Troy – February 13, 2019
The Ridgedale Players Get Mysterious, and Funny!
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python, and you have an intriguing, thrilling, riotous, and unmissable comedy. A man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale. Performances are March 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24. Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for seniors.
Taste of Troy Benefits Boys & Girls Club
Celebrate an around-the-world taste fest at the 27th annual Taste of Troy on Sunday, March 3 from 1 to 4 pm at the San Marino Club.
In addition to mouth-watering food samplings, Taste of Troy attendees can bid on gift baskets, sports tickets, spa, hotel and restaurant gift certificates in the silent auction, enjoy music and participate in a live auction with WDIV TV 4 meteorologist Andrew Humphrey. The live auction will include bidding on either an Safari for two at South Africa’s Zulu Nyala Game Reserve or a week of luxury in a 10,000 sq. ft. villa with a pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Villa Aves del Paraiso on the Santiago Peninsula near Manzanillo, Mexico.
“What could be more fun than savoring the delicious cuisine, enjoying great music, live and silent auctions and winning raffles — while raising money for a great cause — the Boys & Girls Club? Proceeds from the event will help the organization provide a safe place for 1,200 young people to interact, learn, grow and develop into contributing members of this community,” said Jeff Evans, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Troy.
The Boys & Girls Club of Troy is a non-profit youth development organization that provides educational and recreational activities to more than 1,200 children, ages 6 to 18, in Oakland and Macomb counties. The goal of the Club’s positive environment is to enable members to become responsible, self-reliant, caring adults.
Participating restaurants include Achatz Handmade Pie Company, Beaumont Health, Billy Sims Barbeque, Brio Tuscan Grill, Cantoro Italian Trattoria, Cedar Grille, Edible Arrangements, Fogo de Chao, Fox & Hounds Pastry Den, Granite City Food & Brewery, Ingram’s Candies, Kona Grill, La Marsa, La Saj Lebanese Bistro, LoLo Potluck Mediterranean, Maggiano’s Little Italy, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steaks, The Melting Pot, Mission BBQ, Noni’s Grill, Noodles & Company, Picano’s Italian Grille, Priya Indian Cuisine, Ridley’s Bakery Café, Seasons 52, Sedona Taphouse, Shield’s of Troy, Smashburger, Sweet Waters Coffee & Tea, Sy Thai, and Tim Hortons Troy.
Tickets are $45 in advance or $55 at the door. Call 248.689.1687 or purchase online.
Have a Heart Healthy Thursday
Heart disease affects millions of Americans and accounts for 1 of every 4 deaths each year. Learn about the basics of heart health, risk factors and management, and a heart-healthy diet from Cate Spurr, ACSM-CEP of the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, at Healthy Heart Thursday on February 14, from 1 to 3 pm at the Troy Community Center. Join DMC Cardiac Rehab for an informative presentation and light refreshments. Call 248.524.3484 for more information.
Celebrating the Troy Chamber’s 60th Anniversary
The kanun is a many-stringed Middle Eastern lap harp. Ara Topouzian is a master of the kanun and a popular Armenian folk music performer. He is also the mastermind behind the Troy Chamber of Commerce and many of its contributions to the success of Troy businesses.
Although music and commerce may seem opposites or, at least, unrelated, it was a more or less straight line from the kanun’s strings to the Chamber for Topouzian.
As a musician, Topouzian realized that he needed recordings of his music to get gigs, so he created a record label for himself. He landed a distributor who got his recordings into all the big record stores and then onto iTunes. He became a nationally known artist, playing concerts and festivals around the country. Back home, he was awarded a prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship. And he created “The Guardians of Music,” a documentary about the history of Armenian music in Detroit which aired on PBS.
In the meantime, he was still running a recording studio with an office in Farmington Hills.
As the owner of a small business, says Topouzian, “I thought I should join the chamber of commerce and see what that’s all about.”
Membership led to a seat on the board and then a paid position planning events for the Farmington Hills Chamber, vice presidency and then presidency. After ten years, Topouzian was ready for a new challenge and moved on to Novi as its Economic Development Director.
In 2013, Topouzian brought his unique blend of creativity and economic development acumen to a new role as the Troy Chamber of Commerce President and CEO.
This year the Troy Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 60th anniversary and Topouzian took the opportunity to share the secret sauce that makes the Troy Chamber a successful resource for its members.
When Topouzian first took the reins of the Troy Chamber, he visited businesses asking what they wanted to get out of chamber membership. He visited non-members to find out what would make them want to join.
“It’s not my chamber. That’s my mantra. It’s the members’,” says Topouzian.
“We try to be all things to all people,” he says. “One of the things that’s changed in 60 years is not doing one-size-fits-all events. Presidents of major corporations are not coming to events where a guy is selling a widget. So, what you have to do is you have to create events that will bring different folks together in different realms.”
The Troy Chamber has a tiered membership structure which offers different levels of benefits. The president of a large corporation, for example, may pay more dues but have the opportunity to attend a presidents’ breakfast at no cost.
