To everyone who supports the Big Nail and the many local charities who provide food, comfort, shelter and space year round, the Big Nail says:

Spring is here, and that means it’s time for fun! With gas prices soaring, why not think of visiting something nearby? In the metro-Detroit area, we have tons of things to do. Greenfield Village has a completely new look. Frankenmuth is beautiful in the springtime.

Here is the key to optimizing your springtime off from work. Let’s say you have a few days off or even the weekend. Plan ahead! Make the most of each hour you have with your family and be sure to find time for yourself. For $50.00, treat yourself to a housekeeper for the week. Leave the cleaning behind so you can enjoy time with loved ones. Do not spend your entire spring break sorting old clothes for Good Will. Leave that chore to a night when the weather is terrible during some other time of the year. For another $50.00, get someone else to mow the lawn.

Here are some other ideas:

• Savor those precious extra couple of hours for reading to your children
• Go to the zoo! It’s cheap and we bet you haven’t been there in years. Educate your children about nature and animals.
• Visit a nursing home with your kids. Teach your children to cherish the elderly. Our seniors have paid their dues and many are lonely.
• If it’s raining, visit the library. Get lost in an adventure or gooey love story. Bring your book home, curl up in a blanket, eat popcorn and read.
• Journal your time off this spring. Take tons of pictures of the family on your escapades and make a scrapbook for Springtime 2007. You only get one per year and time is so precious with loved ones.
• Call up extended family and hit a nearby park. Bring food and a karaoke machine and have a blast.
• Go roller-skating with friends.
• Pull out that old bicycle. Feel the cool, crisp air on your face and listen to the birds!

There are many things you can do this spring, and they do not have to be expensive. It just has to be fun. Forget your cares and have a great spring.

First Bit of Good News: DaimlerChrysler announces investments in Macomb County

Great reactions from a Macomb County official to DaimlerChrysler’s announcement of new investments in southeast Michigan. In Macomb County, DaimlerChrysler will soon spend $300 million to expand a paint shop at its Sterling Heights assembly plant, and $50 million for tooling and equipment at its Warren truck assembly and stamping plants.

From Macomb County Board Chair William Crouchman (D-St. Clair Shores):

“It takes everyone pulling together to make our economy grow and prosper. We are very grateful to DaimlerChrysler for this investment and we encourage everyone, regardless of affiliation, to pull together for our region.”

Next Bit of Good News: Macomb County Library hosts spring story times

The Macomb County Library offers 30-minute ‘Story Time’ sessions for babies, toddlers and tots during May. Story Time sessions include:

• Baby Lapsit Story Time for ages birth to 18 months; Tuesday sessions begin at 10 a.m. on May 1, 8, 15 and 22.
• Toddler Time Story Time for ages 2 to 3; Wednesday sessions begin at 7 p.m. on May 2, 9, 16 and 23.
• Tot Time Story Time for ages 18 months to 30 months; Thursday sessions begin at 10 a.m. on May 3, 10 and 24.

Rosco the Clown brings his “Read-To-Me Rosco!” program to the Tot Time on May 24.

These programs are free and open to the public but space is limited and registration is required. Registration begins April 16. For more information, call the library at (586) 286-6660.

The Friends of Macomb County Library are pleased to announce a new ongoing Silent Auction. Place bids during library hours at 16480 Hall Road, Clinton Township (by Garfield), on great books and other items. New items are added regularly. Visit the library’s website here for a current list of auction items as well as auction start and end dates, or call 586-286-6660 for more information.

Ralph Roberts and his team at the Big Nail extend our deepest thoughts and sympathies for the families involved in the senseless shootings in Virginia. If only officials had been more aware of the demons that were raging in this young man that drove him to this insane measure. There were definite signs, but not enough prevention. This young man needed help and openly expressed it. Someone needed to get involved.

The very basis of the Big Nail is founded on involvement with one’s own community. We encourage YOU to become involved. We all touch people each day of our lives, it’s just a matter as to what extent.

