View as Webpage

Hardies Family Trust steps up to the plate once again

4 organizations receive funding for hometown projects

Four more organizations are benefiting from the largesse of Bob Hardies who set up his Family Trust to give back to the community that was in essence his family. Today Carol Brodbeck, Executor of the Trust, is pleased to announce the recipients receiving funding:

The Rotary AM Club is set to receive $10,000 for its collaborative efforts with Clarenceville Public Schools. This funding will go towards supplying a cooler for the high school, enabling the preservation of protein-rich foods within the food pantry. This initiative is a continuation of the Rotary's foundational work last year at Clarenceville High School, established in conjunction with Livonia Kids and Families.

The Livonia Youth Choir is set to receive $4,300, which will fund equipment and technical sound support for their concerts.

Livonia Civic Ballet has been selected for $6,800 to replace winter dance performance (Nutcracker) ballet costumes and appropriate storage containers.

Livonia Kids and Families will receive $5,000 as a headline sponsor for the Tour de Livonia. This will be the second year that the Hardies Family Trust will be designated one of the lead sponsors for this creative Livonia bike tour.

The legacy of Robert Hardies continues to make an impact across Livonia.

Livonia's goal with continued support from our residents

 needs to be innovative and transformative.

Every evening at 6:00 PM, the typewriter springs to life as I catch up on the national news, but it isn't long before I switch it off, my head shaking, wondering about the future. The next morning, I'm still haunted by the previous night's musings, yet I acknowledge that I can't control external events. My true calling lies in nurturing the small piece of earth under my stewardship. Initially, this means tending to the lawn, trees, and flowers of Musings Estate.

Subsequently, my concern broadens to encompass the city that I consider home. My path has led me through an internship with the Livonia Community Commission on Drug Abuse during my tenure at Central, to leadership positions in the Livonia Optimist Club (50 members) and the Livonia Jaycees (150 members), to working as Administrative Assistant to Mayor McNamara, and serving as a County Commissioner for 175,000 constituents. My family's roots here run deep; my father serves as a Library Commissioner, and my mother as a School Trustee.

Livonia is in the midst of a transformative, progressive change that is set to redefine our perception of this town we call home. At the helm of this change is the right leader at the right time. Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan, with her visionary and resolute approach, is ready to lead this advancement.

Defining Livonia merely by small steps to preserve the status quo will result in mediocre outcomes. Our aim should be innovation and transformation.

Back in 1973, during a drive to Lansing with the Mayor and Police Chief, the idea of creating a downtown Livonia was discussed, along with the challenges of moving away from Dan Andrew's 1960s city plan. This plan had each neighborhood designed as an independent downtown, complete with a church, park, shopping, and housing.

I have seen it all: years of progress and years of benign neglect. Some years at my house there was landscaping quality, others brought weeds. Like the Musings Estate, every hometown goes through cycles, with individuals and leaders alike striving to make a difference and leave their mark. Each charts its own course, sometimes impacting just their yard, other times the entire city.

Today, the incumbent Mayor has confronted this challenge directly, with deeds that overshadow words. In six weeks, we will celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Senior Wellness Center. Plans are in progress for a new city hall, police and fire headquarters, as well as residential and retail spaces, walking paths, and an outdoor entertainment area, all located at Five Mile/Farmington. Additionally, a comprehensive infrastructure plan is being developed to tackle the city's decaying building maintenance.

Mayor Moelke will be remembered for park acquisitions, McNamara for securing Greenmead, Bennett for fostering citizen engagement, Kirksey for the recreation center, and now Brosnan will be acknowledged for revolutionizing our town center, contingent upon the support of a progressive, forward-thinking Council this year and again in the 2025 elections. This marks a shift from a period of Benign Neglect to a new era where our city is a beacon of innovation.

Social media often escalates individual issues into collective unrest, yet this is not the situation here. I stand with the vast majority of Livonia residents who are proud of Livonia and view the current administration's actions as both vital and impactful. Although not everyone may agree with the nuances of their strategies—for example, I oppose the demolition of the Noble Library and would like to see a repurposing through transformational innovation.

But I prefer to look at the big picture of our Livonia future while not giving up on other issues.

The ultimate goal is praiseworthy: to meet long-standing needs with resolute action, leading to a forward-thinking transformation. And now, I'm off to the store, as this weekend marks the time for spring planting at the Musings Estate.

It is too early in the campaign season to be

circulating misleading information. Joan Gebhardt knows better.

FridayMusings is concerned about this year's race for the partial Trustee term at Schoolcraft College. The candidates are Candy Little, the incumbent trustee, and candidate Joan Gebhardt.

The yard sign photo captured last weekend depicts Joan Gebhardt presenting herself as the incumbent Schoolcraft College Trustee, which seems to be in contravention of MCL 168.944. These signs were distributed to attendees at a potluck dinner in Livonia. According to MCL 168.944:

  It is a misdemeanor for any person to advertise or use in campaign materials, including radio, television, newspapers, circulars, cards, or stationery, the words incumbent, re-elect, re-election, or to otherwise indicate, represent, or give the impression that a candidate for public office is the incumbent when they are not, punishable as provided in section 934.



In looking at the events as they have unfolded we find the following facts leading Musings to conclude that Joan Gebhardt might be misleading voters, making them believe that she is currently serving as a Trustee and is seeking support as the incumbent. The Facts are:

* On March 2023 Joan Gebhardt stepped down, saying she was resigning, from the Schoolcraft Board of Trustees.

* On April 19, 2023, following an open application process, Livonia resident Candy Little was appointed to the board by a unanimous vote of the Schoolcraft Trustees.

* On January 8, 2024, 10 months after resigning, Joan Gebhardt filed to run for Schoolcraft trustee.

* Joan Gebhardt has been distributing campaign materials with the term 're-elect' as this picture from a potluck dinner this past Saturday indicates.

Joan Gebhardt's use of this term in her campaign materials is misleading to voters and should be removed from circulation as she needs to be clear to voters that she is not the incumbent. Gebhardt has a lot to run on from her past service, but let's be clear, she resigned and is now running to recapture the seat currently held by Candy Little, who has been endorsed by all the Trustees at Schoolcraft College.

May in Livonia is a stay-at-home month with so much to do.

Our hometown is the cornerstone of activities in southeast Michigan

Mail Address

19514 Bainbridge 48152

E-mail address

rwilliamjoyner@gmail.com

Cell address

734-674-5871

The typewriter is not available for phone calls or emails Saturday and Sunday. Mental health and rehabilitation time. Out and about enjoying life.

What motivates FridayMusings:

We can't only define Livonia as taking small steps toward maintaining the way things were. That will give us mediocre outcomes. Our goal needs to be innovative and transformative.