April 2, 2020
Good Afternoon,
This morning, Governor Whitmer announced the closure of schools for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. For our employees who are parents to school-age children, I know this order creates a lot more questions than we have answers. The governor will be participating in a townhall tonight at 7 p.m. if you want to tune in. The program will be broadcast live on many local stations and online.
As of right now, we will continue to operate in our “new normal” until at least April 14 when the governor’s Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives executive order is set to expire. If that is extended, we will adjust our timeline as well.
Remember, if you are struggling with working while caring for your school-age children, there are leave options available to you. Click here for the COVID-19 Leave Options FAQ published earlier this week. If you have any questions about your leave options, please contact Nicole Peterson, HR manager, (734) 327-6641, [email protected].
On a lighter note, I’ve been really impressed with the personal stories of coping that I have received from employees so far. If you want to share your story, feel free to email me.
I’d like to share one that I received from Michele Ford, civil engineer in Design and Construction:
“By chance (God’s hand, in my opinion), our son (Jacob) who lives in Saudi Arabia was visiting us when all this unfolded, and he got stuck here with us. It has been wonderful having 
him here and getting to spend time with him just living life. Usually when he visits, it’s only for a few days and we are running around the state to visit various family members. This has forced us to simply be together while we do normal, every day things. He and I have been going for daily long walks where we just talk about anything and everything.
He has always enjoyed music and plays the piano and viola. He decided he wants to learn the harp, so he ordered a lap harp, which came last week, and he is watching YouTube to teach himself how to play. I’m quite enjoying listening to the beautiful sounds that come out of the instrument. I think it is time well spent while being stuck at home.”
Sounds like a great use of time, thank you for sharing Michele! Several others have also submitted stories and I can’t wait to share them as well. Please keep them coming!
I hope you are able to relax a bit this weekend and enjoy the beautiful springtime weather.
Take care and stay safe,
Sheryl
