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The Beacon

May 2014May 2014May 2014May 2014 Volume 9, Number 12

www.annarborcityclub.org 1830 Washtenaw Avenue � Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 734.662.3279

Sixth Annual City Club Car Show “The Show under the Shade”

Saturday, May 24th, 2014

12 - 3 PM

Rain or Shine!

You are cordially invited to attend the sixth annual City Club Car Show, held from Noon until 3 PM on Saturday, May 24th, rain or shine. Admission to the viewing public is free. Refreshments and food will be for sale. It is fun for the whole family. So bring all those kids, grandkids, aunts, uncles, parents, other relatives, and your friends along!

Come see the fine collection of classic, sporty, unusual and rare collectible cars, trucks, motorcycles and other diverse vehicles that participate. And if you own a favorite vehicle of your own, please consider entering it in our show. As we did last year, we are again inviting people with collectible vintage bicycles to enter (at no charge), too!

All automobile and truck entrants receive a laminated vehicle biography and a complimentary digital photo file of their vehicle. Plus you get a shot at winning some nifty door prizes and you get to participate in our zany car trivia quiz. All this for only $15! ($20 after May 19th.)

Registration forms are available on the City Club web site or at the front desk. We are always in need of volunteer help on the day of the event. If you are willing to lend a hand please contact us. Thank you! For more details contact Dean DeGalan (734.426.5908) or Connie D’Amato (734.277.1212)

Welcome New Members!

Sandra Cole and Kalyan Dutta

Be sure to give them a warm welcome the next time you

see them in the Club!

Perry Nursery School Field Day: Volunteers Needed! The Community Outreach Committee needs your help!

Volunteers are needed on Friday, June 13, to attend Perry

Nursery School’s end-of-the-year Field Day.

Volunteers will cook hot dogs and assist with lunch

preparation for the children, as well as monitor the

numerous games and activities. Last year’s volunteers had a

great time! Volunteers will be needed from approximately

9 a.m. until 12 p.m. Sign-up sheets will be available at the

Front Desk with more information.

Flea Market 2014 (and 2015!) The 2014 Flea Market was a raging success! Crowds

swarmed throughout the Club in search of treasures. We

made over $17,000 with more to come as some items are

being sold on E-Bay.

Thanks to all who donated and to all the volunteers who

worked so hard to make it happen. It really takes more

than a village to make the Flea Market work. Special

thanks go out to Greg Fleming, Tom D’Addona and the

AACC staff for all their cooperation and hard work. And

big thanks to outgoing Flea Market chair Millie

Empedocles

Next year’s Flea Market is set for the weekend of March 28

-29, and we are already taking donations. So start

collecting your stuff, bring it in and we’ll start all over

again!

Linda Atkins and Barbara Kramer

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We are delighted to announce that Rachael

Albrecht has accepted the position of

Front Desk Receptionist. We are thrilled

that she will be part of our team at the City

Club!

Please stop by the reception desk and

welcome Rachael!

From Your President

Dear Friends: Standing on the shoulders of giants. That’s my vantage point as I become your 2014-15 City Club President. So many talented, intelligent, creative, risk-taking, hard-working women come before me, and their success in leading the club toward this moment makes it possible for me to envision a wonderful future for us all. It’s a wide-sweeping view from this height, and I can tell you it is beautiful. What I see is the warm and caring community inside the Ann Arbor City Club reaching out to connect with the community all around us. Throughout this coming year, I hope to nurture a joyous sense of community among our members while strengthening our relationships outside the Club. This is how we will succeed in attracting more new members, strategic partners, and events, while increasing our visibility as a friendly, fun place to be. The people on this year’s board and planning council are some of the City Club’s most dedicated members who know their jobs, believe in this organization, and understand the value of connecting. We are all fortunate they have volunteered their time and skill, and I hope we will all show our gratitude by coming to activities and volunteering when needed. This month, we have two Lunch & Learn events to enjoy as well as the annual City Club Car Show. And we need many people to help out with the Home Tour on June 1. Do join me in showing your commitment to our shared community while you have a good time! Our general manager, Greg Fleming, has already done more to build connections with the larger community than any staff member before him, and with the fine work of all our staff, we will continue to bring more new groups into the Club. When people feel welcomed and well cared for, they want to return again and again. We’re all involved in creating that atmosphere, and I want to thank you for doing your part. We have more to do to spread the word that irresistible joy awaits inside the red double doors. I’ll do my best to foster that joy for all to see. Thank you for the opportunity.

