Monday, July 30, 2007

Minutes for July 25, 2007

Shepherd Sesquicentennial Committee

The meeting began at 7:00pm at the Coe Twp Hall. Members present were; Dennis Oyster, T. Hohlbein, L. Coughlin, S. Davidson, M. Davidson, J. Gluch, R. Bragg, J. Morgan, P. Sandel, ML Randolph-Walter, N. Oren, E. Wilberding, J. Wilberding, G. Gross, & C. Gross. Three guests were present; Pam Chartrand, Rita Gall, and ????? (please help me fill in the blank)

A motion was made by L. Coughlin and 2nd by Joyce Gluch to accept the Secretary’s minutes with the addition to the dress contest portion to note the plaques to be given away as prizes are to cost $15-20 ea. The winning contestants will also receive local merchant certificates of approx $15.00. Motion carried.

ML Walter made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report. It was seconded by R. Bragg. Motion carried.

Old Business:

Opening Ceremonies – To be at Village park. A sound system from CMU is to be utilized. The ice cream is to be donated by Joe Travis. A. J’s & Shepherd Bar to donate toppings.

Banners – Orders for 108 have been taken. 77 banners are in. Deadline for banner sales to be August 3, 2007

King & Queen contest – T. Hohlbein reported he met with the student council again. It looks as though 2 young men and 2 young ladies are vying for the King & Queen spots. Sashes and crowns have been ordered. The student council is making signs for the float. The committee agreed it would be nice to ask the 1957 Centennial Queen to ride on the float w/any court members we can locate. The 1957 Queen was Jean Clevenger Lee. One of the court members was Joyce Travis Leonard.

Calendar committee – P Sandel reported the calendar sales are at 278. A discussion followed of whether or not to pursue another printing of the calendars. With approx 220 calendars remaining it was decided another printing would not be warranted. It was suggested the calendar committee may want to pull enough calendars to have a balance to sell during the Sesquicentennial. One number suggested was 100.

Dress contest – The deadline for the dress contest is August 9. Entries have been slowly coming in.

Beard Contest – With J. Bush under the weather it was decided he may need a co-chair. Jon Morgan stepped up to the plate to fill this need. It was suggested he may want to re-contact the judges: Heather Wolf, Deb McLoughlin, Julie Salisbury, and Kristy Bush.

Mural – Looks like four students were mainly involved, although more have been providing physical labor. It was decided to table prizes for them until talk with Joyce Bleecker.

Pie Baking Contest: Prizes for winners to be donated by Gail Pifer. An extension of the deadline to August 3 was discussed. This would give ML Walter time to get one more announcement in the Shepherd Argus.

Contest Prizes – D. Oyster reported the Shepherd Chamber has agreed to fund the plaques and gift certificates at $15.00 each for the dress contest and 5- $25.00 certificates for the beard contest.

Jail Offenses – No one in the group had any more ideas than what was suggested from last week’s list. J. Wilberding wanted to stress that it was to be all in fun. We need to be watchful of those who do not want to participate. We do not want to offend anyone.

Time Capsule – Still need to come up with ideas for items to place inside of capsule. The unit is only 6” in diameter.

T-Shirts – Committee members need to order their shirts by August 3. Balance of shirts to be pulled from stores to be sold during Sesquicentennial.

Parade – Need vehicle for couples married over 60 years. Tom has approx 12 couples. It was suggested to use people mover. We want to be able to use signs to acknowledge ea. couple. A vehicle for those involved in the dress & beard contests. Bob Bates will ride in the parade as the oldest male citizen. L. Coughlin will provide transportation for Mr. Bates. Emma Lyons is to be the oldest female.

Arts & Crafts – Right now there are only 6-8 vendors. Payment has been received from 2. It was suggested they should be moved to the uptown area. This may affect the boy scout troop and their fundraiser. S. Davidson made a motion to contact them and see if they want to be with the arts & crafts or if they would like to do both nights of entertainment. This motion was seconded by P. Sandel. Motion carried. It was decided the Medieval Faire done by the Art Club would still get exposure at the school with the different things going on near the Little Red Schoolhouse.

