Public invited

As January comes to a close, Oxford residents are getting that much closer to the official spring start of the Restore M-24 road construction project. While the town has already seen its fair share of orange barrels as well as rumors spread on Facebook, the Oxford Chamber of Commerce is inviting residents to hear from the people in charge at the 2020 State of the Community Breakfast and Leadership Awards.
Taking place on Feb. 20 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at Independence Village, located at 701 Market St., a $25 ticket for chamber members or $30 ticket for non-members will allow guests to enjoy a “beautiful buffet breakfast put on by (the chef at) Independence Village,” while listening to local officials Joe Madore, Oxford Village manager; Joe Frost, Oxford Village president; Glenn Pape, executive director of the Village of Oxford Downtown Development Authority; Jack Curtis, Oxford Township trustee, and an MDOT official discuss the upcoming road construction as well as what will be on the township, village and chamber’s agendas for 2020. While a question and answer session isn’t scheduled for the event, residents will be able to speak with local officials after the breakfast in a meet and greet style.
“(Local officials) are going to give you a scope of beginning to end of construction and it will give you a visual of what the town will look like when it is finished,” said Amy Desotell, executive director of the Oxford Chamber of Commerce.
The Restore M-24 project is something Desotell said “needs to be done,” and believes it won’t be a huge obstruction for local retail businesses.
“We have parking behind all of our stores, side streets will all be open, but I think that people need to hear and see a visual to really give them confidence (regarding) what’s going to take place over the summer,” she said. “It’s just another venue for people to see and learn, and they do need to learn what’s going on in their town.”
Aside from the updates residents will receive, another component of the event will be the Leadership Awards. Selected and presented by the Oxford Chamber of Commerce, the Leadership Awards recognize individuals who are community leaders and have served the community for several years. Last year’s recipients were Ron Davis, director of Oxford Township Parks and Recreation and Chief Mike Solwold of the Oxford Village Police department. This year, the chamber will be honoring Oxford Community Television’s Bill Service and Teri Stiles. Service is OCTV’s station manager while Stiles is the production manager.
“This year, we are giving them to Bill Service and Teri Stiles for all of their years (of service) and everything they do for this community,” Desotell said. “For OCTV and how they cover all the businesses, all the goings on in town; they are here for our community and not just the village, (but) the township and the surrounding areas. They are such a great attribute to this community that I think it’s time that they be acknowledged for everything that they do.”
While the State of the Community event is sure to leave residents with full stomachs and more information than they had coming in, Desotell said the chamber’s goal is help bring Oxford village and township together again.
“That’s what the Chamber has been working on for several years…let people hear from both sides, not just one or the other. So, I think State of the Community gives you a great visual on both township and village and what’s upcoming (with) everyone working together, not just individually,” she said.
To register for the 2020 State of the Community Breakfast and Leadership Awards, residents can do so by calling the chamber office at 248-628-0410 or visiting OxfordChamber.net.