Stephanie Kadel Taras President

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Daily Lunch Service 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Monday-Friday)

Drinks & Snacks in the Pub 1:30 – 5 p.m.

(Tuesday, Thursday & Friday)

Friday, May 2 First Friday Happy Hour 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 7

Lunch & Learn with Amy Pienta 11:30 a.m.

“What Happens to Research Data at the End of a Project?”

Thursday, May 8 Dinner and a Movie Night at the Club Dinner at 5 p.m. Movie at 7 p.m.

Plan to watch Chinatown after enjoying a dinner of your choice from our dinner menu.

Sunday, May 11 Mother’s Day Brunch

11:00 a.m.- 1 p.m. Come enjoy a delicious buffet with your family and friends to celebrate Mother’s Day! Adult- $26.50, Child-$13 (3 and Under - Free) Menu Available at the Front Desk

Thursday, May 22

Lunch & Learn with John McElroy 11:30 a.m.

“Detroit and Michigan’s Role in the Future of the Automotive Business: Where do we go from here?”

Tuesday, May 27 “It’s Your Birthday” Luncheon

11 a.m. Calling all those who have May birthdays and their friends! Celebrate the special occasion by gathering at the Club to enjoy lunch with friends, family and other birthday guys and gals. Complimentary Birthday Cake for everyone!

Bridge On Sunday, May 4th, the Michigan Bridge Association and the ACBL will sponsor a “learn to play bridge in one afternoon” event at the Ann Arbor City Club. The time is 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Please get the word out to your friends and relatives, all ages. This is a great way to attract new bridge members! The AACCDB will have its annual meeting on May 16th. On June 17th we will have an open charity game with donations given to Alzheimer’s Research. This is part of the Longest Day, a national endeavor. Judith Gessner has achieved the rank of Silver Life Master. Nan Elliott President

Community Outreach There is a plaque that hangs near the front desk in the lobby of the Ann Arbor City Club. It lists the beneficiaries of a grant decided upon by the Community Outreach Committee given by our club each year to a deserving 501(c)(3) organization of Washtenaw County. The first recipient was in 2002, The Neutral Zone, and this year’s annual recipient is Washtenaw Camp Placement. Although we began by identifying groups that help women and children primarily, any worthwhile organization that fits our criteria would be considered.

According to our mission statement, the Club is committed to supporting institutions and organizations that are efficient, thoughtful, creative, compassionate, results-oriented and transparent in their approach to providing programs and services that empower and improve the quality of life for individuals and communities. Because our award is limited to $1000 we try to identify a group that would benefit greatly from an award of that amount. If you have a worthwhile program you’d like us to consider, please contact Barb Pomey at 213-7798. If you would like to join the committee, feel free to come to our next meeting on May 21st at 9:30 am.

Barbara Pomey Chair

Boutique Chocolat at the Flea Market - Thanks! Thanks to all the bakers, wrappers, sellers, and buyers that made the Boutique Chocolat a success. It would not have been possible without you!!! Many thanks. Mary Greulich

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Signature Group: Evening Book Discussion

The Evening Book Discussion Group will meet on Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. This month’s selection is Rules of Civility written by Amor Towles. We meet in The Pub for dinner and a lively discussion about the book. Reservations for dinner are suggested but if you find that you are free on short notice---we would be delighted to have you join us. We will begin discussing our reading selections for next year at this May meeting, and finish our list at our June meeting, June 12. If you would like more information, please call me 734.649.6047 or email me at Karen.Valvo@FinkValvoLaw.com.

Karen Valvo Evening Book Discussion Group

Signature Group: Book Discussion The Book Discussion Group will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 16. The book will be Still Life by Louise Penny. This is one of a series of her mystery books. Everyone is

welcome to join us. Suzanne Powell Morning Book Discussion Chair

Flowering Plant Sale

Colorful flowers for you benefit Club gardens and grounds!

