My days are not unlike those of many other people who are working full-time.  Some are much busier than others, and some are more memorable than others.  Today was one of those days that was both busy and memorable.  I started off my morning attending the Auburn Hills Morning Optimist Club meeting.  I try to get to the meetings as often as I can.  They occur every Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. and the focus of the club’s membership is to provide great things for the youth of our community.  This morning, Officer Brian Miller made a presentation about our child safety seat initiatives here in the community.   Officer Miller represents all that is good about our Team.  In the picture, you see him receiving the Optimist Creed from club president Paul Gudmundsen.

After returning to the office, we had a brief celebration for Carol Little, our retiring Clerk in the Assessing Department.  I had the pleasure of attending Carol’s gathering and to present her with a plaque recognizing her years of service.  All the best to you, Carol!

After about an hour in the office of checking emails and returning phone calls, it was off to Fieldstone Golf Club to welcome representatives from a number of communities around the region from the Beautification Council of Southeastern Michigan.  This organization focuses its energy on beautification activities throughout southeastern Michigan and today, Auburn Hills played host to their program and luncheon.  In this photo, Mayor McDaniel provides a welcome message to all who attended and speaks about the many initiatives Auburn Hills undertakes to beautify our community.  

By 11:00 a.m. I was at our Department of Public Works Building to celebrate another retirement, that of one of our longtime crew leaders, Randy Malone.  Randy’s work ethic, sense of humor, and dedication to the Auburn Hills community is irreplaceable.  Randy can be seen in the foreground of this picture in a gray tee-shirt and wearing a hat.  

In this photo, Randy’s co-workers presented him with a beautiful etched wood plaque that they personally made for him.  Randy’s quick wit was in full force and he and I got to banter back and forth in front of the staff.  While we drew some laughs, I have to say that Randy’s retirement is no laughing matter.  This guy had a lot of skills and no matter what his shoe size, it will be a monumental task to fill them.  

This afternoon I’m off to a meeting with one of our great corporate citizens to discuss their future expansion plans.  I hope they know that they are operating in a community that has a tremendous heart and soul with a staff that is truly committed to their business success.  Everything I mentioned today speaks volumes about the kind of community that we are, and the kind of staff we have that keeps it all going.  As always, PROUD and HONORED to be the City Manager of Auburn Hills.

Tom Tanghe, City Manager