“At that level,” says Topouzian. “They’re building relationships. They’re not doing lead generation.”
Since the Chamber first opened its doors sixty years ago, people no longer join their local chambers of commerce just because ‘it’s the right thing to do.’ They expect to get something specifically worthwhile to their business when they pay dues and take time to attend an event.
“Ten to fifteen years ago, chambers could be more social, and they did their networking around social type events, like a festival or a raffle or a parade. We don’t do a lot of that anymore,” says Topouzian. “That doesn’t fulfill our mission and what our members want.”
“We know the types of benefits and programming that will help their business, whether it’s helping them save money or market or putting them in touch with the right people so they can build relationships.”
The creativity that makes Topouzian a successful artist, small business owner and chamber professional is what helps him keep the Troy Chamber’s offerings fresh and relevant. His members, he says want quality programming and they need a reason to keep coming.
“Most of our events are unique,” he says. “We try to avoid ‘been there, heard that.’ We do a CEO series. We bring in CEOs from the area, people our members haven’t seen. Food lab – They’re doing work of a different scale. We’ve had Amtrak come out, DTE. Last year, we did an event on the autonomous vehicle. We try to stay on top of current events and parlay them into events. “
At their holiday event, they hosted a panel of Michigan entrepreneurs discussing how they built their businesses. At their annual meeting, the economic forecast was done, not by an economist, but by the president of Michigan Municipal League, the president of the Detroit Regional Chamber and Oakland County’s workforce development staff.
“They’re not throwing numbers on a screen. They’re going to focus on certain issues that pertain to the economy that they see from their vantage points. That’s different and attractive to people who want to know about that,” says Topouzian. “It’s those kinds of unique events that really set us apart. We’re always trying to one up ourselves in what we do.”
And they always solicit feedback from their members so they can continue to fine tune their offerings to their audience.
Their 60th Anniversary presents a great opportunity to dazzle with a full year of events, workshops and promotions focused on growth and opportunities in the Troy business community.
“It’s going to be a year-long birthday party for us,” says Topouzian. “It’s exciting for us because we can tweak a little bit of what we’re doing throughout the year. We’re going to be taking some of our signature events and theming them toward the 60th.”
They recently announced that the Mercantile Bank of Michigan will be partnering with the Chamber as the 60th anniversary sponsor.
Mercantile Bank of Michigan was founded in 1997 by directors and bankers who firmly believed that the customers, employees, and the communities they live in are best served by financial institutions with local ties. They expanded into Troy in 2017.
“We understand the importance of building strong community partnerships and couldn’t be happier to help support the Chamber in their efforts,” said Todd Witmer, Mercantile Bank’s Metro-Market President, SVP. “It was a perfect fit for us, and we are looking forward to working closely with the Chamber throughout 2019.”
When Edward Rusin first founded the Chamber in 1959 there were fewer than 100 businesses in Troy and today the area boasts 6,146. In 60 years, the names and faces of the Chamber may have changed, but it’s focus hasn’t.
“Troy Chamber is as relevant to the business community today as it was in 1959,” says Topouzian. “Serving our members to help them grow their business has been our main directive for the past 60 years. I look forward to celebrating our year-long birthday with our members!”
For more information call 248.641.8151 or e-mail: theteam@troychamber.com.
Warm up for tax season at The Troy Historic Village with their Constitution Café on Sunday, February 10 at 2 pm. The program will be a discussion about funding government, taxation and the 16th amendment, which allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population. Engage in a civil discussion to “create” a new Constitution. The Constitution Café is sponsored by the Oakland County Bar Foundation. No registration is required. Visit 
AARP Foundation Tax Aides will be available on Fridays, from February 1 to April 12 to do free tax preparation. Trained in cooperation with the IRS, these aides will help low to moderate income taxpayers, especially those 50 and older, prepare IRS and Michigan taxes. Make an appointment at the Friends of Troy Seniors desk or by calling the FOTS office at 
Come learn about 2018 income tax law changes on Wednesday, February 20, from 9:30 to 11 am, in Room 302. In late 2017 Congress passed the most comprehensive and sweeping changes to our income tax laws since the mid 1980s. These changes will impact virtually every taxpayer and the changes will take place with your 2018 tax return. CPA Tom Hill will explain the changes and their impact on your tax situation. He will also talk about strategies to reduce your tax liability. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided. To register, call 
So, it’s cold. It’s dark. And we have to pay taxes? Yep. It’s time to pay 2018 winter property tax payments. They must be received on or before February 14, 2019 to avoid penalty charges. Deferred summer tax bills are also due on February 14. A 3% penalty must be applied to all unpaid winter tax bill balances after the due date for the month of February.
Sixty-eight Oakland County businesses, including ESG Automotive in Troy, will share $1.8 million in Going PRO Talent Fund grants awarded by the Michigan Talent Investment Agency/Workforce Development Agency. Employers were awarded the funds to hire and train 324 new employees, expand the skills of 1,100 existing workers and create 45 new registered apprenticeships during the year.
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