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Are you an established professional who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group who share your drive to give back.

Earth Day

On April 23, 2022, the Rotary District 6380 celebrated Earth Day by having an Environmental Workday at Vestergaard Farms located at 4408 S. Wagner Rd. Ann Arbor. Anne Nauts from the Chelsea Rotary Club participated and they sure did get a lot done. Thank you to all the volunteers to help make this happen.

Scott Nelson talked about Rotary's new seventh Area of Focus Environmental and a project he participates in called Plant Based Diet.

Max Vestergaard talked about the Vestergaard Farm. It is a family run farm which practices pasture-based farming with rotational grazing, prioritizing the well-being of our livestock. Their animals are raised humanely, sustainably and processed locally.

T.C. Collins then talked about Willow Run Acres and how he started his organization. Willow Run Acres offers educational/gardening classes for all skills/age levels, garden safety classes, yearly Potato Day Programs, food distribution, service the community with weekly/monthly clean-up sessions, gardening wellness sites, role modeling/mentor opportunities, and other community engagements.

After the three talked the group went out to T.C. 's gardening beds and the Rotarian's wedded, mulched and moved beds.

The day ended with a lunch with Jimmy Jone's Sandwich's, chips and cookies.

Rotary Share Night at Culvers

So Many to Thank for last night's Share Night at Culver's of Chelsea, supporting the Chelsea Rotary.

A huge thank you to Mike, the Manager at Culver's, Jerry Olinik Owner and the newby to town, Jeff Holden! Thank you for sharing your facilities and your organization with us. You all are very special people. Thank you.

Secondly, thank you for all that came to make today a success. Rotarians Dave and Meg, Chuck and Sue, Kathy, Lori, Dick, and Julie. The turn out of support was absolutely amazing! The positive vibe was moving and greatly appreciated.

I also want to thank everyone who came out and purchased something. It all helped. And thank you to those who were not able to come out but were with us in spirit. It is appreciated and NOT taken for granted!

Chelsea Rotary 2020-2021 Kick Off

The Rotary Club of Chelsea kicked off the 2020-2021 season with an outdoor gathering at the Chelsea District Library Reading Garden. The initial meeting for the fiscal new year beginning July 1 is reserved to honor the outgoing President; Mary Lee Penny, Executive Vice President and Commercial Lending Officer at Chelsea State Bank. It was a challenging year for Mary Lee as head of Commercial Lending during the COVID-19 crisis and the government loan assistance program known as PPP. Chelsea State Bank completed over 200 loans to their customers for a total of $40 million under Mary Lee's direction.

Several club Past Presidents; Gary Zenz, Kari Neuman, Susan Brown, Lorna Tackwell and Tammy Mason were present to award the plaque and gavel to Mary Lee and to "pass the Mallet" to incoming co-Presidents Richard Dice and Robert Swistock. Social distancing and masks were used appropriately and "Greeter" Stephanie Moran enforced the rules when necessary. Ugly Dog Distillery provided an excellent summer beverage and Smokehouse 52 provided pulled pork and coleslaw. Both have been excellent sponsors to

Chelsea Rotary and thanks to Lorna Tackwell and Jordan Beecham for coordinating those efforts.

Pledge For A Rotarian

It's been hard on fundraising for 501c3's this year due to Covid. Rotarian, Cindy Burdette, is thinking outside the box and challenging us to Pledge per hour for her running in the 2020 Round Robin race hosted by Running Fit on the farm, ROBIN HILLS to benefit The Chelsea Rotary Club in Chelsea MI. She will be running (along with some of her running buddies from the Grass Lake Road Runners Group) for 6 hours. We will be offering online pledging for 3 options. $5 per hour for Six Hours, $10 per hour for Six Hours and $20 per hour for Six Hours. To pledge your support just click the link below

Pledge Your Support!!!

Ugly Dog Distilleries Talks COVID-19 Challenges And Opportunities

On Tuesday Ugly Dog Distilleries in Downtown Chelsea, MI opened it's doors for us to have our first in-person Rotary meeting of the fall season. Our feature speaker was the manger of Ugly Dog Distilleries Rob Mida. Rob shared with us some of the challenges they faced during COVID-19 and what they did to overcome them.

One big decision that helped them was switching over from making craft spirits to craft hand sanitizer. Within 3 days they were able to start producing this vital product making it available for the local community. They also donated over 500 bottles of hands sanitizer to the Chelsea Library and other local companies that were in need.

Rob also mentioned that the approval of "To Go Cocktails" from the state was a huge boost for Ugly Dog. Known for their craft liquor and craft cocktails this was a game changer. Selling out in just 3 days (July 1st - 3rd) of all their craft cocktails, Ugly Dog knew they had found a new niche. It worked so well that they will be coming out with a whole new lineup for the fall!!!

Rob noted through community support, transition to craft hand sanitizer, and craft to go cocktails Ugly Dog didn't have to lay anyone off. Rob actually brought some people on to help with the demand that was coming from the local business and community.

We want to thank Rob Mida and Ugly Dog Distilleries for opening their doors to us and being a shining example of a business in our community that puts service above self.