Our own Mark & Mary Murray spoke to members today about the Adrian Armory which they purchased some time ago. Some members were quick to recall times they’d used or visited the facility in the past. It was built in 1924 and was originally used for military preparations and training.
The building, Mark said, is 22,000 square feet, consists of 3 floors on the front of the building and two on the back and a full theater that seats 600 people. Some 300 people could also dine comfortably in that space. It has meeting and training rooms, large gymnasium and a full cafeteria. It has a concrete and steel bunker. The auditorium feature was unique, Mark said, as no other armories had this kind of a theater and stage setup. All over the Midwest, these facilities were originally a partnership between the states and the Federal Government to train their local militias in the event of war, Mark said.
From 1940 to 2010 the building was used as a public venue and was rented out. One weekend a month and twice in the summer for two weeks it was used for those serving in the National Guard. From the 50’s on, this was the only armory in Michigan that made any money by engaging with the community and renting it out to interested parties. “It was the premier event center in the greater Lenawee County area for many decades.”
The armory underwent many upgrades over the years yet still needs a very significant overhaul, Mark said. One of the main issues will be handicap accessibility and air conditioning. The Murray’s have hosted four open houses and welcome any input and ideas from the community as to what they would like to see it used for. White boards, he said, were scattered throughout the building sin the event anyone might have an idea to offer. Much due diligence has already been done, Mark said. The next open house is July 7 from 5-7pm. A chorale group has also been invited to perform that evening.
The Murray’s have visited every armory within a hundred mile radius and interviewed all individuals who have remodeled and upgraded those armories looking for info about what they should be doing with this one. They found that some have been turned into housing units and breweries among other uses. People who live near them and do business out of their homes would be prime candidates for renting space in these buildings. Mark and Mary have contacted the Lenawee Visitors Bureau for info about possible needs in the community and found that the area was really short on event venue space. Mark said that the Adrian Armory is actually a multi-purpose event center from the day it was built and he and Mary envision it coming back and serving this purpose once again. Some office space is already up and running and ready to rent out, he said.
Mark mentioned the local Adrian Area Investment Accelerator group who would make it possible to obtain aggregate local capital from this area to undertake projects of this kind as opposed to having to attract outsiders to invest in the work needed to be done. One of the focuses of this group, Mark said, will be to return capital to the investors at a rate of 3% per year. Thus far $350,000 has been set aside for the renovations planned in Phase 1 of the project which will include refinishing the wood floors and glazing of all the windows. All original woodwork will be kept, Mark said.
Mark concluded by saying that he needs people to start talking this up in the community. Consider holding your event there if you’re planning one no matter the requirements. They will make it work for you. Mark asked anyone who might have old pictures to share them with him. Any artifacts you may have associated with the Armory would be appreciated. Maybe you know someone who has these items – please ask. Imagine having a Rotary logo somewhere on the building, Mark said! Give this some thought, members! Thanks folks for a great presentation!
Adrian Center for the Arts – Pi Beneo was on hand along with art student, Elliana Guiterrez to thank our club for the contribution we made to them this past summer. With the money they offered scholarships to deserving students and to offset camp expenses for children interested in participating.
Club Dues – Remember that dues are do for the first half of the new Rotary year. Please bring a check with you at the next meeting and drop off if you haven’t done so already.
Raffle – REMEMBER: In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Chevy Camaro, Bell Chevrolet and IDIDIT have agreed to sponsor a custom golf cart and help save more lives through the Lenawee Humane Society! The drawing will be held on September 16th and tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20 and $15 for $40. See Patty for your tickets – a great cause. Mike and Susan Tobey purchased $500 worth of tickets from Patty!
AUGUST – New Member Month – Bring a prospect to lunch this month!
August 19 – Mini-River Raisin Cleanup – Luke announced that this is the next get together from 9am-1pm. Tentative location at this point is the corner of Bent Oak Avenue and Riverside Drive. It might change, however. We will keep you informed.
August 23 - Bike Tour Meeting - Another meeting of the committee is scheduled for Wednesday, August 23 at Chip’s house. Need all hands on deck as we are less than 90 days away.
August 26 – College Back-to-School Welcome – John B. reported that everything is set to welcome the incoming freshmen from the three colleges that afternoon. We will be located just outside the Chamber of Commerce offices on 137 N. Main Street handing out bottled water to the students. Last year 350+ students from SHU came by that day.