The amazing thing about helping others is that it heals the healer and opens new avenues and opportunities we did not have before. Scroll down this page and just look at the priceless picture of Ralph holding those delightful babies on this website. The Michigan Habitat for Humanity project gives Ralph a real sense of giving back. That joy in his face comes from giving of one’s time, efforts and genuinely caring for others.

If you have a story of giving to your community, we want to hear about it! We applaud those who get involved and make a positive difference. There are many out there donating their time and efforts without anyone even knowing. We want to hear from you. With waves of positive involvement and reaching out for one another, we can prevent tragedies like the shootings in Virginia ever happening again.

Try this for your Michigan business.

Networking is this economy a fine and forgotten art. When times get tough, we tend to huddle alone in the corner in fear and not move forward. Let’s say you have a product or service that you are trying to sell in our tough market. The days of waiting for a customer to run to your doors with wads of cash in hand are over. It’s time to think back to the old way of conducting business.

Back in the early days, even before the Industrial Era, small businesses took care of one another. For example, when the butcher needed a new furnace in his home, he called his heating. A few conversations later and the butcher is providing the furnace man with a full winter’s supply of meat in exchange for a new furnace. If Helen the Housewife needed fresh eggs, she would do Farmer Fanny’s sewing in exchange for the eggs.

The close connections between business associates, families and friends are not gone; they are just long forgotten. Competition is fierce and we tend to keep all our aces close to the vest. The very best of businesses, which have grown rapidly, have truly mastered taking care of one another all the way to the top.

Now is the time to take out your old Rolodex and contact, contact, contact. Do for others and in exchange, they will do for you. Of course, it goes without saying, your efforts cannot be lopsided. You have to have the true spirit of helping another. Perhaps someone you know has a contact or two who needs your services. Perhaps you can offer a free service in exchange for what they offer. Soon, the word is out and business may just start to come your way. Some of the most successful businesses in America were born with this philosophy.

Try it! What do you have to lose?

If it has been a while since you’ve seen the Big Nail in person, fear not. The next few weeks provide no less than four (4) opportunities to see the Big Nail AND support some great local causes, including:

• MADD Lifesaver Award
  Monday, November 20, 2006 at 9:00 AM
  Visit http://www.madd.org/mi/macomb for more information
• 31st Annual Mount Clemens Santa Claus Parade
  Friday, November 24, 2006 at 10:00 AM
  With 20-foot balloons, marching bands, and floats, this year’s event will be a spectacular addition to the annual tradition. Visit http://www.cityofmountclemens.com for more information.
• Garden City’s 45th Annual Santaland Parade
  November 25, 2006 at 10:00 AM
  For more information, visit http://www.gardencitymi.org/department.asp?ID=157 for more information.
• Care House Dinner
  Monday, December 4, 2006 at 6:30 PM
  The Macomb County Bar Foundation and Care House will hold its annual Christmas for Kids fundraiser at the beautiful Mac & Ray’s Banquet Center in Harrison Township. As always, there will be fabulous food provided by more than 25 of the area’s finest restaurants, with wine and spirit tasting as well. For more information, visit http://www.macombbar.org.

If you would like to inquire about booking the Big Nail for your next charity or community event, please click here or call 586-751-0000.

Today, October 17, the day when the U.S. population reached 300 million, and what would have been my daughter Kolleen’s 19th birthday causes me to reflect on what it all means.

It’s not the 300 million figure that impresses me most. It’s the fact that each of those 300 million people is an individual who, through the course of their lives, will, in some way, touch the lives of the more than 6 billion individuals on the planet.

When Kolleen passed away earlier this year, I was deeply moved at her visitation and funeral by all the friends, family, and acquaintances who showed up to grieve her loss and celebrate her life. I realized that although Kolleen was no longer with us in body, her spirit continued to thrive in those who knew her and loved her. They shared their stories of Kolleen with me and my family—my wife Kathleen, and Kolleen’s siblings Kyle and Kaleigh.

