Monday, August 29, 2011

Culinary Extravaganza - Sunday, Sept. 25 at the VisTaTech Center from 2 - 5 p.m.

The Schoolcraft College Foundation celebrates the College’s 50th Anniversary with this year’s Culinary Extravaganza. The Extravaganza brings together students, professionals and the southeastern Michigan community. Guests sample the finest culinary delicacies from metro Detroit’s most notable restaurants, pastry shops and beverage vendors. Culinary Extravaganza is a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon while helping Schoolcraft College students succeed. For an up-to-date listing of participating restaurants visit our website at www.schoolcraft.edu/foundation.

More importantly, Culinary Extravaganza is a fundraiser to benefit our Culinary Arts program and Schoolcraft College students by providing scholarships and grants to enhance educational opportunities. Over our 50 year history, more than 300,000 individuals have been educated at Schoolcraft College. We are committed to keeping an education within the reach of individuals from all walks of life, and to providing them with the skills they need to succeed in today’s economy. Together we can open the door of opportunity Ever Upward.

We thank you in advance for your support. Your generosity on September 25th will last for decades. We promise you and your guests a delightful afternoon.

Extravaganza Activities
*Wine Tasting Seminar with Sommelier Lee Hershey
*Learn about wholesome healthy food with certified master chef, Jeff Gabriel
*Silent Auction

Tickets to the event are $50 - $20 is a charitable contribution. To order your Culinary Extravaganza tickets call 734-462-4518 or order on-line at www.schoolcraft.edu/foundation.

Raffle tickets also help our fundraising efforts and are available for purchase. The drawing will be held at Culinary Extravaganza on Sunday, September 25th. You need not be present to win. Tickets are $5 each or 3 for $10.

1st Prize: Hearts on Fire Diamond Necklace from Orin Jewelers, valued at $3,400
2nd Prize - $500 Cash
3rd & 4th Prize - $250 Cash
5th, 6th & 7th Prize – Dinner for two at American Harvest Restaurant on the Schoolcraft College Livonia campus

Sponsorship packages ranging from $5,000 to $300 are available and offer additional benefits. Please contact 734-462-4518 or mlynch@schoolcraft.edu to order tickets or for additional information.

Vendor Space Available for Laurel Park Place Small Business And Home Based Business Show

Livonia, MI (August 25, 2011) – Laurel Park Place will be hosting a Small Business and Home Based Business Show from Friday, September 23 through Sunday September 25, 2011. Vendor Space is available to assist owners to promote their smaller business and home based business to build customer clientele. This is a great opportunity to showcase your business to a larger audience, meet directly with new potential customers and sell your products and services on-site.

The event will take place over a three-day weekend, Friday and Saturday 11am-7pm and Sunday 12pm-6pm. A fee of $150 will be the charge for set up and includes a 6’ table with tablecloth and skirting and one chair in the booth area.

At this time we are taking reservations for the event through September 19, 2011. If you need further information and are interested in reserving a space please contact the mall office at 734.462.1100 ext. 227 or ext 260, Dan Irvin or Claudia Frederick or e-mail us at Dan_Irvin@cblproperties.com or Claudia_frederick@cblproperties.com. We look forward to helping you build your business and generate awareness of your products and service.

About Laurel Park Place
Laurel Park Place is owned and managed by CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. of Chattanooga, TN, (NYSE:CBL). Laurel Park Place is a 574,368 square-foot regional shopping destination featuring more than 75 stores and eateries’ including a Food Court with a Children’s Play Area and is anchored by Parisian and Von Maur. For more information, visit Laurel Park Place on line at LaurelParkPlace.com.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

New Horizons of Detroit Named Mega-Market of the Year

New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Detroit
Named North American Mega-Market of the Year for Second Year in a Row
at 2011 New Horizons International Conference


Livonia, Mich. – August 25, 2011 –
New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Detroit announced today that it has been named the North American Mega-Market of the Year for the second year in a row. This award was presented at the 2011 New Horizons International Conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee.

New Horizons of Detroit—part of the New Horizons Great Lakes network of centers in Michigan, Chicago and Cleveland—placed ahead of other mega-market centers such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Dallas. The award is based on a combination of revenue growth, profit, customer satisfaction score, and total revenue. Awards were also presented to top centers in other market-size classes.

"We are very proud to again be recognized as the Mega-Market of the Year," said Gary Abernathy, General Manager, New Horizons of Detroit. “Our team works hard every day to provide our clients with the highest quality training and solutions that drive business growth and career opportunities for individuals. This award acknowledges those efforts and shows that good things continue to happen in Detroit.”

