Frankenmuth

4 O ne of the things many of us value in our community is the care and compassion we have for each other. Perhaps it's a small town trait, but in Frankenmuth, it feels even more tight knit. It's neighbors helping neighbors. It's businesses being locally-owned and supporting community causes. We've seen so many incredible examples of care and compassion throughout this pandemic. It started with local mask makers getting to work and coordination between individuals with a dream, church groups on a mission, businesses donating endless amounts of material and the library shifting its focus to meet the needs of the community. Another thing we do really well in Frankenmuth is work together. So, it was natural that the businesses wanted to gather and discuss how to prepare for the unknowns ahead. It was important right from the beginning to establish some consistent standards that would help protect our employees as well as our community. Frankenmuth's strong legacy of being a safe and welcoming place was immediately identified and upholding that legacy under new and greater expectations became the goal. Planning began at the end of April with over 50 businesses participating in think tank work groups led by the Chamber of Commerce. At that time, there was no indication of when any business might be able to re-open, but it was clear that there was work to be done to get ready due to many new requirements and Executive Orders from the State of Michigan that evolved weekly. The groups received input from local ER physicians from the Frankenmuth Covid-19 Task Force. Dr. Derek Schaller and Dr. Matthew Wolfe were very helpful in sharing knowledge regarding various practices that would minimize exposure and risk. One important practice that has since drawn a great deal of passionate and emotional response is the topic of masks. Nearly all local employees are currently required to wear masks and when the business groups met, there was collective agreement that our community would ask guests who can medically tolerate a mask to wear them. A couple things became clear quickly during the think tank sessions. First, having some templates for consistent signage that businesses could customize and have printed would make it easier to implement as we begin to educate and remind the public about our new expectations. There was also desire to have some consistent guidelines so people wouldn't have to completely re-learn the rules in every business. Certainly, many have had to customize them to their particular industry sector or PREPARING TO REOPEN FUN TOWN LOOKING FOR WHAT'S OPEN NOW? Visit www.frankenmuth.org/welcomeback to see what shops, restaurants, and attractions are open right now as well as any special notes to remember when visiting your favorite places. By Jamie Furbush

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