The WELL Outreach

10/09/2026

Books, costumes and some Thriller moves.

Bay Arenac ISD Family Engagement, The WELL Outreach and Standish-Sterling Community Schools Music brought students and families together at the Sunrise Community Resource Center in Standish. Michigan Chillers author Johnathan Rand joined the fun, and the students learned and performed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Thank you to the students, families, school partners and helpers who made this evening happen.

Special thank you to Derek Wilk and Kay Freeman!!!!

Music: “Funkorama” by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under CC BY 4.0

10/06/2026

Thank you Derek Wilk with Wilk Entertainment… setting up for tomorrow’s Johnathan Rand Family Engagement night and special kids THRILLER performance. If you are one of the 70 families coming to perform or just have fun at the event, we are Over the Moon excited 😉

09/24/2026

Thank you Li'l Sprouts Child Development Center & River's Edge Learning Tree for being our Main Race Event Sponsor!

Socoz Design, Saganing Eagles Landing Casino and Hotel and Classic Lawn Maintenance & Snowplowing for Kids Race Sponsors!! Every kid will get a shirt and a medal!

https://forms.gle/ba9BDYseKxe2G7iM6

09/22/2026

Shhhhh. It’s a surprise 🙂. Except TV12 did pick it up. We have a celebrity coming to town and the kids are going to surprise him with a performance of THRILLER!!! Let’s welcome Johnathan Rand with a night he will never forget! Bring the family and the friends, dress as a zombie.

Thank you Mrs Freeman’s Music classes for making the welcoming performance so much fun!

09/10/2026

We have reformatted the Run for the WELL of It!!! Our Kids Race is going to be better than ever!

https://forms.gle/YSUrYExpJ2r4EZpW8

09/01/2026

The WELL Outreach is very excited to share this highly anticipated news. Behind the scenes, there has been much intentional discussion happening on who will better serve Arenac. Where egos were set aside, proper alignment was discussed and implemented based on facts, not feelings. The journey is far from over. We will all make sure Arenac County gets the resources it needs, but we are excited that this is a major step in the right direction.

The possibilities are unlimited when you have strong partners all understand that each community is different and has different needs. There is no cookie-cutter answer to poverty and social determinants of health.

Today is an exciting day as we launch our annual campaign and have exciting news to share: United Way of Bay County is growing to include Arenac and Tuscola counties!💙

By serving an expanded region, we will be able to reach even more individuals and families and have a greater impact on the critical issues our communities face. As the needs of our region continue to evolve, this expansion of United Way of Bay County positions us to respond more effectively.

Our mission, donor stewardship, volunteer opportunities, and community partnerships in Bay County will remain as strong as ever as we continue to engage and empower our community to collectively impact lives.

08/29/2026

Here's the whole thing.

Yesterday was the highlight reel. This is the full Standish Trail ribbon cutting, about ten minutes, including Brad Mason's account of how a city that owned one small park landed a $983,500 grant and built a trail with it.

Stay for the thank you list. It runs almost three minutes, and every name on it earned the spot.

Thank you to Jeff Taylor for getting it all on video.

Phase two is still open for discussion. Walk it, then tell City Hall what it needs.

08/28/2026

The Standish Trail is open.

A good crowd turned out for the ribbon cutting, but here's the part that stuck with us. City Manager Brad Mason said he came out that morning just to look around, and found eight people already back there walking it. The trail wasn't even open yet.

That tells you how badly this community wanted it.

Credit where it belongs. Mayor King and the Standish City Council took a gamble and acquired the property before the grant ever came through. It paid off. A $983,500 Michigan SPARK grant covered the build, and the city of Standish didn't pay a dollar. Brad Mason, Spicer Engineering, Wilcox Contracting out of Beaverton, the Arenac County Commissioners, and the Standish Chamber of Commerce all had a hand in getting it done.

Heather was glad to help where she could. We're grateful to Paul Aultman and Vantage Plastics for making that kind of thing possible, because showing up for our neighbors is the whole point of The WELL.

Phase one is finished. Phase two is up to you, so if you walk it and think of something it needs, tell City Hall. And there's a sledding hill back there now, just waiting on snow.

Full video from the ribbon cutting goes up tomorrow.

Go walk it.

📍 Standish Trail, Standish, Michigan

08/26/2026

Calling ALL Veterans and employers with veterans.

Veteran Support Fair tomorrow in Arenac County - Standish, Michigan.

583 E Cedar St. Standish - Sunrise Community Resource Center

If you have employees that are Veterans, please consider letting them swing over as part of their work day to support them.