Milan: Let's Celebrate 125 Years!

2010-03-16T20:17:00.003-04:00

The Little Skipper circa 1985

Meeting Minutes 3-11-2010
Fourth planning meeting of Milan’s 125th Celebration
Brought to order at 7:00 p.m.
Linda Gilson: Facilitator
Present: Julie Zawacki, Ron Morey, Mike Armitage, Linda Gilson, Martha Churchill, Barbara Gardinier, Jennifer Allen, Ezequiel Alexander.
An agenda, last meeting minutes, and several e-mail messages was distributed to all attendees.
Last meeting minutes were approved with corrections-motion by Julie, second by Mike.
Open issues:
Linda received an e-mail from Ben Swayze giving costs on city banners placed downtown. A discussion was held about banners and flags. It was decided to go with banners. Julie made a motion that we proceed with acquiring 12 banners. Jennifer seconded the motion. The motion passed. Ezequiel knew of a company in Ann Arbor that also did banners and was going to email the information to Mike, and Mike was going to email it to Linda. Linda was planning on contacting the company to compare pricing with Downtown Graphics Network Inc.
Discover Milan Days is May 8th.
It was decided that we would have the time capsule found and dug up. It was believed that a second grade class would be willing to put on a small event with class members giving brief quotes of important. Julie has been talking with one of the teachers on this.
Several members felt it would be nice to have the parade stop for the ceremony rather than come back after the parade. Julie volunteered to contact Christine Roe, of the Milan Youth League, who is the opening day coordinator. The youth league has a web site at http://www.eteamz.com/milanyouthleague/index.cfm? The MYL Board web page has contact information.
Martha mentioned that it was also the 100th anniversary of a bank having been continuously in the building. It is the building that currently houses the Chase Bank.
It was discussed that we would bury at new time capsule in Sept. at an event or we could do it at the Milan Fair in June if the Sept. event doesn’t work out.
Ezequiel volunteered to video 3 – 5 minute messages from Businesses or other people to be placed in the time capsule and also to use it as a fund raiser by charging a small fee. These would be placed on a thumb stick for burial.
Linda talked about the email from Eric Bielsky who said we could sell Martha’s Milan book as a fund raiser. However since the Historical society was selling it as a fund raiser for the whole year, it didn’t make sense to only man a table on May 8th and not have make use of the Historical society manpower over the Milan Fair in June. The society is planning to man a table and also sell 125 Committee items. A motion was made by Julie and seconded by Mike that Linda precede with her Coffee Table book idea of doing Modern Milan. Motion passed.
　
　
　
Organizational Plans from Other Organizations.
Barbara passed out a flyer. The Beautification Committee and the Milan Rotary Club have joined together to begin an "Adopt-An-Area" campaign. The campaign kicks off on May 1 at 9:00 a.m. in Wilson Park at the Pavilion in order to have the city cleaned up for the May 8th Discover Milan Days. They will be going with the colors of red and white for flowers; as the 125 committee selected the Milan school colors of red and black. White is being substituted for black, since there are very few black flowers. Barbara asked that people and organizations please get involved.
Barbara also promised to give Linda a copy of the "Milan United" membership list and Linda was to get the Chamber’s membership list. These lists could be used to seek sponsors.
Jennifer spoke for the Backstreet Cruizers and they are planning in August to have a Poker Run type party over the old US-23 route. The cars will be stopping at selected locations and collection a "poker card". There was also a mention of a possible Model T gathering.
Brothers of the Brush Sponsors? Linda has not heard back from her contact at the organization she hoped would sponsor this event.
Sponsorship. The idea of postcards was good for advertising the events but a more formal letter was needed for sponsorship. A good idea is to have calls made as follow-up to the letters. Jennifer was going to work with Linda on an initial sponsor letter.
Next meeting is scheduled for March 25, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Old Fire Barn
Adjourned: 8:15 p.m.
Submitted by Ronald R. Morey, acting minute taker for the night.