Awards were also presented to numerous sales representatives and instructors from the Detroit and Chicago locations. Recipients included Sandra Mead, Senior Career Consultant, Detroit, who placed third worldwide in sales for the year ending June 30, 2011. Additional sales awards were presented to Christy Rowe, Career Consultant, Detroit, and S. Alex Maier, Career Consultant, Chicago. Instructor recognition, which is based on a customer satisfaction index, included Rob Foulkrod of Detroit, who ranked within the top 25 of technical instructors in the New Horizons worldwide network. Rob Myers of Detroit and Tom Keen of Chicago both ranked within the top 25 of applications instructors worldwide.

The New Horizons International Conference is an annual convention of New Horizons owners, executives and employees from New Horizons corporate offices as well as franchises around the globe. Strategic partners such as Microsoft, Element K, Axzo Press, Cisco and CompTIA are also invited to participate. International Conference is a premier event within the New Horizons network and showcases the centers, employees and technologies that are leading the organization and the training industry.

New Horizons of Detroit has been recognized at the New Horizons International Conference as a top center in North America for 12 of the past 19 years. The center received the award for the first time in 1993 and again each year through 2001. New Horizons of Detroit was also named Mega-Market of the Year in 2007 and 2010.

About New Horizons Computer Learning Centers
New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Detroit is the leading provider of learning solutions for Information Technology, PC Desktop Applications, Project Management, Business Skills, and Healthcare Information Management. New Horizons offers businesses and individuals the most effective learning experience available in the industry with classroom and online Instructor-Led Training, self-paced Mentored Learning, and Online ANYTIME eLearning. As a part of the New Horizons Great Lakes regional network of centers, they have 10 state-of-the-art facilities located in Livonia, Troy, Detroit, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo, Michigan; Chicago and Rosemont, Illinois; and Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. With more than 70 instructors, hundreds of class offerings, and 75 classrooms in the Great Lakes region, New Horizons is your premier learning partner. For more information, visit www.newhorizons.com/detroit or call (734) 525-1501.



Monday, August 15, 2011

Aug. 9th Industrial Council Meeting Videos

The Livonia Chamber and SME held their second Industrial Council Meeting on Tuesday, August 9. Part 1 of this meeting includes the introductions and the City's update. The second video of this meeting features a portion of Speaker Pro Tempore John Walsh's presentation. The final video includes a small part of the discussion on workforce development.





Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Congratulations Bubbleberry!



The Livonia Chamber of Commerce would like to congratulate Bubbleberry on today's grand opening!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Mom to Mom Sale - a non-profit memorial fundraiser for student

Business Owners,

Elizabeth Cinque, Executive Director and Owner of Little Tots Learning Center, wants to invite you to participate in a special event. Livonia Little Tots will be hosting a mom to mom sale and memorial fundraiser raffle on August 27, 2011 to benefit a Livonia Little Tots family. We need your help to make it a success.

Livonia Little Tots is a childcare center that has been operating in Livonia for 51 years. Our mission is to provide a loving, secure, educational environment for young children and their families.

The success of their raffle depends on the generosity of individuals and companies such as yours. Here's how you can help: Please consider contributing an item or service to the raffle. Some items that have sold well in the past are gift baskets, wine, holiday items, gift certificates, electronic equipment, artwork, and jewelry. Services such as manicures, photography, home improvement and dental procedures have also generated a lot of interest.

By donating a service or item, you help support your community through the school; publicize your business and products; and bring in new customers who will spread the word about your business to their family and friends. All sponsoring businesses will be advertised on their promotional flyers and in their school newsletter which reaches hundreds of families in the area!

Thank you for your support of this important event. They would appreciate all donations by Friday, August 12th. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact them at 734-591-6440.

www.livonialittletots.com

Monday, August 8, 2011

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Livonia Primary Election Results

The primary election for the City of Livonia took place yesterday. Please see below for the results.

Have a great Wednesday!


