While fewer Michigan residents could mean less Federal stimulus money and fewer seats in the House of Representatives (see The Review’s two-part census coverage), the state’s ? and Orion’s ? out-migration lends itself to another issue: what happens when the community leaders leave?
Ex-Orionites include former Village Council President Rob Reetz and Parks and Recreation committee volunteer Richard Solomon, both of whom hit the road last fall.
Reetz headed to the Saginaw area to follow his engineering position with AT&T. If not for the job transfer, the 14-year LO resident said he wouldn’t have left and ‘definitely? run for village council again.
‘I feel like leaving something unfinished by not running again,? Reetz said last September. ‘I’ll miss my neighbors most.?
Solomon, who worked in the State of Michigan’s human resources department, migrated clear across the country to Seattle, WA.
A few years ago, his wife was offered a position there, so Solomon began planning for early retirement and found himself a part-time job with Fed-Ex. When the time came to move, Solomon, his new job and his wife headed west.
Like Reetz, Solomon says if it weren’t for the job offer, he and his wife would have stayed put.
‘We like Lake Orion. I’m really from Detroit and I’m a person who said I’d never move north of 8 Mile,? Solomon admitted. But, he added, when he met his future-wife, an Orion resident, he was ‘up north? all the time and eventually decided to put down roots.
‘It’s peaceful, pretty, the neighbors are nice ? I couldn’t ask for a better place to live,? he said.
Solomon says he’ll miss the way his Bunny Run neighbors help each other out during power outages, as well as an occasional deer running through the yard and volunteering for the Parks and Rec. Committee.
But, he says, ‘My wife got a career opportunity and I didn’t want to hold her back.?
Lake Orion will soon say goodbye to another community member when Village Treasurer and Financial Director Jan Adams leaves.
She and her husband will head south to Florida where he will continue with his job in sales.
‘I’ll probably be eating some bon bons on the beach and that type of thing,? joked Adams about the move before noting that she’ll seek another accounting position.
Adams says the pair planned to relocate to Florida in the future, but the downturned economy expedited their move. Her husband is now the only sales representative in North America for his particular product after the company laid off seven or eight others, leaving the option to relocate wide open.
‘Had the economy not been so bad, we would have been looking at a couple more years out,? Adams said, ‘but it worked in our favor. It wouldn’t have been possible for situation in the economy. My husband was able to move [to Florida] with his job and we thought we’d take advantage of that.?
With one foot out the door, Reetz left words of advice for those remaining in Lake Orion.
‘If I could say one thing, it would be to get involved,? he said. ‘You can sit back and complain, but you should get involved.?