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Gratiot Area
Chamber of Commerce |
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New Businesses and Business Improvements are Underway in Alma As you come into downtown from the east, Family Video has
opened next to Larry’s IGA. Three
blocks to the west at 216 E. Superior, the Schneider Insurance Agency
(Farmers Insurance Group) is now open for business. And finally on the corner of Woodworth and Superior (128 E.
Superior) Hungry Howies has opened. Many improvements have been completed in the downtown
area. The Alma Renaissance has been
rehabilitating apartments on the second floor of 216 E. Superior St. Once the finishing touches are done, they
will be welcoming new residents.
Across the street at 215 E. Superior (California Nails), the front
façade has been tuck pointed and replaced.
Down the street further, you may have noticed the new signage at
Mancino’s Pizza on the front and west side of the building. The new signage includes an electronic
message sign on the west façade. Over
at 150 W. Center Street the office building at this location received a new
coat of paint and interior improvements.
The Alma community would like to thank these individuals for their
continued investments to our downtown. In Riverfront news, the City of Alma will be starting the
demolition work on the Alma Iron and Metal site in late October or early
November. The first phase of the
project will include the Robinson Appliance building on Mechanic, nine piles
of debris, and some of the smaller buildings on the interior of AIM. Around February, the second phase will
begin. The main AIM building on the
east and west sides of Superior Street will be torn down. This phase will also take down the
concrete wall on the north side of the site.
On the south side next to the river, the concrete wall will be cut
down to a foot above grade to be used as the temporary control measure. The site will then be seeded and fenced
off to complete this part of the project. Another demolition project happening just off from
downtown is the removal of the old middle school building on Downie
Street. At this point, we do not know
the exact date for the demo, but we have been told the building will be gone
before the first of the year. These
two projects will change the face of Alma and prepare it again for the
future. The holidays are fast approaching and the Alma Action
Association is hard a work organizing our annual “Come Home to Alma for the
Holidays” celebration. This year our
celebration will be held on Friday December 8th. Family oriented activities are happening
in the downtown businesses so bring the whole family and enjoy Downtown Alma. At the time I am writing this article, we have four homes
scheduled for the popular home tour.
This year’s homes include Saravilla, Masonic Pathways front lobby, the
Everest home on Luce Rd., and the old Smith Memorial Hospital on the
northwest corner of State & Downie Streets. The home tour is schedule to run from 5:30 to 8:00pm. Tickets will be available for purchase at
each home or you can purchase them early at the Gratiot Area Chamber Office
for $5.00 per person. The Chamber’s
phone number is 463-5525. If you are
interested in showing off your home decorated for the holidays, please call
me at 463-4921. Alma Action Association is sponsoring the Christmas Cash
Drawing again this year. We will be
giving away a total of $1000. Since
it worked out so well last year, there will be 5 cash prizes again this
year. Here is the breakdown for the
prizes: 1-$500, 1-$250, 2-$100, and
1-$50. There is a limit of 1 prize
per person. The drawing will be held
after the lighting of our Christmas tree between Alma True Value Hardware and
the Chamber Office. The ceremony will
start around 8:30pm. To receive a
ticket for the drawing, you need to shop at one of the 30+ participating
merchants. For every $10 you spend
you will get 1 ticket. Fill out your
name and what city you live in on the ticket and return it to any
participating merchants or the Chamber Office by 8:00pm on December 8th
to be eligible for the drawing. You
also need to be present to win. The horse drawn carriage rides are returning again this
year. The rides are on a first come
first serve basis. The cost is $3 per
person and the rides start at Ken’s Culligan/Scented Serenity. While you are waiting for your ride, the
kids can visit with Santa. On this night merchants have special sales and events
going on in their businesses. If you
are interest in performing please contact me and I will try to find a place
for you to showcase your talents.
While you are shopping in Alma, please stop by Alma True Value
Hardware and see the Alma 150th Merchandise that we still have for
sale. They make great gifts for the people
on your Christmas list that are hard to buy for. We hope you enjoy the Come Home for the Holidays
celebration and encourage you to shop locally in Alma for all your Christmas
supplies and gifts. Since my term as the Chairperson for the Alma Action
Association is coming to a close at the end of this year, I would like to
take the opportunity to thank some people.
First I would like to thank Pat Nelson for encouraging me to take the
position. I would like to thank AAA
board members: Treasurer – Dan Raleigh, Secretary – Linda Darrow, Co-chair
and 2007 Chairperson – Rodys Dancer, for your support and continued
dedication to the Alma Action Association.
I would also like to thank Tammy Fisher and Aeric Ripley for all your
help and encouragement during the last 2 years. A special thank you to Jon and Linda Darrow for allowing AAA to
meet at Saravilla. If you are interested in joining us, we meet at 7am on the
fourth Friday of every month at Saravilla Bed & Breakfast. Thank you for having me as your Chairperson
for the last 2 years, I really enjoyed myself. |
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