September 9– Annual River Raisin Cleanup(9am-1pm) – Specific location will be by Riverside Park and the Merrick Street area. You can park at Riverside Park, Mark said. Light and medium tasks available. Get it on your calendar! As we asked you to do last year, please personally invite others who might want to join us. Looking for over 100 people again to participate again this year. Food provided. We want as many people as possible just to meet and greet volunteers.
September 13 – One Rotary Summit – We encourage all to attend especially new members. The event will once again be held at Schoolcraft College in Livonia. Registration is at 4:45pm, dinner at 5:30pm with a program following. It will conclude at 9pm promptly. Please see Nate or Rhonda if you can attend.
September 16 & 17 - Bike Tour - Yard signs along with window posters are still available. If you can donate items for the “goodie bags” we’ll be putting together please let us know. We need 200 of them if you have something. We keep encouraging everyone who uses Facebook to log into lenaweebiketour.com and like and share with your friends as many times as you can. We still encourage members, even though they wouldn’t be participating in the actual tour, to get on line and register and we’ll find a person who we can give that registration to. Go to www.adrianrotary.org for complete list of generous sponsors and a few more details.
October 2 – District Governor’s Golf Outing –The club will be sending a team! Whoot whoot! It will be held at the Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, MI. 11am – lunch; 12:30pm – shotgun start; dinner following.
November 2 – Official Visit by DG Rick Caron
Upcoming Club Program Presentations
August 24 - Kay Ross - Pathway's August 31 - Marty Marshall - County programs offered and ballot proposals for fall September 7 - Kathye Herrera – MADD
September 14 - Nate & Chuck on the Club's Strategic Plan
September 21 - Libby Watson and new ASO director September28 - Jason Trame - Lenawee YMCA October 5 - Club Assembly October 12 – TBA
October 19 – TBA
October 26 - TBA November 2 - DG Rick Caron visit
GUESTS: Jennifer, granddaughter and guest of Jane Clark; Anne Lacasse, guest of Nate Smith, David Panian, past president of the Tecumseh Rotary Club; Pi Beneo from the Adrian Center for the Arts along with Elliana Guiterrez, an art student; Ron Jacobs AHS principal, guest of Gerry Burg.
Rotary District 6400 is an International Rotary District with Rotary Clubs in the United States and in Canada. The 50 Rotary Clubs are in the heartland of North America demonstrating the very best that both countries have to offer. The District is joined by the very busy Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit/Canada Tunnel and can be traveled within two hours from one end to the other end. Situated on the Great Lakes waterways District 6400 has miles/kilometers of shoreline. The Detroit River connects Lake St. Clair in the north to Lake Erie on the south.
At Windsor and Detroit the border is less than one kilometer or 5/8 of a mile wide and Windsor is south of Detroit. International visitors are urged to get multi-trip visas because District 6400 activities are frequently held on both sides of the border. Now everyone entering the USA needs a Passport or a Certified Birth Certificate and a state photo approved identification document.
In April 2008, Our Rotary District hosted a sensational Rotary World Peace Summit in Windsor, Ontario.
The United States Area District 6400 includes Wayne, Monroe and Lenawee Counties. The northern part of Detroit area(Oakland and Macomb Counties) are part of District 6380.District 6600 is to our south in northwest Ohio.
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Our own Mark & Mary Murray spoke to members today about the Adrian Armory which they purchased some time ago. Some members were quick to recall times they’d used or visited the facility in the past. It was built in 1924 and was originally used for military preparations and training.
Raffle – REMEMBER: In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Chevy Camaro, Bell Chevrolet and IDIDIT have agreed to sponsor a custom golf cart and help save more lives through the Lenawee Humane Society! The drawing will be held on September 16th and tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20 and $15 for $40. See Patty for your tickets – a great cause. Mike and Susan Tobey purchased $500 worth of tickets from Patty!
August 26 – College Back-to-School Welcome – 
Rotary District 6400 is an International Rotary District with Rotary Clubs in the United States and in Canada. The 50 Rotary Clubs are in the heartland of North America demonstrating the very best that both countries have to offer. The District is joined by the very busy Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit/Canada Tunnel and can be traveled within two hours from one end to the other end.