Mention Opportunity Grosse Ile and receive $100 off your child tuition, upon registration for the upcoming 2010/2011 fall schedule. Come and join the LIttle Pirates' Parade, July 30th at 6pm and make a one-of-a-kind Pirate Hat, sponsored by Island Kiddie Kampus.
Island Kiddie Kampus Child Development Center Inc. is Grosse Ile's only NAEYC accredited child care. A program designed for Infants, Toddlers, Preschool & School Age. Summer fun at Island Kiddie Kampus, Adventures in Science, Gardening, Private Beach, Theme Parties, Children creating a Carnival of events, Designers of fun footwear, Cooking with Miss Melissa, Visits from Lords of the Sky, Private, Tutoring in Reading & Math. Hot Lunch program.
Times Square Boutiqe has launched a search for Miss Teen Times Square. Contestants must be between the ages of 13 to 16 to enter. Contestants must come to Times Square Boutique to enter.
The winner wins a trip to Times Square, New York, New York. Times Square Boutique is Grosse Ile's hottest , Chic to Unique Boutique, offering Hot & Luscious new Jewelry, one of a kind Hand Painted Gift Baskets, speciality food items and Creative & Tasteful wine accents. Visit the children's room for the Prince & Princess of the Family. Selected items now at 25% off. Go to 8545 Macomb St. or call for more information: 313-703-8672.
is the 2010 Grosse Ile Rotary Citizen of the Year. He is also the 50th person to be named Citizen of the Year by the club which was formed in 1947. He was honored June 3, 2010, at a dinner at the Grosse Ile Yacht Club.
Please Note: Opportunity Grosse Ile, Inc. is prohibited from endorsing ballot issues and political candidates. The link below is provided for informational purposes only.
Click here to find out more information about the two school millage renewals.
Island Company Makes Unique Offer
SLATS Enterprises, Inc. has made a unique offer to anyone interested in launching a new business on Grosse Ile.
Here's your personal invitation from the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance... Please join the half-day, Saturday, July 31. The tour leaves Monroe at 9am. Lunch & a lotus tote bag will be provided to all participants at no cost. Registration must be completed by July 21 to rgm@core.com or 734-242-0909.
Beginning this August when you visit a participating Grosse Ile business, remember to and pick up a Got It - Island Life drawing card. No purchase required.
Add your name and email address to the back and drop it off at the Welcome Home! Center on Macomb Street.
You may win a gift card, merchandise or special items. Drawings will be held each Wednesday at 12noon. Look for items to be drawn and drawing winners at www.oppgrosseile/got_it.html.
Opportunity Everywhere ... All the Time...Opportunity...
About the Opportunity Grosse Ile Logo
In the first documented case since the 1890s, a pair of ospreys successfully nested near the Gibraltar Wetlands Unit of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, next to Grosse Ile. We chose to include the osprey in our logo because it's return to the area is a clear sign of environmental renewal. Go here for story >>>
Grosse Ile News ... home, family & friends
“Arrrrrrrrrrr, It’s a Pirate’s Life for Me” and "Olay! Olay! Hot! Hot!" will be sung loud and clear around Grosse Ile on July 30 and 31 as Opportunity Grosse Ile holds its summer fundraiser. Funds raised will help support the Welcome Home! Center.
All young pirates, buccaneers and scallywags are invited to take part in the freeLittle Pirates Parade at 6:30 pm July 30 at Macomb Commons.
The little swashbucklers will make their scariest pirate hats at the Commons. From there, the young pirate crew will shove off and plunder its way up Macomb Street to the Welcome Home! Center, coordinated by Opportunity Grosse Ile, where they will get their just rewards of ice cream and prizes for best pirate hat.
“We are looking for little pirates of all ages to take part in our swashbuckling Little Pirates Parade,” said Andrew Johnson, president of Opportunity Grosse Ile. “We’ll drop anchor first at Macomb Commons at 6:30 pm, get our pirates’ hats all ship-shape, and then set sail for the Welcome Home! Center with a pirate’s parade up Macomb at 7 pm.”
On July 31, adult pirates and wenches will be setting their sights on Elba Island as Opportunity Grosse Ile continues the pirate weekend and raises the Jolly Roger as part of its summer fundraiser.
Sail into Pirates Coveat Chateau Elba (also known as the Olds Mansion) and enjoy grub, grog, costumes, entertainment and fireworks.
This adults-only event will run from 6 to 11 pm and will benefit the Welcome Home! Center, located on Macomb Street in Victorian Commons, and support future marketing and outreach efforts for the organization.
“We are inviting all landlubbers to dress up as their favorite pirate or wench and join us for a fun-filled night of everything pirate,” said Ron Baker, executive director for Opportunity Grosse Ile. “We plan to weigh anchor at Chateau Elba starting at 6 pm and sail the grounds until midnight taking in food, drink, pirate entertainment and more.”
Attendees will need to park at the Grosse Ile Airport entrance on Groh Road west of East River. From there, they will take a shuttle on to Elba Island. Shuttle departures will run to and from the parking site every 20 minutes from 4:45 pm until midnight.
The grounds of Chateau Elba will be decked out in pirate fare with Jolly Rogers hanging from every mizzenmast and plenty of food and drink stations.
“We are excited that Chateau Elba has opened up their grounds for this exciting event,” said Dena Dardzinski, vice president of Opportunity Grosse Ile. “And the evening will culminate with a blockbuster fireworks display over Lake Erie directly east of the Chateau’s property.”
