It’s two for two, woohoo.

Last year our Rotary Club of Saginaw —  Downtown entered the Holidays in the Heart of the City cookie house competition for the first time and won first place in the clubs and organizations category.

 

Tonight (Nov. 18) we won first place in the same category for a modified reconstruction of  Hayes Specialties, located at 1761 E. Genesee.

 

Creator Cathy Tafel  had to reduce its number of stories to avoid a collapse, but you get the idea. 

 

It honors owner Jim Hayes, a long-time  member of our club who died in September at age 80. He is seen in last picture on this post with the building in the background.

 

Hayes  joined our club in 1982 and served as president 1989–1990. He volunteered for just about everything we did and was in the stratosphere when it came to donating to the Rotary Foundation, a portion of which comes back to local clubs for grants. 

 

The back of the cookie house showcases some of the items Hayes Specialties sells. The 110,000-square-foot warehouse, built as a brewery,  is the home of one of the largest importer of toys and novelties in the United States, with a buying office in  Shanghai staffed by Hayes employees.

 

Last year our cookie house honored the memory of former member Ursula Steckert, who died of Covid complications. Tafel created a replica of her centennial  home in Saginaw Township.