Olde Tyme Baseball – T. Hohlbein was informed by the baseball team there was not enough members avail that weekend to hold the event. Tom is making contact with someone from Grand Rapids who has ties with people who also do this to see if they are interested.

Fireworks – Steve is checking with State of Mi for permit. Fee will be waived because govt body.

Community Pig Roast – Steve reported this may not be a competition. It is to be held at the Salt River Park.

Local Entertainment – 14 acts total to perform, 7 on ea night. Still checking on wagons for staging.

Tractor Pull – Appears 50 – 60 are signed up. There will be three classes. Trophies will be awarded.

Chicken Dinner – Lions Club now selling tickets. They are $8.00ea. There will not be a specific site to eat dinner. They will be picked up as a “to go” box. People will be welcome to eat them in the parks.

New Business:

Car Bash – Pam Chartrand asked permission to have a fundraiser for her sister, Wanda Gall. She has a disease that has affected her liver and she is on a transplant list. This fundraiser is a “car bash”. A car bash is where you pay to damage a vehicle. They would like to hold it on Saturday, August 18th from 11:00-4. They have a car already donated. They are in the process of asking Jeff Platt to use the Marathon Station parking lot. They will have liability insurance and clean-up immediately afterwards. Because it is on private property, the group felt it was not necessary to make a motion for them to have it, but agreed it was a good cause.

Advertising – Steve to have a representative from The Morning Sun at the next meeting. D. Oyster has been in contact with Kathy Murphy regarding radio advertising. Between the two of them, it was felt approx $3,000.00 was needed to get the exposure needed. A motion was made by G. Gross to approve $1,000.00 for radio advertising. This was seconded by T. Hohlbein. Motion carried. Dennis is going to approach the chamber for additional money.

Mugs – The chamber has decided to order mugs to sell for the Sesquicentennial. They will be ordering 144 and sell them for approx. $5.00 – 6.00 each.

Lee Coughlin made a motion to adjourn at 8:59PM. ML Walters seconded that motion. Motion carried.

Next meeting to be held on August 1, 2007 at 7:00PM at the Coe Twp Hall.

Respectfully Submitted,

Patti Sandel

Shepherd Argus Sesquicentennial Special Edition

Support our local paper as it prepares to publish a special edition Sesquicentennial issue the week of August 13. They are selling space for family photos in this issue. See the newspaper's office for details.

Committee members and other event coordinators should begin submitting updated articles to the Shepherd Argus so that they can be published before the start of the Shepherd Sesquicentennial. If you know someone who is in charge of an event that still needs some publicity please have them contact Jon Morgan at (989) 828-4038 or via email at jmorgan@jsbush.com.

Information Center

Here are some things that I hope to put on display inside the Coe Township Hall during the Shepherd Sesquicentennial:

  • Event Flyers
  • A large map of Shepherd showing landmarks or key locations
  • Message Board to report event schedule changes, cancellations, or phone messages
  • Lost and Found
  • First Aid Kits
  • Extra supplies
  • One Radio for communication with the rest of the committee
  • At least one computer displaying information about upcoming events for the weekend

I hope that we can station key members of the committee around the Village so that if something comes up or an event needs to be changed (maybe because of weather) the right people can be notified. This would also help with lost children, or other unforeseen needs.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

The Next Sesquicentennial Planning Committee Meeting

Our next meeting will be held in the Coe Township Hall next to the library at 7 p.m. We were going to focus on the issue of promotion for the Sesquicentennial. Dennis Oyster was going to bring some prices for radio spots. Please feel free to comment on this topic under the Shepherd Sesquicentennial Information Center blog (http://historicshepherd.blogspot.com), reply to the post via the Discussion Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shepherd150) or reply directly back to me at jmorgan@jsbush.com.

Keep your eyes peeled for an agenda and minutes from last week's meeting.

