Club Meeting Featuring City of Livonia Mayor, Maureen Brosnan

Our meeting opened with President Nancy Darga leading us all in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Invocation was then given by Victoria Haltom, with a recitation listing all the happenings in March, such as the end of Daylight Saving time for the year, the Ides of March, and the first day of Spring. Then Sharon Pommerville happily collected Happy Bucks. Greg Greene was happy he had 3 new volunteers and that one of them, Justin Gooch, was joining us on Zoom.

President Nancy welcomed 2 guests, Michelle White, a friend of Erin Dobbins and visiting us for the second time, and Drew Buatti, a member of the Livonia Noon Rotary and a frequent visitor.

Announcements were made. The annual Easter Egg hunt, organized by the Noon club, will be on April 4 at Rotary Park, and the egg packing will be on March 28.

Nancy then let members know that the Giving Committee now has 2 new Co-Chairs, as Bill Friske is stepping aside due to other Rotary commitments. Greg Greene and Marlene Katafias will be the new Co-chairmen. At the March Giving Committee meeting, the committee members approved 2 Grants, one for $2,000 to the LPS Foundation and one to the Schoolcraft Foundation, also for $2,000. Nancy asked the club members to vote on the 2 grants, and there was unanimous approval. Nancy also confirmed that one Churchill student had signed up for the RYLA Leadership Training.

President Nancy then introduced our special guest, Mayor Maureen Brosnan.

Mayor Brosnan announced the date of her 2026 State of the City Address. It will be on March 25 at 3:30 PM and will be held in the Vista Tech Center at Schoolcraft College. The Mayor gave a synopsis of many events that took place in Livonia in 2025. The completion and opening of the new Senior Wellness Center on the East end of the Rec Center and the upgrades and remodeling currently being done to the Rec Center as a result.. The new senior center is a HUB for cards, yoga, crafts, plus there are 3,000 sq. feet of flexible use rooms. Anastacia and Katie’s Coffee Shop also has its second Livonia location in the senior center.

The Rec Center has added 4,000 sq feet with 2 new west gyms and a remodeled main gym with a multi-purpose room. The Mayor went on to talk about a new partnership with Schoolcraft College that offers new small business Grants and Mentorship.

Livonia has become the home of several new businesses the past year and will see more open their doors in 2026, Skooters, Lickety Split, a smaller Meijer store, the Shops at College Park at 6 and Haggerty, Whole Foods, Nino Salvaggios, Capital Grill, Cooper’s Hawk Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steak House. There are new Townhomes and Apartments going up which will attract younger people to come to Livonia.

Wayne County is investing much needed road dollars in re-paving many of Livonia’s main roads. There is a millage renewal coming up for our public safety departments, and Livonia still rates as one of the safest cities in Michigan. With all of this and more, Livonia is a city on the rise. President Nancy Darga then presented Mayor Brosnan with our Rotary Soccer Ball, and the meeting was adjourned.

Marlene Katafias