Square One Education Network, a nonprofit K-12 educational organization that serves students and teachers through robust, hands-on STEM-focused learning experiences, has named Barb Land as the new Executive Director and Jason Beatty as Program Director.
Grand Rapids electrical and technology services company Feyen Zylstra and Living Hope Community Church teamed up with the Walker Police Department to host “National Night Out” at Feyen Zylstra’s headquarters. More than 1,000 people attended this year’s event, which included games, food and prizes!
Recently, LIFT (Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow) hosted Detroit UPrep students for a preview of its new, state-of-the-art, 6,500-sq. ft. immersive Learning Lab in Corktown. Schools and businesses are invited to partner with LIFT to teach and up-skill in a real, working advanced manufacturing setting.
DPTV was recognized for work in early childhood education, providing parents and teachers with skills and resources needed to prepare children for school and life. Besides exceptional children’s programming, it engages the community through workshops in its acclaimed Pre-School U program.
Like a lot of states, Michigan has its share of classic small towns that help make the state memorable and a tourist haven, whether it is Mackinaw, Saugatuck or Port Austin.
According to author Quint Studer, small towns are where it’s at right now. What makes Empire, Iron Mountain or Bad Axe so appealing to residents and visitors? Studer says there are many factors. But what really strikes him is a growing self-awareness around the richness and desirability of life in these smaller communities.
“More and more, I see this sense of pride emerge in leaders and citizens of small and mid-sized cities and towns,” says Studer, author of “Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America.” “They’re realizing, Hey, our community has a lot to offer, whether you want to live here, work here, invest here, or start a business here.”
In Michigan and the Midwest, Studer said people tend to think “We’re just a small town with a lot of old empty buildings.” He says those buildings are a “hot commodity.”
“What investors see is a lot of opportunity,” Studer said. “They have great bones and can easily be refurbished and changed into something new and cool. Also, small towns are hot right now. More and more people are seeking out small town living. It’s a major trend.”
Moreover, people in the Midwest and Mitten State have a great work ethic, he said.
“Remember, the Midwest has long been the heart of farming and manufacturing, and those roots are still strong. We’re talking about a hearty and hardworking bunch. For companies looking to relocate or open a new business, that’s a huge plus,” Studer said.
Here are five more reasons why Studer says small town living is hot:
Rehmann’s Director of Healthcare Practice Management Consulting, Ginny Martin, CMA, CPC, CPCO, CHBC, was recently named the president of the National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants (NSCHBC).
Keegan Linton knows one thing for sure about the Michigan Career and Technical Institute.
The school changed his life.
Linton, a Plainwell, Mich., resident who graduated from MCTI in June 2017, said the school – which promotes the integration of adults with disabilities into the workplace and society by providing vocation training – had a huge impact on his life.
The 23-year-old Linton used his MCTI education to snag a welder’s position with Schupan Aluminum & Plastic Sales in Kalamazoo, Mich.
“MCTI was great,” said Linton, who is deaf. “They changed my life with an interpreter. It’s the best place to go.”
MCTI recently hosted a graduation ceremony for 172 students with disabilities from across the state at its Plainwell campus.
Have daily goals
The guest speaker for that ceremony was state Rep. Tommy Brann, a Republican from Kent County who has been a member of the Business Advisory Council for MCTI’s culinary arts program. He’s also the owner of Brann’s Steakhouse & Sports Grille, which has hired several MCTI students.
Brann said the MCTI students provide his restaurant, which has been in the same Division Street location in Wyoming, Mich., for 48 years, with a steady stream of ready-to-go employees.
“It’s bringing in workers with a college education who have some experience, and who are really pumped up for the profession,” Brann said. “It’s less training for us, they pick it up fast. It has worked really well.”
In his speech at the graduation ceremony, Brann related a story about how impressed he is with actor Daniel Craig, the latest James Bond. Brann said he sets a daily goal to work toward physical conditioning similar to Craig.
That was his message: Make sure you have goals.
“I talked about work ethic – showing up on time, doing extra things for the boss, because the boss appreciates that,” Brann said. “I talked about having daily goals, not just yearly goals. My daily goals keep me going.”
MCTI is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Operated by Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS), formerly within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, MCTI now operates under the auspices of the newly created Department of Labor and Opportunity.
Vocational training
MCTI provides vocational training in 13 careers. It is the second largest rehabilitation training center in the country.
“MCTI puts Michiganders with disabilities on the road to opportunity by helping them maximize their talents,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “Investing in skills training is vitally important to the state’s economy and its residents.”
Students can be enrolled in technical training programs in automotive technology, cabinet making/millwork, certified nurse assistant, culinary arts, custodial, electronics, graphic communications, grounds maintenance/landscaping, machine technology, office automation, pharmacy services, retail marketing and construction.
“We are proud of the achievements of these students,” said MDHHS Director Robert Gordon. “MCTI students demonstrate that providing opportunities to all Michiganders brings positive results – for students who are able to pursue their career interests and for employers who benefit from the skills and work ethic that MCTI graduates bring to the table.”
MCTI also offers health, psychological and social work services, sports and activities, housing, student government and much more. Learn more at www.michigan.gov/MCTI.
Clayton & McKervey announces that Tarah Ablett, Miroslav Georgiev, Eric Lin and Ruben Ramirez have been promoted from senior accountants to tax managers. Also, Denise Asker is now director of Marketing and Practice Growth, a title change that reflects her additional responsibilities in practice dev.
If you enjoy conferences, learning new things and being wowed by everyone who takes the stage at an event, then TEDxDetroit is for you.