Press Releases

Dennis Oyster and I are currently working on some press releases to get out to the media. We are targeting the following organizations:

  • 9&10 News
  • Channel 5
  • Saginaw News
  • Lansing State Journal
  • Bay City Times
  • Channel 3 (Public Access Channel)
If you know of any other places that might be able to announce the Sesquicentennial or the individual events please contact me at jmorgan@jsbush.com. Also, some of the websites have community calendars which require a person to enter information by hand. Please feel free to enter information about the event(s) that you are coordinating, and then let me know once you have complete them. For example, the website for 9&10 News has a community calendar/classifieds that we could enter all of our events in.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

All Blog Posts will now show up on Historic Shepherd website

I've made a change to the Shepherd Sesquicentennial website which will now allow the posts on the discussion group to appear on the homepage. Why is this important? Because now when visitors come to the website they will be able to see the latest discussion, blog post, or announcement that has come across the discussion group. They will also be able to click over to the yahoo group, read the full message, and then reply immediately. Even new posts created by the general public will appear on the Shepherd Sesquicentennial website after they've been reviewed and approved.

Also, there are now several blogs for the Shepherd Sesquicentennial events. Posts from these blogs will now show up on the homepage almost as soon as they are written. So, be sure to post as much information to the discussion group as you can because when you do you are contributing to our website!

For more information, contact me at (989) 828-4038 or via email at webmaster@historicshepherd.com.

Volunteers Needed

We're going to need volunteers to help out with the Sesquicentennial Information Center. This will include handing out promotional materials, pointing visitors towards events, supporting ongoing events, plus other tasks as needed. It may also serve as a dispatch center using radios.

If you are interested, please contact Jon Morgan at (989) 828-4038 or via email at jmorgan@jsbush.com.

Handouts Needed

I am going to be setting up an information center inside the Coe Township Hall during the Sesquicentennial. If you are coordinating an event during the Sesquicentennial that you would like to be represented at the information center, please send copies of your promotional materials to me no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 9 2007. I will be setting up the information center on Thursday, August 16.

Several of the Sesquicentennial events have blogs set up. This will allow us to display the most up-to-date information for specific events. If your event has a website please forward the address to me at webmaster@historicshepherd.com so that I can include it on the Sesquicentennial website at http://www.historicshepherd.com.

I will need everyone to send updates and changes to me on a regular basis at webmaster@historicshepherd.com. I would also appreciate it if you would email me with any information you've learned about other's events.

Please send suggestions for the types of information which you would like to see at the information center to the email address above. I am working out all of the details right now. If you'd like to be a part of the planning for the information center, please contact me at (989) 828-4038.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Mural


Work on the Sesquicentennial mural is scheduled to begin next week. Check out the Train Depot Mural website for more information.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Essay Contest

We need to get the word out about the Essay Writing Contest. The last time I contacted Kristi Bush, coordinator of the contest, she only had one submission from a student. I've started a new blog dedicated to the writing contest at http://essaycontest-hs.blogspot.com. This will be a place where parents and students can go to for information and tips on getting their essays started.

Please contact me at (989) 828-4038 or jmorgan@jsbush.com if you have some ideas.

Historic Society Membership

Last night during the Ice Cream Social at the Village Park I joined the Shepherd Area Historic Society for $3. Normally, a yearly membership costs $5, but the society had rolled the price back to the way it used to be in an attempt to recruit new members. I was already on the fence about joining, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity at that price.

The Ice Cream social was very nice with lots of great music performed by the Community Band.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Cemetery Walk Blog

There is now a blog dedicated only to the Cemetery Walk as a part of the Shepherd Sesquicentennial website. The blog can be accessed via http://hs-cemeterywalk.blogspot.com.

The blog will feature updates concerning the upcoming Cemetery Walk taking place at the Salt River Cemetery on Saturday, August 18 as well as photos and other information. Additional information about the Shepherd Sesquicentennial can be found at the official homepage http://www.historicshepherd.com.

Coordinators and others who are involved in the planning for the Cemetery Walk event are invited to contact Jon Morgan, Sesquicentennial Committee webmaster, at webmaster@historicshepherd.com and request author-level access to the Cemetery Walk blog.