Tickets are $25 per adult, which includes food, entertainment, a fireworks display and membership in Opportunity Grosse Ile. A special High Seas Donor ticket for $200 will include a special reception from 5 to 6 pm inside the Chateau Elba with special presentations and refreshments.
Major Supporters include: Downriver Surgery Center Ronald P. Morris, D.D.S.; Beverly T. Morris D.D.S, PC Cosmetic & Family Dentistry; Barry N Company Designs; Trenton Federal Credit Union; SLATS Enterprises Inc.; Grosse Ile Bridge Co., Century 21 Riverpointe and Chateau Elba.
Contributing Supporters include: Bellacosa Cigar and Martini Bar; Captain Morgan’s Rum; Credit Bureau Services/Pride Management; Discount Drinks; Grosse Ile Yacht Club; Hurst Marine; Island Kiddie Kampus; Kimberly Sommers and David Graham Events; National Wine and Spirits; Sharkey’s/Good Times Catering; Times Square Boutique and West Shore Golf and Country Club.
For more information or tickets, call the Welcome Home! Center at 713-9505.
Opportunities for Supporters for both events are available and include advertising and promotion considerations plus High Seas Donor tickets to the Sail into Pirate’s Cove event. For more information on sponsorship, contact Ron Baker
at 1-248-420-3276.
Award-Winning Novelist to Sail into Pirates' Cove
Award-winning Put-in-Bay novelist, Bob Adamov will be signing copies of his sixth novel, Tan Lines, in his Put-in-Bay based mystery adventure series at the Sail into Pirates Cove event on July 31st. Adamov will be signing his novel until 8pm and donating a portion of the proceeds to the Welcome Home! Center.
Tan Lines includes scenes at the Grosse Ile Yacht Club, GI airport and along East River Rd.
Here’s a teaser… “Something is killing the perch in Lake Erie. Is it bioterrorism or a new fish kill virus? When incumbent United States President and the Canadian Prime Minister visit the Ohio State University’s Stone Lab on Gibraltar Island for a conference and walleye fishing, the President disappears. It’s two days before the President stands for re-nomination at the party’s national convention in Cleveland.”
“Amidst a sniper’s assassination attempt, a covert terrorist in Grosse Ile, a series of unsolved murders, a rogue Put-in-Bay police officer, an illicit love affair, arson, Pirates’ Week festivities, a terrorist bomb threat in Put-in-Bay and boat chases; Moore tries to stay one step ahead of his would-be captors as he works to clear his name and find the President.”
Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s staff compared Adamov’s writing style to Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy.
Yes, there’s a rumor that Adamov has a movie in the works. For more information, visit: www.BobAdamov.com.
Millage Renewal Request for Grosse Ile Township Schools
On August 3rd, the Grosse Ile Township Schools Board of Education will be asking the community to continue supporting teaching and learning on Grosse Ile by renewing two existing millages. "These are not new millages; they are renewals of existing millages," explained Dr. Daniel Murphy, President, Grosse Ile Township Schools Board of Education.
"The first renewal is for the Homestead and Non-Homestead millage," he continued. "This millage annually generates approximately $2.4 million for school operations including teachers’ and staff salaries and benefits, textbooks and classroom supplies. These funds go directly to the most important functions of the school district: teaching and learning." Go here for Dr. Murhy's letter >>>
Host Families Needed
Is your family interested in hosting a Chinese foreign exchange student for a semester or for the 2010-2011 school year? If YES! is your answer, then we need you!
Interested families should contact Dr. Diane Sanford at 362-2700 or Dena Dardzinski, Community Liaison, at 675-5844 for more information.
Islanders Making A Difference
Two Islanders, Dr. Kay McGowan, Cultural Anthro-pologist, Eastern Michigan University, and her twin sister, Fay Givens, executive director of American Indian Services Inc. in Lincoln Park, are in Geneva Switzerland, with the United Nations. They are working to help find a way to enforce a U.N. declaration of rights for indigenous peoples of the world.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted the declaration in 2007, which both Kay and Fay helped draft. The nonbinding declaration establishes minimum standards for the rights of indigenous peoples of the world and makes illegal discrimination against native peoples, ensuring their right to participate in decisions by governments that affect them.
Only two countries continue to resist signing the measure – the USA and Canada.
Both sisters are longtime activists for Native American causes (they have Choctaw and Cherokee heritage)and founders of the National Urban Indian Coalition.
Dr. Kay Givens McGowan was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in East Lansing on October 21, 2009.
Ron Schmaeman 
Click here
Lotus Garden Club Annual Lotus Tour
On July 31, adult pirates and wenches will be setting their sights on Elba Island as Opportunity Grosse Ile continues the pirate weekend and raises the Jolly Roger as part of its summer fundraiser.
“We are inviting all landlubbers to dress up as their favorite pirate or wench and join us for a fun-filled night of everything pirate,” said Ron Baker, executive director for Opportunity Grosse Ile. “We plan to weigh anchor at Chateau Elba starting at 6 pm and sail the grounds until midnight taking in food, drink, pirate entertainment and more.”
Major Supporters include: Downriver Surgery Center Ronald P. Morris, D.D.S.; Beverly T. Morris D.D.S, PC Cosmetic & Family Dentistry; Barry N Company Designs; Trenton Federal Credit Union; SLATS Enterprises Inc.; Grosse Ile Bridge Co., Century 21 Riverpointe and Chateau Elba.
Award-winning Put-in-Bay novelist, Bob Adamov will be signing copies of his sixth novel, Tan Lines, in his Put-in-Bay based mystery adventure series at the 
Islanders Making A Difference
