The GAHA Annual Meeting & Meet and Greet will be held this Saturday June 12 at 10 AM in Glacier Highlands Park. Please plan to attend this short meeting and get more involved in your neighborhood association. To ensure that we are in compliance with our bylaws and that our neighborhood parade continues next year, we will need to fill several officer positions and will discuss forming a Parade Committee to help out with the parade planning. There will also be an opportunity to discuss any neighborhood-related items of interest. Here is the tentative agenda for the meeting: - President's Report - Treasurer's Report - Nomination and Election of Officers - 2010 Parade Feedback and Planning for 2011 Parade - Other Business (please come prepared to discuss any neighborhood-related items) - Adjourn No need to bring anything and feel free to bring your children to play in the park during the short meeting and afterwards during the neighborhood Meet and Greet. Look forward to seeing you on Saturday. GAHA Board
Once again, the Glacier Area Homeowners Association and the Ann Arbor Breakfast Optimist Club will sponsor the longest running Memorial Day Parade in Ann Arbor. All are welcome at the parade, regardless of whether you live within the GAHA neighborhood or not. See you there!
Date: Monday May 31, 2010 Time: Parade leaves from Greenbrier Park at 10 AM
For over twenty-five years, our neighborhood association has honored our Michigan service men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice- the gift of their lives- in service to our country. A short remembrance ceremony is held in Glacier Highlands Park immediately after the parade, where neighbors, friends and visitors gather respectfully as we parade the Colors and read the names of those Michigan service men and women who have died in the past year.
All are welcome to enjoy the six-block, 15 minute parade, which is exciting and fun for children and families. Highlights of past parades include a squad car from the Ann Arbor Police Dept., a City fire truck (with siren), American flag color guard, local dignitaries, a real miniature donkey, volunteer drum line from Huron High School, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, neighborhood businesses, a Chinese lion, the Eco Riders, and more. Homemade floats (decorated toy wagons) are welcome, and children ride their red, white and blue decorated bikes. Families with baby strollers bring up the rear of the parade, and there is an easy shortcut to the park. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet neighbors, local dignitaries, and enjoy the beginning of spring at our Memorial Day breakfast.
Parade Route and Parking Details
Traffic barricades will go up on Monday at 9:15am, blocking traffic to mark a safe parade route from Frederick to Middleton, to Bardstown, Windemere, Barrister and ending at the southeast corner of Glacier Highlands Park. Visitors may park along Greenbrier Rd., and other streets not on the parade route. There is no parking on Green Road. The Homeowner’s Association welcomes everyone. A parade marshal will direct reserved parking on Larchmont Drive for anyone with special parking needs. Glacier Park is mostly grass with limited pavement near the playground.
Streets barricaded at 9:15AM….time to move your cars off the streets if you live on the parade route!
Participants meet at parade entrance at 9:30AM.
Parade starts at 10AM.
Meet at the parade entrance at 9:30AM if your children and family would like to join the parade on bikes, strollers or walk along the route. Volunteer parade marshals will direct parade participants. Cub Scouts, Campfire USA, Borwnies, and Girl Scouts line up in order at the signpost intersection of Frederick and Middleton, also known as the Greenbrier Park entrance. Kids with bikes and parade vehicles will have specific, separate line-up locations. Please use caution. To prevent bike accidents, we request that parade participants refrain from throwing candy.
The parade “steps off” promptly at 10am, marches along Frederick, Middleton, Bardstown, Windemere and Barrister, and then enters the southeast corner of Glacier Highlands Park, corner of Barrister and Larchmont. Click here for a map. Parade marshals will direct the police car and fire truck to park on Barrister, direct pedestrians into the park, and other parade vehicles to reserved parking on Sulgrave Court.
