“My dad and I both had a love for Bug cars, and this was my car when I turned 16. This is my actual first vehicle I drove for a while,” Lambert explained as she scraped off snow.

It’s also fitting because “the first Domino’s delivery car was a light blue Volkswagen Beetle as well,” she said.

In 1960, Tom Monaghan and his brother Jim, took over operation of a pizza place in Ypsilanti. Jim traded his half of the business to Tom for the Volkswagen Beetle they used for pizza deliveries.

“So that’s a fun thing. It not only has a history in my life — it’s also in the Domino’s world, too.”

THE LIGHTED DOMINO’S display in the Lake Antoine Park Partners’ Lights at the Lake event. (Photo provided by Lake Antoine Park Partners)

She and her husband own multiple Domino’s businesses in the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin. She learned about the Lights at the Lake event from the local general manager, Josh Smith, and his wife, Sarah, who is district manager.

“Part of my role in the company is the special event coordinating. That’s how I, myself, got involved. I take care of those special events,” Lambert said.

She looks forward to the Holiday Open House from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, in the park. They will have some of the mascots there and plan to give out certificates and gummy pizzas.

The fourth Lights at the Lake event opened Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 28 and extends through New Year’s Day on Jan. 1, with hours of 5 to 10 p.m. daily. It is organized by the Lake Antoine Park Partners, a non-profit group working to improve the park and its facilities. There is no admission fee to see the decorations.

This year, LAPP expanded the display area to offer 63 designated campsites for the community — businesses, churches, agencies and others — to create a light display that reflects the character of their group. Participants could take up to two campsites at $40 each and had to supply their own outdoor-rated lights, cords and timers.

They wound up with about 47 separate displays.

The free event has been increasing in popularity over the past three years, with more than 3,000 cars driving through the campground and park last year, an LAPP official said.

The public can again vote on the “People’s Choice Award” winner for best decorated site, by scanning the QR code at the site with a cell phone, by filling out a paper ballot or by using a link on the LAPP Facebook page to an online survey.

Three places will be awarded this year.

“I’m super-excited to be part of it. We absolutely want to do it again. We’ve already started brainstorming. People put a lot of work into these,” Lambert said.

“We’re getting to know more and more people in the community, so as we have conversations with people, you just find out more and more about what’s going on. It’s fun to be a part of it,” she said.

Lambert also thinks the improvements at the park are “fantastic.” She enjoys the kayak launch and her grandchildren like to play on the little playground.

“To me, these are awesome pieces that are very valuable for social gathering places — and the movie nights are fun, too, for the kids,” she said.

Lake Antoine also has special meaning for her family, which includes three children and three grandchildren. They purchased property on the south side about five years ago and are building a cabin on it. Before that they camped at Lake Antoine for many years.

“It holds a lot of memories for us,” she said.

And now they can give back to the lake that’s given them so many memories.