SUMMARY REPORT

CITY OF LIVONIA, MICHIGAN
CITY PRIMARY ELECTION
AUGUST 2, 2011

RUN DATE: 08/02/11 10:03 PM

PRECINCTS COUNTED (OF 45) 45
REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL 73,963
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL 14,669
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL 19.83%

CITY COUNCIL

Tom Buck 741 Votes 1.68%
Steve King 4,312 Votes 9.77%
Brandon Kritzman 4,102 Votes 9.30%

Christopher Martin 1,447 Votes 3.28%
Rodger Matthews 1,538 Votes 3.49%
Lucas C. McGrail 1,523 Votes 3.45%
Susan M. Nash 3,836 Votes 8.69%
Leo D. Neville 2,737 Votes 6.20%
John R. Pastor 6,631 Votes 15.03%
Tom Robinson 4,730 Votes 10.72%
Conrad P. Schwartz 2,942 Votes 6.67%

Richard J. Smith 660 Votes 1.50%
Laura M. Toy 8,888 Votes 20.14%
WRITE-IN 39 Votes 0.09%

PUBLIC SAFETY CHARTER AMENDMENT

YES 10,960 Votes 75.03%
NO 3,647 Votes 24.97%

SENIOR SERVICES CHARTER AMENDMENT

YES 10,850 Votes 74.66%

NO 3,682 Votes 25.34%

4TH ANNUAL COMMUNITY BACKPACK & SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE

Community Alliance Credit Union is very proud to be a partner with the Livonia Youth Commission and Community Resources Dept. to encourage donations and collect supplies for the 4th Annual Community Backpack & School Supply Drive for the Livonia Goodfellows. They are requesting new backpacks, new school supplies of all sorts and monetary donations are accepted. Checks can be made payable to ‘City of Livonia’ or ‘Livonia Goodfellows’. Cash will also be accepted. They will be collecting these items through August 11. Collections and donations points are at Community Alliance Credit Union’s Plymouth Road location and Livonia City Hall – Community Resources Dept. For more information contact Kathy Hoen at 734-464-8079 x1212 or Chris Swish at 734-466-2542.

Monday, August 1, 2011

The primary election will be taking place tomorrow. The Livonia Chamber of Commerce wants to keep you informed. Please see our independent synopsis of the millage propositions below. Also, videos of the 13 city council candidates can be found on our website at http://livonia.org/candidates.asp

Happy Voting!

An independent synopsis of proposed Public Safety and Senior Center/Greenmead millage propositions set for citywide election on Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The city is asking Livonia residents to approve two separate millage increases for a term of five years toward the following dedicated city services:

1.7 mill tax increase for public safety

·This would generate an additional $7 million in revenue for police and fire services
·This tax would cost the average homeowner an additional $116 per year

0.25 mill tax increase for the Livonia Senior Center and Greenmead Historic Village
·This would generate an additional $1.035 million in revenue for support of the Livonia Senior Center and Greenmead Historic Village
·This tax would cost the average homeowner an additional $17 per year


Rationale for seeking these millages


The city's general fund revenue was about $54 million in 2006. It is around $48 million this year. City officials anticipate an additional shortfall of $6.2 million for the 2012 fiscal year, owing to decreased tax captures, increased health care costs, and the sunset of an administrative fee collected last year. The city is anticipating a continued decrease in tax collections for 2013 fiscal year. City officials report there have been some 130 positions eliminated over the past eight years, furlough days imposed, cuts to overtime and capital improvements and other measures to respond to recent revenue declines, but city finances are reaching a point where significant cuts to vital city services would be necessary without additional revenue sources.

More than 60 percent of the general fund goes to the police and fire department. Without additional revenue, city officials anticipate the elimination of 27-40 positions from the Livonia Police Department (currently a 160-person operation). There is limited flexibility to eliminate fire positions since a voter-approved charter amendment requires the city to have a certain number of firefighters based on population.

The Senior Center-Greenmead millage would be used to supplement general fund revenues used to support both city properties. Without the revenue sought in this millage proposal, city officials said both city properties will remain operating but they will be vulnerable to cuts in hours and programs.

Critics of these proposed millages are calling on the city to press city unions to take more employee benefit concessions before seeking any kind of tax increase. Some city council members have called for the elimination of take-home cars for certain city department heads and police personnel, and a privatization of the city engineering and law departments. Mayor Jack Kirksey said each suggestion would provide limited cost savings and a one-time revenue injection that would be a minor fraction of the anticipated shortfall. He added that other cuts will still be needed, even if both millages are approved.

Some business owners spoke at recent Livonia City Council meetings to voice support for the public safety millage, arguing cuts in public safety would be harmful to Livonia's future economic development opportunities.

Prepared June 3, 2011

2nd Annual Marycrest Heights Golf Invitational

SAVE THE DATE!
The 2nd Annual Marycrest Heights Golf Invitational will take place on Thursday, September 15, 2011at Whispering Willows Golf Course in Livonia. It will begin with a modified shotgun start at 9:15 a.m. For more information, visit www.marycrestheights.org or contact Dorothy@marycrestmanor.org