Geraniums, Petunias, Impatiens and Hanging Flower Baskets can be ordered for May planting. The annual Grounds Flowering Plant sale provides the opportunity to purchase colorful flowers for your home gardens, patio and porch, and at the same time provides funds to keep the Club gardens, kitchen-herb garden and grounds beautiful. These annual flowers come again from Saline Flowerland which always offers us healthy, attractive plants in many colors that will thrive in your garden with normal care. Place your order by Monday, May 12 by filling out the order form included in the Beacon or located on the entrance foyer credenza. You can charge your order to your account, or attach your check for the amount plus tax, made out to the Ann Arbor City Club with "Grounds" written on the memo line. Or you can call 734.662.2235 to place your order. Flower Pick-up day will be Saturday, May 17 from 9 a.m. until noon. If this doesn't work for you, feel free to make other pick-up arrangements by calling Mary Ann at 734.604.7661.

LUNCH AND LEARN 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Reservations required six days prior to event. City Club Members: $25 Non-Club Members: $30

May 7

May 22

Amy M. Pienta Acquisitions Director, Inter-University

Consortium for Political and Social Research What Happens to Research Data at

the End of a Project?

John McElroy Automotive Industry Expert and Host of “Autoline

Daily” and “Autoline This Week” Detroit and Michigan's Role in the Future of the

Automotive Business: Where do we go from here? Note: This event was not included in the Lunch and Learn series package. Those wishing to attend this event must

make reservations! Thank you.

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What to do and say when someone asks you about City Club membership

Introduce yourself and tell them you’d be glad to answer any questions, take them on a tour, etc. The tour should include the new video screen in the lobby with all the literature on the table, especially the card which mentions the 25% discount for new members and lists the Committee and Signature Groups on the back. Depending on their questions, point them to the various Club activities that may be of interest. Let them know they may attend up to three bridge games or Signature Group meetings, etc. as a non-member to see what these are like.

Ask for their name and email address so that we may include them on our mailing list for things to do as a non-member. Ask their permission to share their contact information with members in charge of Signature Groups, Committees, or activities that interest them. You can give the information to the Receptionist or Office Manager and she will enter it in our database of potential members. She can also share the info with the appropriate other group or committee. Offer them a membership packet, which includes an explanation of the various membership categories and the dues amounts. These are available through the Receptionist or Office Manager. If appropriate, ask them how they heard about the City Club. Note that on the info you give to the Receptionist or Office Manager. If appropriate, invite them to join you for lunch one day. Susan Smith Immediate Past President

Dinner and a Movie Makeyourdinnerreservationsandjoinusforaviewingof

Chinatown

StarringJackNicholsonandFayeDunaway

Thursday,May8

7p.m.

JJ 'Jake' Gittes is a private detective who seems to specialize in matrimonial cases. He is

hired by Evelyn Mulwray when she suspects her husband Hollis, builder of the city's

water supply system, of having an affair. Gittes does what he does best, but in the ensuing scandal, it seems he

was hired by an impersonator and not the real Mrs. Mulwray. When Mr. Mulwray is found dead, Jake is plunged

into a complex web of deceit involving murder and municipal corruption all related to the city's water supply.

Ann Arbor City Club Sponsored Exterior Tour

Where Notables Lived in Ann Arbor

June 11, 2014 10:00 a.m. (depart the City Club) ~ 90 minute tour Maximum 20-seat capacity. Payment due by May 28, 2014 Some walking to a gravesite Bus is wheelchair accessible Through the years, many of America’s notable authors, poets and playwrights were attracted to Ann Arbor’s unique quality of life and the quiet privacy it provides to reside here. Local Historian Dale Leslie provides a 90-minute motor coach tour, observing seven residences and an obscure gravesite. Dale provides an interesting background of notables and suggests why they decided to live in Ann Arbor.

