Celebrate Mother’s Day in Flat Rock
You still have time to pick up a gift for mom, for Mother’s Day, this Sunday, May 12th. Still don’t know what to get her? You don’t even have to leave Flat Rock to pick up a great selection of gifts to show her how much you care.
Flowers are always a great way to show mom how much you love her. Flat Rock’s two flower shops have a wide variety of flowers and gifts for this Mother’s Day.
Darlene’s Flowers & Gifts on East Huron River Drive has a large variety of beautiful cut flowers. Their featured arrangement, the Amazing May Bouquet, has Roses, Gerberas, Snapdragons, Asters and more, all held in a classic urn vase. For a mother with a green thumb, pick her up a Blooming Azalea Plant. These plants will brighten up any room with their beautiful pink flowers.
Another great option is Ray Hunter on Telegraph. A basket full of brightly colored flowers, like the Butterfly Basket, is a beautiful gift. A truly spectacular sight, the Imperial Purple Orchid will bring joy to any mom who receives it.
If your mom isn’t a fan of flowers, treat her to a day of pampering with a gift certificate to one of Flat Rock’s great hair and nail salons. Europa Salon, located on Telegraph, is featuring a one hour massage for only $29.95. Or get her a gift certificate for a brand new hairstyle at Strands on East Huron River Drive or Shagg Salon on Gibraltar Road. If your mom is more into nails than hair, a mani/pedi at Expo Nails on Telegraph Road would make a perfect gift.
For the coffee lovers, make sure to stop at Mr. Beans to pick up a gift certificate. Even when not in the mood for coffee, she can satisfy her sweet tooth with one of the many treats Mr. Beans sells.
Make sure to end off the day with a great dinner. If your mom is in the mood for Middle Eastern cuisine, stop by Bashar’s on Telegraph. You could always grab a great burger at Big Boy or Zorba’s Coney Island, both on Telegraph. Or treat her to a fancy sit down dinner at Salute – Fiorelli’s Events on East Huron River Drive.
And if money’s particularly tight at the moment, you can still treat the greatest lady in your life with breakfast at McDonalds. Free pancakes will be served until 10:30AM!
Whatever you end up doing for your mother, just make sure to take the time to tell her how much you love and appreciate her.
Celebrating Earth Day by gardening for the future
Some Flat Rock residents are celebrating Earth Day by taking the first step to creating the Flat Rock community garden. They started early, digging up and tilling the grass covered land that is planned to become a shining spot in the community.
The community garden is going to be divided into six 20×20 plots. These will turn into either four 10×10 plots or two 10×20 plots. The garden will have an alleyway running up the middle, with benches lining the path, and a fountain in the front.
According to Sean Gillaspie, only ten plots have been sold so far. This means that there are still 30 spaces available. Residents can buy a plot(s) up until June 1st.
Andrea Reilly, a chair member for Support Local Flat Rock, was working hard to create her future garden.
“I really want to do peppers and tomatoes. It lets me have the garden dream I’ve always wanted.”
Stay at home mom, Sarah Riley, was working hard to create her family’s garden. She dug away to help start a garden for her children. Riley said that even though she has her own garden at home, she wants her to kids to have one just for them.
“I wanted to get my kids involved. I wanted my kids to know what hard work is and get them involved in growing their own fruits and vegetables of their choice.”
But ultimately, these volunteers are participating in the community garden because they want to help improve downtown Flat Rock.
“I like doing this stuff because I want to make Flat Rock a more walkable city,” said Reilly.
Lifelong Flat Rock resident, Abby Gibson, agrees.
“I think it will help get some of the residents out, and together. It is something they can do as a community and have pride in.”
To volunteer or buy a plot, email Gillaspie at supportlocal@outlook.com. The cost of the plots are 10×10 for $10 and a 10×20 for $20. The community garden is located on Gibraltar Road, next to the old Pj’s Cafe.
Flat Rock freshman hopes to win national DECA conference
Local high school freshman, Mitchell Woolley, is making our city proud by qualifying for a national high school marketing conference. Woolley is a member of Flat Rock High School’s local chapter of Distributive Education Clubs of America, or DECA, which teaches high school students about marketing, business management and administration, hospitality and tourism, and finance.
DECA is a national organization for business and marketing students in high school and college. There are over 5,000 high school chapters in the United States. Before students can even attend a conference, they must take a comprehensive exam in their focus area. At the conference, students are required to role-play with a judge in a situation relating to their area. Woolley’s focus is hospitality and tourism, which involves scenarios in the hotel, restaurant, and tourism industry.
In January, Woolley attended the district conference with his chapter at Eastern Michigan University. There, he medaled for his high scores on the exam and in the role-play. He went on to medal at the State Career Development Conference in Grand Rapids, which qualifies him to go to nationals.
“Qualifying for nationals was awesome. I was so excited and I couldn’t believe I actually did it”, Woolley said.
His scenarios at the state conference involved a hotel chain looking to expand a line of rooms that were handicapped-accessible and a five-star restaurant chain experiencing high employee turnover. Using his hospitality and tourism knowledge, he correctly explained the concepts that would help the hotel with safety regulations and allow the restaurant to retain its employees. He said that the situations helped him open his mind to all possible solutions.
“They made me nervous but I feel like I was able to come up with good responses and points to each concept.”
Hopefully, Woolley will do just as well at the International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California at the end of April. If he wins, he could receive his share of the $300,000 in scholarship money that DECA awards annually.
Woolley first became interested in hospitality and tourism when he joined Ms. Amy Sulewski’s marketing class. When Sulewski decided to start a DECA chapter, Woolley decided to join because, “it sounded intriguing and I thought it would be a good experience.”
Woolley believes that Flat Rock’s small school community has benefitted him. In his opinion, this is because it “allows for more direct help and feedback from others.” But he also believes that the dedication of Sulewski is a main component in the chapter’s success.
With only a year of involvement, Woolley says DECA has already informed his career path.
“DECA has affected my future job plans because I have an interest in the business and marketing area that I didn’t have previously.”
But DECA has done more than just point him in one professional direction. Woolley believes his involvement has helped him learn “better organizational skills” and has taught him “what it takes to be successful in the business world.”
When not participating in DECA, Woolley is active in sports. He is on the school soccer team, as well as both fall and spring track teams. When asked about his future with DECA, Woolley responded, “I will for sure continue participating in DECA throughout high school.”
2013 Flat Rock DDA Business Forum
The 2013 forum is scheduled for March 14th at Salute
Location: Salute, 26123 E Huron River Drive.
DETAILS
The forum is designed as a way for the Flat Rock DDA and city officials to speak directly to businesses about the Downtown District.
To make a reservation please contact Meaghan Armstrong at the Flat Rock City Hall 782-2455 option 6. Or by *email at clerk@flatrockmi.org by Tuesday March 12, 2013.
This year’s forum will bring the new alliance with:
- Michigan Main Street Program
- Walkable Downtown Project
- Upgrades to the downtown landscaping
- DDA events and more
Featured Presenters and Topics
- Detroit Edison: Smart Meters
- Kaleidico Digital Marketing: Internet business
- Monroe Bank and Trust: Top 10 Employer Errors
- Flat Rock Mayor: State of the City address
All businesses in the City of Flat Rock and potential business owners are invited. There will also be a meet and greet breakfast prior to the presentations. The breakfast starts at 8 AM with the presentations starting at 8:45.
*Using email please include your name, business name, phone number and website if you have one.