2010-03-10T20:45:00.000-05:00

Meeting Minutes 2-24-10
Second planning meeting of Milan’s 125th Celebration
Brought to order @ 7:10 p.m.
Linda Gilson: Facilitator
Present: Julie Zawaki, Ron Morey, Mike Armitage, Jeri Burbank, Linda Gilson, Martha Churchill
An agenda and last meeting minutes was distributed to all attendees
Linda asked that everyone sign in.
Last meeting minutes were approved-motion by Julie, second by Ron
Open discussion:
Mike presented the logo drawing. He will e-mail a completed version to everyone. The logo will be in red and black. The best he could find was that red and black are semi-associated with 125 years. Jeri moved and Ron second to approve this logo.
Linda presented a sample of what the Backstreet Cruizers use as a sponsor drive form. There was discussion about the 125th using something similar but no final decision was made. Subject is tabled for further discussion.
Linda announced that Sally Bancroft has offered to be the third vice-chair.
Discussion of banners – Jeri was not able to find any available on the internet or otherwise. Mike will look up banner prices from when the City has purchased in the past
Discover Milan Day was discussed – what does the 125th committee want to do to celebrate at this event?
Unearth the time capsule: need to find it in advance and do a ceremonial dig on Discover Milan Day. It is believed to be just behind the memorial in Wilson Park
Create a new time capsule to be dug up in another 25 years. Use this opportunity to raise funds by charging a small fee for placing something in the capsule.
Milan Community Fair Parade was discussed – what does the 125th want to do to celebrate at this event?
Have a float in the parade? Bill and Carole has an old fire engine and old car.
Dig up the time capsule at this time?
Linda will contact Judy Spike to see if she would like to do a puppet show at this time.
Julie suggested contacting the school to perform a play during the unearthing of the time capsule. She will check on the possibility.
Monthly events: We have no updates from any organization
There was a long discussion about a coffee table book: what type, what’s to be in the book, what pictures and when are they taken. Subject has been tabled. Everyone has been asked to consider all possibilities for this idea.
We are looking for a sponsor for the "brother of the brush" celebration. Linda has a person in mind to contact.
Discussion of a September gala event: Subject tabled. Suggested everyone go away and think o f all possibilities for this; tents, music, plays, etc.
Next meeting is scheduled for March 11, 2010 @ 7:00 p.m. in the Old Fire Barn
Adjourned: 8:17 p.m.

2010-02-19T10:12:00.001-05:00

Meeting Minutes 2-11-10
Second planning meeting of Milan’s 125th Celebration
Brought to order @ 7:05 p.m.
Linda Gilson: Facilitator
An agenda and last meeting minutes was distributed to all attendees
Linda asked that everyone sign in.
Last meeting minutes were approved-motion by Susan Wess, second by Ron Morey
Open discussion:
The Milan Area Historical Society has generously offered to make the 125th committee a substructure of the MAHS. This will allow and grant many opportunities to the 125th.
Highlights:
The MAHS will donate $300 as seed money to the 125th with the understanding that if it is possible it be returned. Otherwise it will be considered a donation
The 125th will need to appoint/elect officers to handle the affairs of the committee: Committee Chair, First vice Chair, Second vice Chair, Third vice Chair. These titles can be replaced with other titles as the 125th committee deems and the number of officers can be changed based on need.
All monies collected by the 125th will be placed in a restricted account and managed by the MAHS with the direction of the 125th committee.
Voted on the motion to accept the MAHS offer-motion made by Ron Morey, second by Sallie Bancroft. Approved unanimously
Officers of the 125th
Chair – Linda Gilson
First Vice Chair/Secretary – Jeri Burbank
Second Vice Chair – Julie Zawacki
Third Vice Chair – to be filled at a later date
Dave and Mike were not present-discussion of the logo and colors are tabled until the next meeting.
Monthly events:
Beautification Committee is meeting next week
Kiwanis Club is meeting this night
Discover Milan meets soon, no date has been set as of yet
No other changes at this time
Advertising:
125th anniversary banners on all the light poles in the City
Everyone asked to consider all options
Fundraising;
Ask the City for funding of the banners
Create a book on all the businesses, churches, schools, etc. to sell. Have these entities buy into the book. Then sell it at a profit. The pictures will be taken by a professional photographer at no charge to the 125th. This book will promote current time for these entities so that 125 years from now there will be a record of 2010. Martha and Dave are currently coauthoring a book on Milan. The 125th will coordinate with them to make sure efforts are not be duplicated.
Sponsorships:
Create a form for the sponsors to fill out and have a receipt as well.
Suggestions from the floor:
Post the minutes on our Blog
Discuss the creation of a website
Ask the business owners to place a sign in their window of what their business was like 125 years ago
Ask the Milan Foundation if we are able to apply for funding. However, it is believed the funding isn’t available until August.
Look for a City that has already celebrated 125 years that may have banners we could purchase at a good price.
Next meeting is scheduled for February 24, 2010 @ 7:00 p.m. in the Old Fire Barn
Adjourned: 8:05 p.m.

2010-02-01T16:19:00.000-05:00

Meeting Minutes 1-26-10
First planning meeting of Milan’s 125th Celebration
Brought to order @ 7:15 p.m.
Linda Gilson: Facilitator
An agenda and a written draft of a slide presentation was distributed to all attendees
All those present introduced themselves and stated what, if any, organization they represented
A length of time for the meeting was determined: 1 hour
Volunteer for a timekeeper was requested: Barb Atkinson volunteered
Volunteer to be note keeper was requested: Jeri Burbank (under duress) volunteered
Linda Gilson mentioned the reasons for the meeting then began a slide presentation
Open discussion:
Mike and Dave volunteered to create a logo and slogan
It was suggested the logo be placed on all the signs entering the City
Sales of T-shirts and ball caps with this logo could help fund this year long event
Need to discuss advertising
Need to look into "in kind" donations rather than strictly looking at money donations
Need to consider what type of fundraising will be needed
It was suggested we contact other cities to see how they were able to fund their anniversary celebrations
Sallie showed Milan papers from past anniversary celebrations in Milan to give an idea of what was done in the past
Discussion of colors to be determined after the logo is created
Mike is going to research 125 years to see if there are specific colors associated with this number
Milan’s Beautification Organization has volunteered to distribute and plant flowers in the colors that are chosen for the 125th
Milan Garden Club has offered to help the Beautification Organization in their efforts for planting throughout the City
It was suggested volunteers from many of the Milan organizations take turns at watering the flowers that will be planted.
Each organization present will network to lend a hand and resources to help promote each others events throughout the year.
Everyone to communicate with Linda on their thoughts for everything discussed this night.
Everyone was asked to make sure they signed in so we will all be able to communicate with one another in the future. A list of attendees will be distributed.
Next meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2010 @ 7:00 p.m. in the Old Fire Barn
Adjourned: 8:15 p.m.