Recently, I picked up a copy of The Dash, based on the poem “The Dash,” by Linda Ellis. (You can view The Dash Movie online by clicking here.) In the poem, Ellis describes a man speaking at the funeral of a dear friend. Referring to the dates on her tombstone, he notes that what’s most important about those dates is not the birth date or the date of her death, but the dash between those years. The man goes on to say that in the end, what we own, what we achieve materially is of little consequence. What’s important is “How we spend our dash.”

The Dash constantly reminds me of the importance of connecting with others every day of my life, especially in a world in which technology is making communications increasingly less personal. When we connect with others, as Kolleen did throughout her short life, the dash becomes much less of a line between two dates. It becomes an ever expanding series of circles that ripple out, touching the lives of many others.

On this day, I realize that Kolleen’s dash didn’t end on the day she died. Because she touched so many people in so many positive ways, she made her dash eternal.

I wonder about that 300 millionth U.S. citizen born today. What will that tiny baby’s dash ultimately represent? How will he or she affect the lives of others? How will that person’s life ultimately touch me?

Ever since Millard and Linda Fuller founded Habitat for Humanity in 1976, the groundbreaking organization’s Michigan Affiliates have built over 1,500 homes. In Macomb County–home of the Big Nail–Macomb County Habitat for Humanity is drawing attention by using a new construction technique that calls for Styrofoam blocks to be used in the walls for added stability, insulation, and soundproofing.

From Charles E. Ramirez at The Detroit News:

The new ranch style house being built for Michael Alford and his family will look like a lot of other Habitat for Humanity houses in Macomb County, but it’s the first of its kind. That’s because Macomb County Habitat for Humanity is using a new technique to build it by putting Styrofoam blocks in the walls for added insulation.

“We originally planned a conventional construction of the (Alford) house,” said Daniel Wiiki, the nonprofit’s executive director. “But this opportunity came up, and we said, ‘Let’s see how it works.’”

The method makes houses more energy-efficient.

“The families we partner with for our houses are low-income,” said Wiiki. “They don’t have a lot of resources to work with, so we want to make sure our houses are affordable in the first place and they continue to be affordable.”

Michael Alford thinks the new technology should be a big benefit for his family. “Not only is it supposed to make the house 40 to 70 percent more energy efficient, it’s supposed to also soundproof it,” he said.

Click here for the rest of article, and here for more information about Macomb County Habitat for Humanity.

This Saturday, September 9, the Macomb County Food Program will host a fun-filled day of entertainment while promising hope and so much more for Macomb County families in need. For the 5th straight year, the L.E.T.S. E.A.T. (Leaders Emerging To Secure Emergency Aid Together) Food Drive–which takes place at Freedom Hill County Park in Sterling Heights–will feature live entertainment, a magic show, face painting, a petting zoo, moon walks, and lots of vendors with food and refreshments.

In 2005, the L.E.T.S. E.A.T. Food Drive raised $51,000 and 13,700 lbs. of non-perishable food items for families in need.

The schedule for this year’s event (Saturday, September 9, 2006) includes:

Noon - Opening Ceremonies with color guard and vocalist
12:30 pm - Entertainment: My Bedbugs
1:00 pm - Vocalist: Theresa Randazzo
1:15 pm - Starlight Dance Center & Dancers Only
1:30 pm - A Tribute to the King (Elvis, of course)
1:45 pm - STAND Strength Team
2:30 pm - Magic Show
2.45 pm - Andrea Redmond Dance Academy
3:15 pm - Entertainment: My Bedbugs (2nd Show)
4:00 pm - Lutheran High School North Dance Team
4:45 pm - Entertainment: Bluz Brothers
5:00 pm - Entertainment: My Bedbugs (3rd Show)
5:30 pm - Raffle Drawing
6:00 pm - Fade To Grey
7:45 pm - Closing Remarks and Thank You

Admission and parking are free with a donation. Visit the Food Drive website at www.letseat5.com for more information. Freedom Hill County Park is located at 15000 Metropolitan Parkway in Sterling Heights, Michigan, between Schoenherr and Utica Roads. For information on the Park, call (586) 979-7010 or visit www.freedomhillcountypark.com.