Columbia Recognized as a Certified Pet-Friendly City

Issue #205

09 Sep

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

🗓 List of Upcoming Events

☀️ Columbia Weather - Sunny with a high of 85

🐶 Columbia Recognized as a Certified Pet-Friendly City

📰 Ultium Cells Battery Plant in Spring Hill Unionizes Under UAW 

🏐 Hustle Factory Volleyball Club Hosts September Tryouts in Spring Hill and Columbia

📰 Support Veterans at “Healing Our Heroes” Event Featuring Music, Silent Auction, and More

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

📣 We Want To Spotlight Your Business! Apply Here

🗓 Know of Some Local Events Not Listed? Send us the Details!

Upcoming Local Events

🗓 Have an event to add? Send us the Details!

Monday, September 9th

Tuesday, September 10th

Wednesday, September 11th

Thursday, September 12th

Friday, September 13th

Saturday, September 14th

Sunday, September 15th

Columbia Recognized as a Certified Pet-Friendly City

Credit: City of Columbia, TN - Government (Facebook)

The city of Columbia has been officially certified as a pet-friendly city through the Better Cities For Pets program by Mars Petcare. This certification recognizes Columbia's efforts to create a welcoming environment for pets and their owners, emphasizing the city's commitment to enhancing the quality of life for both people and animals.

The Better Cities For Pets program, launched in 2019 by Mars Petcare, aims to help cities become more pet-friendly by offering guidance on policies and practices that support pets in urban environments. Developed in collaboration with the Civic Design Center and input from government and animal welfare experts, the program highlights the benefits pets bring to communities and encourages cities to adopt pet-friendly initiatives.

Columbia’s recognition also reflects the ongoing efforts of Maury County Animal Services and local leadership to create a supportive environment for pets. The city and county have been working together to improve animal services and foster a community where pets and people can thrive side by side.

Ultium Cells Battery Plant in Spring Hill Unionizes Under UAW

Workers at the Ultium Cells battery plant in Spring Hill have signed cards to join the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the company has agreed to recognize the union without requiring a vote. Ultium, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, produces battery cells for electric vehicles and employs 1,000 workers. This move is significant for the UAW, as it aims to maintain union representation in the growing electric vehicle sector.

The Spring Hill plant is one of several Ultium facilities benefiting from a $2.5 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to support battery cell production in Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee. The Ohio plant voted to join the UAW in 2022, securing a new contract earlier this year. The UAW’s recent successes, including favorable new contracts after strikes against GM, Ford, and Stellantis, have allowed the union to expand its efforts in the South, where union presence has historically been weaker.

The auto industry has been shifting production to the South, drawn by lower unionization rates and generous incentives. However, challenges remain as automakers, including GM and Ford, are reconsidering their commitments to electric vehicles due to changing market demands. Despite these uncertainties, Ultium’s unionization represents a pivotal moment for labor in the evolving automotive sector.

🏐 Hustle Factory Volleyball Club Hosts September Tryouts in Spring Hill and Columbia

Are you looking for a place where young athletes can grow not only in their volleyball skills but also as individuals? Discover Hustle Factory Volleyball Club (HFVC).

Located at Hustle Factory Sports Complex in Spring Hill and their new branch in Columbia, HFVC offers an inclusive environment for girls ages 7-18 to thrive both on and off the court. 

Founded in 2022 by Tim Cooper, HFVC aims to inspire and challenge players, fostering growth in all aspects of life. Tim’s extensive background, including playing and coaching volleyball for nearly a decade, informs the club’s holistic approach. His experiences range from coaching beginners to college athletes and even leading teams in international competitions in Thailand and West Africa.

“Our club is distinctive from other volleyball and youth sports clubs in that we are focused on the individual’s holistic development. While developing their athletic skills is a priority for our club it does not override the importance of character development and helping them to mature into kind, responsible and confident adults. We believe that a coach is able to connect with young athletes in a way parents, teachers and peers cannot. Our coaches are trained and encouraged to look for teachable moments and to develop healthy coach/player relationships throughout the season.” 

HF Club is excited to be offering Club tryouts in TWO locations this upcoming season: Spring Hill at HF Sports Complex and Columbia at Macedonia Rec Center. From year one to year two we more than doubled in size with our club teams, going from 2 teams to 5 teams and this year we expect similar growth!

Between our leagues, club teams, private lessons and the boys program that shares our court space, our facility now works with 100+ athletes ages 8-18 years of age and has grown from a staff of 5 to having a staff of 15 and counting. 

Keeping volleyball affordable and accessible is one of our priorities and we are proud to say we have not raised our club costs in 3 seasons. Over 50% of our families chose to participate in fundraisers last season which helped cover a significant portion of their athletes club dues. 

Important Dates: 

September 15 and 22: Pre-season Warmups. Come join us for our pre-season play date to meet our coaches, check out the facility and get in some touches before tryouts! Register Here. 

September 22: An online informational meeting about the upcoming club season for parents starts at 6:30 PM. Link to the meeting will be posted on all our socials and sent to those on our email list.