Homes to be observed: Harriett Arnow (The Dollmaker);

W.H. Auden (poet); Joseph Brodsky (essayist); Robert Frost (poet); Robert Hayden (poet laureate); Arthur Miller (playwright) and Betty Smith (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)

Art at the City Club To follow that engaging and nostalgic show- the Ann Arbor Observer Cover Collection – will be an exhibit of Marcy Gray’s fruit and flower paintings; a cheerfully colorful ‘salute to spring.’ Although I am retiring as Art Chair, and Mary Bachman is taking over, this upcoming show is one of three exhibits previously planned and yet to be hung. Terri Bartholomew 2013-14 Art Committee Chair

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Spotlight on Jackie Brewer Jackie Brewer is a Michigander through and through (or is it Michiganian?) Anyway, she

was born and brought up in Sturgis, Michigan and raised principally by her grandparents.

When she was a teenager, her father remarried and she eventually acquired three darling

sisters with whom she is very close. Jackie attended Michigan State as an undergraduate

and earned a B.A. in English Lit. She then went to the University of Michigan, School of

Education where she received an M.A. in Secondary Education. Her first position after

grad school was in Battle Creek where she was a reading specialist for nine years. Jackie

didn’t spend all those years in the classroom only as she met Bill Brewer who was a

pediatrician at the local Army hospital. When Bill finished his service, he moved to Ann

Arbor to establish a practice. Jackie also moved and they were married in A2.

Jackie’s first years in Ann Arbor were carefree. She joined the Ann Arbor Women’s City

Club where she learned to play bridge. In this era, the Club was closed during the summer

months, so members often went to each other’s houses to play bridge. They brought their lunches in little brown bags and

sometimes (don’t tell!) were offered a tipple to go with their meals. Jackie describes these days very fondly. She says that

everyone was so friendly and accepting of new members. Her most important project at the Club in those days was the

Antiques Fair. Jackie and the members of the committee traveled all over the state to find suitable vendors for the Fair. Only

genuine antiques were accepted and vendors vied for a booth at the event. It was a tremendous amount of work and

involved moving a great deal of the Club’s own furniture. Nonetheless, a new roof was among the projects paid for from its

proceeds. Besides the City Club, Jackie also volunteered at the United Fund Camp Placement Program where she spent

many happy hours. Jackie was also very active in the St. Joe’s Auxiliary—of happy memory—serving in every position in the

organization.

When Bill and Jackie had been married for ten years there began a very challenging period. Bill had a serious aneurism. The

next decade was devoted to helping him regain motion, speech and other problems associated with the attack. And Jackie

was devoted. So dedicated was she that Bill even regained the ability to drive in an emergency. He was able to volunteer

himself at the gift shop at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He also “adopted” an elderly man with no family and took care of him.

Finally, Jackie felt able to return to the work force which she did by taking a job as a reading specialist at Willow Run High

School. After one year at this position, Jackie decided to go into real estate. She became a real estate agent with Charles

Reinhart and the match was magic. Jackie loved the work and she “loved the job.” She got to know “everybody” and to

become life-long friends with many. One of the clients with whom she became friends and then a mentor in the real estate

business is Gail Sugar whom she drew into the City Club.

When it was time to retire, Jackie, who had never resigned from the City Club during all her busiest years, returned to take up

friendships and bridge again. Jackie loves Ann Arbor. She attends lectures at the U and a myriad of sports activities from

softball to water polo. She is concerned about the City Club and suggested a lottery club which has just ended its second year.

No big prize yet but lots of hope. May Jackie long continue her involvement with the Club.

Libby Birdsall

For the Membership Committee

Our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of

Mary Waterfall May

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1830 Washtenaw Avenue Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 734.662.3279 info@annarborcityclub.org www.annarborcityclub.org

Upcoming Events

May 2014

Friday 2 First Friday Happy Hour 4-6 p.m.

Wednesday 7 Lunch & Learn: Amy Pienta 11:30 a.m.

Sunday 11 Mother’s Day Brunch 11:30 a.m.

Thursday 22 Lunch & Learn: John McElroy 11:30 a.m.

Saturday 24 Sixth Annual City Club Car Show 12 -3 p.m.

Monday 26 Memorial Day- Club Closed

Tuesday 27 It’s Your Birthday Lunch 11:30 a.m.

June 2014

Sunday 1 62nd Annual Home Tour 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Friday 13 Patio Party

Friday 13 Perry Nursery School Field Day 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

The Beacon President: Stephanie Kadel Taras Editor: Kylista Geiger

Photograph by Karl R. Josker

Charlevoix, Michigan