2 million members worldwide, 35,000 clubs, over 200 countries. So we are really large and our mantra is service above self. And right here, although we are all over the world, right here in our own backyard in this community, the Service Club of Taylor works with many organizations in helping with their service projects for underserved children, service projects for those in need, our veterans, and so many different things that we do to support this community. Our mantra, Service Above Self, is shown in the way that we show up. every week in our weekly meetings. And it's also shown when we are called upon to pull together and volunteer at different activities. Some of those activities, Northline Christmas Party that they have every year for underserved children. We work the Shred Day for the city of Taylor twice a year. We come together and partner with Macy's right here in the city and Meyers and provide coats for those children and needs through our our childcare programs and our schools. So many different things that we do. Our Night to Shine prom with 242 Church, we all just came together and volunteered there. So, so many different things that we do to serve this community in our service above self mantra. Another important way that Rotary contributes is we raise money and we give it away. So that's one of the biggest things that we do to serve our communities. We have supportive organizations like Children With Hair Loss, our food pantry right here, Fish and Loads Food Pantry right here in the city of Taylor, and so many more. So there are so many things that we do in our city, and we're always looking for more opportunities to serve. projects that you have, ideas that you have, come and join us. We'd love to have you and you too can be a part of the service that we provide right here in the city of Taylor. So there are three signature events that we do and we want you to watch out for these dates. The first one is our Wounded America Charity Ride. We do that every summer. This year is gonna be on Saturday, July 18th. Motorcyclists come out. It's a beautiful sight to see. We hosted right at Harley-Davidson on Telegraph and the motorcycles go out under that flag and it's just a beautiful, beautiful thing. And that event goes directly to serve our veterans that have been harmed or wounded in service. So that's an important one and For those of you who are businesses, we showcase our business partners at that event. You'll see some of those pictures coming up a little bit later. Our charity golf fundraiser. If you are a golfer in this room, you do not want to miss our charity golf fundraiser. Thursday, August 20th, right here at the Lakes of Taylor. So we're looking forward to you all signing up for that, talking to us about it so that you can get involved, and... For the businesses in this room, we would love to have you to partner with us so that we can showcase your business at our event. Another event that we do that we're super proud of is our Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. This is our state police versus the city of Taylor police baseball softball game. Very exciting event. This is not a fundraiser, but it's something that we do every year for those families as an appreciation for the work that they do when they're on the front lines with us each or for us each and every day. So those are the things that we do and we're super proud of it. And I just want the Rotarians in the room to just raise your hand really quickly so everyone can see who you are. Thank you for being here and including our own mayor who is super active with our Rotary Club. We are very, very proud of that. One of the things that we love to do is acknowledge each other. We love to acknowledge people. We love to acknowledge our community. So one of the things that we do at the State of the City every year is our Paul Harris Fellow Award. This award is given to individuals in the community who show acts of service either through heroism, did I say that right, heroism, through acts of service, different things that they may do in our community this year. We have a special guest, a special honoree, Mr. Giuseppe Persicone. Can you stand? And Larry, is Larry in the, do you have the award? You can come forward. We all call him Joe. You all know that, right? Come on forward, Joe. Do you have the award? So we just want to acknowledge you right here in front of the city for everything that you do. You never say no. I don't know, Joe. Has Joe ever said no to anybody in this room?

You never say no. I've been working in the city until 1970, but worked together.

And we love you for that. We love you for that. Thank you, Joe.

Thank you.

And we will have your pin for you. Okay.

You get a certificate, too, coming. Thank you. Can I kiss you? Thank you. Thank you. You're very welcome. God bless you all.

Thank you, Joe. Don't answer your phone, Joe. You didn't know I knew about that, did you? Okay, this year we have a few milestone awards in our Taylor Rotary Club. And we are very, very proud to present those awards here in front of the city for those that have served over 50 years in this club. So we're super proud of that. Is Enrico here? Did he make it here yet? Enrico's not here yet? Okay, we may have to come back to Enrico. Enrico Muto has served 50 years in this Rotary Club. We are so proud of that, and we have an award for him. If he makes it before the end of my time, then we will call him up. But for now, we're going to move forward to another 50-year Rotarian in the city of Taylor, Mr. Robert Williams. Let's give him a round of applause as he comes. Come on up, Bob. Come on up. Come on up. Bob, we are very proud. I'm gonna ask the Rotarians in the room to stand. We are very proud to present to you the Service Above Self Award. And it says, Service Above Self, presented to Robert G. Williams for 50 years of service since October 1st, 1974. Presented by the Rotary Club of Taylor. Thank you. Thanks for you. Thank you, Bob. Thank you, thank you. Now, the next and the last milestone award, many of you in this room knows Anthony Nesita. He has served as a judge in this city, but for Taylor Rotary, he will be celebrating his 70th anniversary, 70 years as a Taylor Rotary. Rotarian, so let's give him a round of applause. Tony could not be here with us today, but my husband and I went and spent time with him on Saturday and he gave us so much history about this beautiful city. We went back, Larry Wright and I, on Monday and we took a video of him because it was just gonna be a challenge for him to be here today. So we would like to play this video for you. It's very short, but just him showing his gratitude. Judge Tony Nesita. Anthony Nesita. Right. But the city and everyone knows you as Tony. And we are here today to celebrate your 70th year in Taylor Rotary.

Well, they've been great years. I remember vividly becoming a member on December 6th, 1956. Rotary, to me, has been a camaradership that I have with the members. I can still count on any time I need a friend. The things that I've been able to be involved in, in Rotary, enjoy.

rotary while you're young enough to do it and don't wait until you're 97 like i am that's our buddy tony mesita let's give him another round of applause It was such a joy sitting with him and just learning so much about the history of this city. And he had so many wonderful stories to share. And I was just so happy to be in this company and to be able to get those. You know we have to celebrate people while they're here with us so they know and feel the love, right? I almost said amen because I'm not in church, but okay. So as I mentioned, Taylor Rotary Club.