Spring Hill - HF Sports Complex HS & MS Tryout Dates: Sept. 28, Oct. 5 & 6 - click here for more details

COLUMBIA Tryout Dates: Sept. 28, Oct. 5 - click here for more details

*Make up tryout dates TBD later in October

Locations:

Hustle Factory Sports Complex - 5191 Joe Peay Rd, Spring Hill, TN 
HFVC Columbia - 501 Armstrong St., Columbia, TN

For more information, visit Hustle Factory Volleyball Club. Join HFVC and be part of a community that’s about more than just sports—it’s about shaping future leaders.

Support Veterans at “Healing Our Heroes” Event Featuring Music, Silent Auction, and More

UPDATE: It is with a great deal of disappointment that we announce the GFWC Spring Station Woman's Club is cancelling the "Healing Our Heroes" event due to circumstances beyond our control.  

However, we are going to continue to raise funds for Operation Song through our online auction!!!  We have received some incredible donations, and we can't wait for everyone to see all the items and bid competitively! 

Home decor, original art, health & beauty, Nashville Symphony tickets, autographed books, gift baskets, gift cards and certificates, and so much more. We are also still accepting donations!!

We are currently adding all the auction items onto the ticketing site. It'll take a few days because we have so many items to photograph, describe, and post. The link to the auction/ticketing site is https://GFWC.givesmart.com. You will also have the opportunity to make a monetary donation on the site.

Keep checking back and get ready to bid and bid again!!  Let's support our struggling veterans and the good work done by Operation Song.

"Healing for Heroes" is the GFWC Spring Station Woman's Club's upcoming fundraising event on September 24 for Operation Song®, which empowers veterans, active-duty military members, and their families to tell their stories through the process of songwriting. Those they serve need no musical or writing skills, only a willingness to share their stories and, with the help of professional songwriters, transform them into songs. 

How can you help? Our biggest needs are ticket sales and silent auction donations. Tickets are only $40 per person and include hors d'oeuvres, beverages, the silent auction, musical performances by Nashville songwriters and performers, and other activities. Purchase tickets here.

“Healing our Heroes” is an excellent opportunity for your company to support a worthy cause and at the same time receive valuable exposure. One highlight of the evening is our silent auction. We invite you to consider a donation that would represent your business well when displayed and attract bids from interested guests. Your name and the value of the item will be on display for the guests to see. In addition, our ticketing site allows us to not only publicize donations by posting a picture and description of each auction lot (including information about the donor), but also provide a way for the public to bid on items even if they are unable to attend the event.

The event will be held at 1018 Parkway Dr. in Spring Hill.

In conjunction with this fundraiser, we will be participating in the General Federation of Women's Clubs 2nd Annual National Day of Service, where all clubs are encouraged to do a project that pertains to food insecurity.  Our club will be collecting the 10 items most frequently requested by the veterans who visit the Columbia VA office: canned chicken, stew, and chili, pancake mix and syrup, SPAM, Pop-tarts, canned fruit, instant potatoes, and paper towels. We are calling this project "Vittles for Vets". We will be delivering the food donation to Columbia on Wednesday, September 25.

🎵 This Week’s Live Music

Monday, September 9th

Alyssa Hart, Puckett’s, 6-7:30 PM

Tuesday,  September 10th

Jay Hoppus, Puckett’s, 6-7:30 PM
Grace West, Fozzy's Bar & Grill, 7:30-9:30 PM

Wednesday, September 11th

Troy Castelland, Puckett’s, 6-7:30 PM

Thursday, September 12th

Maddie Rose, Puckett’s, 6-7:30 PM
The Nature Project, Buck & Board, 6-9 PM
Todd Ciprian, Tito's Spring Hill, 6-9 PM
Stevierock, McCreary's Irish Pub, 7-9 PM

Friday, September 13th

James Heeter ft. Jessie Schupbach, Buck & Board, 6-9 PM
Johnny Jameson & The Empty Pints, McCreary's Irish Pub, 7-9 PM
Josh Keas, Grinder's Switch, 7-9 PM
Karli & James, Puckett’s, 7:30-9 PM
Escape, Fozzy's Bar & Grill, 8-11 PM

Saturday, September 14th

Nick Bentley, Keg Springs Winery, 2-5 PM
Box of Rox, Amber Falls Winery, 3-7 PM
TBD, Natchez Hills Vineyard, 4-7 PM
The Def Leprechaun Band, McCreary's Irish Pub, 7-9 PM
Sunset, Rhythm & Vines, The Mulehouse, 7-11 PM
The Mighty Train Wrecks, Puckett’s, 7:30-9 PM
CJ & The Whiskey Sundown Band, Fozzy's Bar & Grill, 8-11 PM

Sunday, September 15th

TBD, Natchez Hills Vineyard, 1-4 PM
The Sins, Amber Falls Winery, 1-5 PM
Cliff Waddell & Willie Vanhorn, The Rebel, 4 PM
Kenny Durham, Puckett’s, 6-7:30 PM

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