A memorial service in Glacier Park follows the parade to honor those Michigan servicemen and women who have given their lives for our country in the past year. Scouts will line up for a short remembrance ceremony. Cub Scouts remain in uniform with caps on. However those gathered may wish to remove their hats and caps as a sign of respect. We will parade the colors, read the names of our Michigan troops who have died this past year in service to our country. “Taps” will be played and the colors will be retired. We do request a respectful quiet from everyone during this time.
CONTINUING THIS YEAR: in an effort to go green and reduce plastic bottle usage, please bring your own reusable water bottle to refill. A limited amount of water will be available for refills.
Do visit the Optimist Club table and thank Harry Hawkins for sponsoring our parade once again.
Donuts, bagels, coffee and a limited amount of water will be available following the memorial service. Relax, listen to the music, and enjoy the company of your friends and neighbors.
CONTINUING THIS YEAR: the card table will be back again this year so please plan to create a homemade card to send to a service person overseas. We’ll provide the paper and markers and then send the cards along. Our goal is to make 100 cards to send overseas.
Check out the GAHA Table after the parade to pay dues (optional this year), sign up for our email list, learn about the GAHA web site, and other volunteer opportunities.
Be prepared! The parade is held rain or shine, so dress appropriately for the weather and bring your own water.
Questions? Suggestions? Contact the GAHA board at a2gaha@gmail.com.
Volunteers Needed Consider volunteering to make this year’s parade another phenomenal event! Contact the GAHA board for more information on the following opportunities at a2gaha@gmail.com.
Volunteer Coordinator - Zoe Koosis
Parade Marshal Coordinator
Parade Marshals (we can always use a few more parade marshals, so let us know if you’d like to help line up kids, or assist with traffic) - Ghada Solomon, Karen Schumacher
Media Liaison
Set-up and Breakdown
Photographer
Kids Activities
Insurance - Harry Hawkins and the Ypsilanti Optimist Club
City Permit - Zoe Koosis
Remembrance Ceremony
Parade Marshals/Traffic Safety
Donuts and Bagels Coordinator
Coffee Coordinator - John Batteh
Website and Printing - John Batteh
Decoration (balloons, etc.) Coordinator
Refreshments
Park Setup and Flag Circle- Jim Mitchiner
Flier Distribution Coordinator
Flier Distribution
Greeting Card Table Coordinator
Bike Control - George Schumacher, Fu Min Pan, Greg Kalemkarian
Traffic Barricade Management
Graphics - Rhonda Collins
Sound System Coordination - Zoe Koosis
A special thanks to our parade sponsor, the Ann Arbor Breakfast Optimist Club, and Ypsilanti Optimist Club member, Harry Hawkins, for providing the insurance. Our parade would not be possible without his support. Please support our wonderful parade sponsors.
Spring is here and that means another Memorial Day Parade is just around the corner! Look out for the fliers to be distributed soon!
Mark your calendars for Monday, May 31st at 10 am! Check out the next post for all the details. We are gearing up for another wonderful parade--and we can still use your help. See the list of volunteer positions that need to be filled on the Memorial Day Parade page. Please contact the GAHA board at a2gaha@gmail.com if you are able to help in the planning and staging of our parade. Many hands make for light work.
CONTINUING THIS YEAR: we are again reducing our plastic bottle usage so please bring a refillable water bottle to the parade. Limited water supplies will be available for refills.
Due to a surplus in the GAHA funds, dues are optional this year. If you still elect to pay homeowners' dues, the Association will have a table in the park where you may do so. Save yourself the hassle of writing/mailing a check and pay online via PayPal.
Looking forward to seeing you on Monday, May 31st!
Mark your calendars and plan to attend the Homeowners’ BBQ/Picnic and Annual Meeting in Glacier Park, Sunday, June 14th, 5 pm-7 pm.
Hot dogs will be provided by your Homeowners’ Association. (Note: The barbecue grill at the park has rusted through, and we need volunteers to bring several portable grills, please.) Please bring a dish to share. Volunteers are always welcome to help set up at 4:30pm. Questions ? Contact the GAHA board at a2gaha@gmail.com.