Beard Contest

The Beard Contest will wrap up at the Village Park on Saturday, August 18 at 2 p.m. All of the beard growing contestants will be asked to march in the Sesquicentennial parade on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. There will be an auction immediately following the parade during which the public can bid for the chance to shave off the beard of their choice.

Visit the Beard Contest blog at http://hs-beardcontest.blogspot.com/.

Praise and Graze

A new blog has been launched to cover the upcoming Praise and Graze scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. in front of the Shepherd United Methodist Church on Sunday, August 19. The Praise and Graze was rescheduled so it would take place during the other Sesquicentennial events.

The blog can be found at http://praiseandgraze.blogspot.com. Information about the Sesquicentennial celebration can be found at the homepage http://www.historicshepherd.com.

You can contact Jon Morgan, Sesquicentennial Committee webmaster, at webmaster@historicshepherd.com for more information.

Jenny's Diner added as a Sesquicentennial Sponsor

The Sesquicentennial Committee and the community of Shepherd would like to thank Jenny's Diner for its generous donation of $150 towards the upcoming Sesquicentennial celebration.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Shepherd Sesquicentennial Student Essay Contest

As part of the Shepherd Sesquicentennial Celebration this fall, students are encouraged to read books which explore the theme The Pursuit of Happiness. As students read books from a list of titles received from the National Endowment for the Humanities, they will share their own thoughts on how common themes can be drawn between literature and their lives in a small Midwestern town. (Please note: Younger students may have the books read to them. Each student is required to read only one book on the list.)

Participants will be divided into the following age groups: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. For each age group, the winner will receive two free passes to the carnival. Winning authors will also be featured in the local newspaper and will be invited to read their essays during the celebration.

Each essay must contain the following information:

  1. Essay cover sheet
  2. Book title and author (see list of book choices)
  3. A description of how The Pursuit of Happiness is demonstrated in the book
  4. An example of how The Pursuit of Happiness relates to the student’s life, or to the life of someone the student knows, here in Shepherd, MI.
  • Personal experience
  • Relative or friend’s experience
  • Shepherd historical examples

All essays must either be typed or neatly written. Essays will be evaluated according to age-appropriate guidelines. These guidelines appear below:

K-2 writers :
  • Work is complete, very neat, and has everything it needs (see 1-3 above)
  • Students write words and brief sentences that are legible
  • Sentences will include spacing and punctuation
  • Illustrations or photographs are encouraged
3-5 writers:
  • Work is complete, very neat, and has everything it needs (see 1-3 above)
  • Writer establishes and focuses on the purpose of the writing task
  • Student shows a clear awareness of the intended audience
  • Content is organized and ideas are presented in a logical way
  • Appropriate details are included to clarify ideas
  • Mistakes in grammar, mechanics and usage do not detract from clarity and meaning
  • Illustrations or photographs are encouraged

6-8 writers:

  • Work is complete, very neat, and has everything it needs (see 1-3 above)
  • Writer establishes and focuses on the purpose of the writing task
  • Appropriate language is used for the intended audience
  • Ideas are clear, well-organized, and well-developed
  • Essay is organized into separate paragraphs
  • Specific details are provided from the literature and from personal experience
  • Wording is lively, vivid, and imaginative
  • Mistakes in grammar, mechanics and usage do not detract from clarity and meaning

9-12 writers:
  • Work is neat (preferably typed) and contains everything it needs (see 1-3 above)
  • Response shows clear understanding of the theme The Pursuit of Happiness
  • Writing demonstrates a mature command of language
  • Ideas are written in clear, well-organized, and well-developed paragraphs
  • Specific details are provided from the literature and from personal experience
  • Student keeps theme as focus from beginning to end
  • Mistakes in grammar, mechanics and usage do not detract from clarity and meaning

All essays are due by July 1, 2007, and must be mailed or delivered to:

Kristi Bush
320 Red Maple Lane
Shepherd, MI 48883


Judging will take place during the month of July, and winners will be announced during the Sesquicentennial Celebration Opening Ceremonies. All entries will be judged by a panel of readers.

Questions may be directed to Kristi Bush at (989) 506-0768 or http://www.blogger.com/kbush@edzone.net