By Jackie Lovejoy
President
Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce
Quote of the month that has inspired me:
“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
— Albert Camus
It’s this time of year that usually we start pining for warmer days, easier times and something different to catch our attention. Hibernating has become claustrophobic, snow has ceased to be pretty and is now gray and slushy in the month of March. We find ourselves counting backwards and wondering with exasperation, “Did that groundhog see his shadow or not?”
I know I feel all of this, and my husband, Joe, is amazed at my ambition to clean the house of clutter and start afresh, long before spring cleaning is in season. I simply get too antsy and need to have some action and plans in the depths of winter, to power me through to spring!
Gear up for spring by checking out the Center Marketplace from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 16. Admission is free to our indoor market featuring all sorts of food stuffs, gourmet treats, musical guests, cooking demos and a variety of gifts. Housed at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center — 15801 Michigan Ave., — it’s indoors, warm and filled with the great stuff of the impending spring season. (Whether we believe it or not, it’s coming!)
Join us at 6 p.m. March 6 for the last Community Conversation this quarter at Henry Ford Community College. The Center for Michigan, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think-and-do tank, strives to be the state’s “Citizenship Company.” It never endorses political parties or candidates for office. Instead, it has a fun and fast “Jeopardy!” type of session that records your thoughts to take forward to our candidates. You can discuss the audiences’ input, or simply observe.
This event frames our agenda for Michigan in a refreshing format. If you are civic minded and want to shape the agenda for upcoming political candidates, join us for this popular forum. Thanks to HFCC for hosting this interesting event. RSVP at the chamber website, or call us at 313-584-6100 to save your spot for this free event.
Do you still have health care questions? Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act ends March 31. We are hosting free information and signup days for the public at our offices. Enroll and find the answers you need on healthcare from a certified navigator from Community Bridges. Not affiliated with a company or political party, it provides impartial answers for your health care needs. Join us from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. March 7 and noon to 7 p.m. March 12. Get the facts and protect yourself and family. The chamber offices are in the historic Bryant Library, 22100 Michigan Ave.
Since sometimes we just can’t get outside, now is the perfect time to make inside time productive. Educational options are available to the entire community at the chamber website. Would you like to build your social media brand for your business, or simply brush up on Excel for your personal use? Check out the chamber website and click on “Online Education” on the right side of our main page.
Course offerings start at $19 and range from human resources topics, software tutorials to complex business plans. Once you download the course, it’s yours to use at your convenience for 24 months. You can take your time, or review it over and over again to buff up your skills on your schedule while you may be trapped indoors.
In conjunction with several local community organizations, Dearborn Public Library presents The Big Read Dearborn, a community-wide reading celebration and exploration of Jack London’s classic novel “The Call of the Wild.” The adventure begins at The Henry Ford March 8 with a grand kickoff featuring free books, music, activities, and Charlie Chaplin’s film “The Gold Rush.” Join in the fun from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Henry Ford’s Anderson Theater. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
I’m always surprised that as long as the winter seems to last, time still does fly by. Why not make the most of those indoor days we have left this season? Have some fun and check off some to-do list items while the weather holds us hostage a few more weeks. Before you know it, our farmers market will be ready for its seventh season this May, and we will be out and about enjoying the spring and each other’s company.