Park Schedule
4:30 Set up food, chairs, etc. and fire up grills
5:15 Association Meeting
President’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Call for Volunteers
Other Business: Board and Membership
Election of 2009-10 Officers
5:30 Eat dinner…Meet and greet your neighbors…Play at the playground
Our Memorial Day Parade is just around the corner! Look out for the fliers to be distributed soon!
Mark your calendars for Monday, May 25th at 10 am! Check out the newly updated Memorial Day Parade page for all the details. We are gearing up for another wonderful parade--and we can still use your help. Please contact the GAHA board at a2gaha@gmail.com if you are able to help in the planning and staging of our parade.
NEW THIS YEAR: we are reducing our plastic bottle usage so please bring a refillable water bottle to the parade. Limited water supplies will be available for refills.
Due to a surplus in the GAHA funds, dues are optional this year. If you still elect to pay homeowners' dues, the Association will have a table in the park where you may do so. Save yourself the hassle of writing/mailing a check and pay online via PayPal.
Looking forward to seeing you on Monday, May 25th!
You can now follow the Glacier Area Homeowner's Association on Twitter. Just go to twitter.com/a2gaha to being following us. We will post updates about the Memorial Day parade and other neighborhood related events.
The 2009 Memorial Day Parade is in the works. Check back in the next few days for more info.
Our Memorial Day Parade is just around the corner! Look out for the fliers to be distributed soon!
Mark your calendars for Monday, May 26th at 10 am! Check out the newly updated Memorial Day Parade page for all the details. We are gearing up for another wonderful parade--and we can still use your help. Please contact Zoe Koosis at a2gaha@gmail.com if you are able to help in the planning and execution of our parade.
Lastly, it is never too late to pay homeowners' dues, and the Association will have a table in the park where you may do so. Save yourself the hassle of writing/mailing a check and pay online via PayPal.
Looking forward to seeing you on Monday, May 26th!
As a result of a reduction in parade expenses without the calliope, there is enough of a surplus that a proposal was put forth at the Homeowner's Association Meeting to spend a portion of it for community outreach. Since our main event is the Memorial Day parade, several ideas were discussed related to honoring our military, and one idea in particular garnered positive feedback. To give everyone a chance to provide comments, the proposal was to contribute $500 on behalf of GAHA to Operation Uplink, a program run by the VFW to provide free phone cards to military personnel and hospitalized veterans so that they can contact their families. You can learn more about the program by clicking here.
Feel free to click on the comments link below to provide feedback via the website or you can email the board at a2gaha@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark your calendars and plan to attend the Homeowners’ BBQ/Picnic and Annual Meeting in Glacier Park, Sunday, June 24th, 6 pm-8 pm.
Hot dogs will be provided by your Homeowners’ Association. (Note: The barbecue grill at the park has rusted through, and we need volunteers to bring several portable grills, please.) Please bring a dish to share. Volunteers are always welcome to help set up at 5:30pm. Questions ? Contact Zoe Koosis at a2gaha@gmail.com.
Park Schedule
5:30 Set up food, chairs, etc. and fire up grills
6:15 Association Meeting
President’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Call for Volunteers
Other Business: Board and Membership
Election of 2007-08 Officers
6:30 Eat dinner…Meet and greet your neighbors…Play at the playground
Our Memorial Day Parade is just around the corner! Look out for the fliers to be distributed soon!
Mark your calendars for Monday, May 28th at 10 am! Check out the newly updated Memorial Day Parade page for all the details. We are gearing up for another wonderful parade--and we can still use your help. Please contact Zoe Koosis at a2gaha@gmail.com if you are able to help children line up or staff a traffic barricade. We need two strong people to hold a rope in front of the bike brigade so that they don't run over the group in front of them!
Lastly, it is never too late to pay homeowners' dues, and the Association will have a table in the park where you may do so. Save yourself the hassle of writing/mailing a check and pay online via PayPal.
Looking forward to seeing you on Monday, May 28th!