What a great turnout

2010-01-26T22:23:00.002-05:00

Our first meeting!
15 community members met tonight to start the planning of the Celebration Year for Milan's 125Th.
Numerous organizations were represented and folks discussed the ideas and concepts as presented in the slide show presentation.
It was decided that a logo and slogan would be our first concrete step. Mike Armitage and Dave MacPherson volunteered to create some samples and bring them to our next meeting.

Jeri Burbank was our note take for the evening and once she complies the notes they will be posted on the this blog spot.

Our next meeting was scheduled for February 11Th at 7pm at the Old Fire Barn

See you on the 11Th! and be sure to check back for the meeting notes

Linda

Planning Session January 26th at 7pm

2010-01-08T09:35:00.007-05:00

Hello Milan 125Th Celebrants,

Only 18 days until we get together to discuss, plot, plan our Celebration Year.

As stated the Place to be is the Old Fire Barn. Currently the plan is to use the down stairs room which houses the replica of the original jail.

I would like to make sure that the space will accommodate all attendees, so how about a phone, call, to the Chamber office telling us how many will be attending. They can be reached at

734-439-7932, Or drop an e-mail to me at lagilson06@comcast.net

Did you know?

During the Bi Centennial year Celebration there was a time capsule buried. We will be retrieving that capsule at some point during the year, and distributing the contents. It seems appropriate that we bury another capsule to be retrieved 25 years from 2010.

As the story has been told, folks wrote letters to their families and friends, who knows what else may be in that capsule. It will be exciting to discover the Treasures that were buried 25 years ago. We need to incorporate the time capsule into the celebration. A stand alone event or in combination with another? It's our choice our vision.

To quote Oliver Wendell Holmes "Many Ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprung up"

Feel free to comment on this blog, it's the kick off place for idea's and they will NOT go unacknowledged.

Meeting Has been scheduled

2009-12-21T21:18:00.002-05:00

We have a place and we have a date!

Place- Milan's Old Fire Barn
thanks to the Milan Area Historical Society for the use of this space

Date- Tuesday January 26th at 7pm

See you there!

New News?

2009-12-19T16:09:00.002-05:00

This has been and exciting time, lots of folks are saying YES YES YES, and there are 7 followers to this blog.

Many of our friends who grew up in Milan but have made their homes in surrounding communities have stated they would be interested in joining the team! I say THANK YOU and welcome back home!

Our Mayor Kym Muckler did a very nice job at the last council meeting informing the community of this page, and vocalizing her support, Thanks Kym!

As promised I am working on a location to meet. I need the approvals of the board and I feel Historically confident that permission will be granted.

I've checked the City web site calendar hoping to avoid conflicts Tuesday the 26th of January at 7pm seems a good choice.

Here are just a few thoughts that have been circling around:

Keep the spirit moving all year long from Discover Milan Days (May right through the Christmas parade)
Milan Community Fair is on board to incorporate with the fair and the parade June 2-5
Backstreet CruiZers are on board the cruises in Wilson park and the August Carfest 1st Saturday in August
It's been suggested a HUGE one day party at the Industrial Park, there is plenty of room, for parking, tents, the works later in the Summer

Feel free to add your comments, suggestions, idea's that's what this is all about.

There are no bad idea's just write em down and spread em around.

Chat Soon Linda

The Begining

2009-12-14T16:07:00.000-05:00

The year 2010 marks the 125th anniversary of Milan Michigan Charter as a village in 1885. Milan is a City now our roots run deep and like it is said you must crawl before you can walk. It's appropriate that we celbrated the beginning.

The first settlers came in 1824 to the wilderness of York Township. John Marvin the first settler in this vicinity located and built a house in the year 1830 ab0ut the center of the first block of what is now West Main Street. And from that point on Milan began to grow.

There is so much history and many rich moments but the object of this blog is to get started on the celebration. We need some John Marvins, Betheul Hacks, Harmon Allens and Henry Tolans. Folks, clubs, churches, businesses, nonprofits, who want to be the pioneers of the concept, design, follow through and implementation of a product. The Celebration needs to out blast any previous celebration. We need the kind of celebration that will inspire future generations to pick up the guantlet and keep the traditions alive, the history alive, and the City alive.

Let's join together and see what we can do are you in? Just say YES! We'll need to plan the first meeting and the location. I'll do some checking on the location and lets get some chatter started on a meeting date in January.

Invite your friends, family let's have everyone particapte