Publisher’s Message: Introducing The Chelsea Post

Hello! Welcome to the official launch of The Chelsea Post. The Chelsea Post is a new one-stop community hub for finding and sharing Chelsea, Michigan news, announcements, events, and more.

The site was created by Leslie Surel (that’s me), long-time Chelsea resident and owner of Surelutions, with support from Lisa Allmendinger, publisher of Chelsea Update.

I have also helped Lisa manage the Chelsea Update website for the last 10+ years — which is how I ended up here, writing my first Publisher’s Message.

Two weeks ago, Lisa called to tell me she’s retiring. I was excited for about three seconds, until she told me why: she has a terminal cancer diagnosis and plans to spend her days enjoying life on her own time, not worrying about deadlines. I suspect my reaction was similar to everyone who knows and loves Lisa — heartbroken and worried, with about a million other emotions to follow.

We met a few days later to work out the logistics of shutting down Chelsea Update. Sitting there in Lisa’s kitchen with hot coffee, donuts from Chelsea Bakery, and a very handsome (and hopeful) dog at our feet, we kept coming back to one thing: the giant hole that would be left behind if Chelsea Update was just … gone. It contains more than a decade of articles and community stories. It’s a trustworthy source of local information with no corporate agenda. It’s an integral part of the community.

We briefly considered whether it made sense for me to take over Chelsea Update. I do have the knowledge and expertise to run the site. But in many ways, Chelsea Update and Lisa Allmendinger are one and the same. Lisa’s unique perspective, experience, and voice can never be replaced. Trying to run Chelsea Update without Lisa at the helm would be disappointing at best.

Then another idea took shape. What if there was a new website? One with many familiar elements but a slightly different perspective? That spark lit a fuse in both of us, and the pieces started falling into place. Lisa immediately said, “I could still publish articles!” When I pointed out she’d just announced her retirement, she said, “Yes, but I like writing. It’s running the business I want to retire from.” Fair enough!

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks — a crazy short time to launch a website of this scale — so I fully expect some hiccups. But as I always say, the great thing about websites is that you can always make improvements.

In some ways, launching The Chelsea Post feels like coming home, bringing back fond memories of building the Things To Do In Chelsea website (2005–2012) and working with the ChelseaMich team (2011–2017).

The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. Lisa and I knew this was a good idea, but I had no idea you’d all agree so enthusiastically. I really appreciate the encouraging emails and messages folks have sent me already.

I’ve put together a list of FAQs based on questions I’ve already received about the new site and what’s happening to the Chelsea Update archives. That information will be published later this week.

With that, I’d like to say thanks again for your encouragement — and welcome to The Chelsea Post!

If you’d like to subscribe, ask questions, talk about ads, or share news or ideas, please feel free to get in touch. This website is for our Chelsea friends and neighbors, and I’d love to hear from you.