Jeff Hardcastle as Chelsea Citizen of the Year 2018 and Gary Munce as Lifetime Achievement winner 2018, will be honored at an awards banquet on Oct. 25 at the Village Conference Center beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Hardcastle bio:
Residents of Chelsea since 1984, Jeff and his wife Deb have raised 4 children (David, Katie, Emily & Megan) and are thrilled to have parented their way through 52 calendar years within the outstanding Chelsea School district. The kids have accumulated 8 college degrees and have become a 1) marketing manager, 2) historic preservationist, 3) communications director and 4) a high school history teacher (thank you Mr. Helms and Ms. Lutz).
The family has expanded to include 4 grandchildren including two that are destined to be dreadnaughts, much to the consternation of their father.
Jeff earned his undergrad at Eastern Michigan University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. After working at Ford Motor Company and several years as a business plan consultant, Jeff put together a business plan of his own. He raised $800K in venture capital, built a new plant and started Hardwood Solutions in 1997 with 5 employees. Hardwood Solutions now processes 1,000,000 bf per month of North American hardwoods, making components for cabinet, flooring and millwork companies across the US. The company employs 75 and operates a second plant in Northwest Indiana.
Jeff served on the Chelsea Community Hospital board from 2001 to 2010, then served for 6 years on the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation board including 2 years as board chair. Following up on the 5H experience, Jeff was one of the 15 founding members of the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative in December 2014.
As part of HWPI, Jeff is facilitating the development of non-motorized recreational pathways, linking them to a growing network of Michigan trails. He has supported their mission by creating awareness and coordinating the efforts of individuals in and around Chelsea. Jeff currently serves as HWPI’s board chair and is having an absolute blast helping to build the Border-2-Border non-motorized trail system through Chelsea and across Washtenaw County. In addition to the trail development work, Jeff enjoys biking, golf, his kids, grandkids and camping with his wife in the GGPAPA mobile.
The reception includes a 3-course meal for $35 (adults) and $15 (children). Please RSVP by calling 734-475-1145 or emailing [email protected] by Oct. 16.