This annual event, now in its 11th year in Detroit, brings together the area’s “leading thinkers, designers, entertainers, entrepreneurs, scientists, artists and students for an inspiring day to celebrate ideas worth spreading” this fall, organizers say.
The day-long conference, which sells out every year, is dedicated to sharing positive ideas for the world from Detroit – through live TEDTalks, videos, hands-on exhibits in TEDxLabs, art, music and more. It’s meant to spark innovative new ideas and to foster collaborations throughout the region.
The annual event returns 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at the Masonic Temple, located at 500 Temple Street in Detroit. Tickets to attend are now on sale.
An inspiring day
“When it all comes together TEDxDetroit is part business conference, part science fair, part art festival and part revival,” said Charlie Wollborg, curator of TEDxDetroit and co-founder of Moka Boka Adventure Books. “It really is a crazy day that fills your head with new ideas, your belly with fire, and puts the spring back in your step.”
Janet Tyler, executive producer of TEDxDetroit and founder of True Depth Growth Accelerator, said that every year, TEDxDetroit has been able to inspire and surprise her.
“I continue to believe in our mission of sharing ideas and experiences that inspire attendees and provide the shot in the arm we all need every now and then,” Tyler said.
A storied history
The first TED idea conference was held in California in 1984. TED was an acronym for technology, entertainment, and design – three fields that spur innovation across the economy. TEDx brings the spirit of TED’s mission of ideas worth spreading to local communities around the globe. The TEDx program began in 2009. Each TEDx event is independently-organized at the local level under a license granted by TED and following their guidelines.
Now is also the time for aspiring TEDxDetroit speakers, performers, and exhibitors to apply to be part of the 11th annual event. Applications are now open online at tedxdetroit.com. The line-up for this year’s event will be announced in mid-September.
“We fill the stage with people who make us think, laugh, cry, and say ‘wow!’” said Tyler. “It’s always an eclectic array ranging from CEOs to artists to scientists that you won’t find anywhere else.”
Over the past decade, TEDxDetroit has featured such notable speakers as Pixar director Jim Murphy, NASA planetary scientist Cathy Olkin, graphic designer Aaron Draplin, and ESPN anchor Jemele Hill plus the founder of Baby Einstein, Forbes woman of the year, the inventor of a blade-less wind turbine, two college students who teach app development to teens in juvenile detention, and a 7-year old who started a lemonade stand that raised thousands for charity. This year’s mix will be similar.
The deadline for 2019 speaker and performer submissions is 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Speakers and performers will be notified and announced publicly beginning Sept 18, 2019.
Officials at Level One Bancorp, Inc., decided as early as summer 2018 they wanted to expand into Ann Arbor, and have been taking steps to do exactly that.
The latest step toward making the move came Aug. 13, when Level One Bancorp, Inc. and Ann Arbor Bancorp, Inc., the privately owned parent company of Ann Arbor State Bank, jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, AAB shareholders will receive $38.50 per share in an all-cash transaction. The aggregate deal value is approximately $67.8 million.
“For us, Ann Arbor has been strategically important,” said Pat Ferhring, Level One Bank’s president and chief executive officer. “It’s a great community, a strong, vibrant business community.”
Expanding the brand
Fehring pointed out that Level One Bancorp had already opened a residential mortgage loan office. “Residential mortgage is an important part of our business model, and a significant addition to our growth plan,” Ferhring said — after adding mortgage bankers last summer.
Next up, he said, is opening an Ann Arbor branch, likely to come in September.
“(The merger) really solidifies our position in Ann Arbor,” Fehring said. “For customers in Ann Arbor, it means a broader range of services, and a larger ability to lend and support business growth. It allows the bankers in the market there to be more helpful.”
Established in January 2009, AAB operates three banking locations in Michigan serving Washtenaw County with two offices and Jackson County with one office. As of June 30, AAB reported assets of $321 million, total loans of $230 million, total deposits of $262 million, and tangible common equity of approximately $40 million, or approximately 12.2% of assets.
In addition, for the 12 months ending June 30, AAB reported a return on average assets of 1.33%. At June 30, 2019, AAB had 0.23% non-performing assets to total assets, excluding restructured loans.
“We are pleased to welcome the customers and team members of Ann Arbor State Bank to the Level One family. This merger aligns with our strategic growth goals and affords us an opportunity to accelerate our expansion in the very attractive Ann Arbor market.” Ferhring said. “Further, this transaction allows us to productively deploy the capital we raised during our 2018 initial public offering.”
Combined assets
Upon completion of the merger, the combined company will have over $1.8 billion in assets, $1.4 billion in loans and $1.5 billion in deposits based upon financials as of June 30, 2019.
Peter Schork, Chief Executive Officer of AAB, will join Level One following completion of the merger.
“We are excited about partnering with a high-performing company that shares our values and entrepreneurial community banking culture,” Schork said. “We find the business fit of the two organizations to be especially compelling, and we think our customers will benefit from the broader array of products and services and larger lending limit. We are thrilled about being able to do even more in our markets with considerably greater scale.”
The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of each company. The transaction is expected to close in the last quarter of 2019 or the first quarter of 2020 and is subject to closing conditions, including customary regulatory approvals and AAB shareholder approval. One current board member of AAB will be appointed to join the Level One and Level One Bank boards of directors.
Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC served as financial advisor, and Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP provided legal counsel to Level One. Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. served as financial advisor, and Varnum LLP served as legal counsel to AAB.
The Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) and Eastern Michigan University (EMU) wrapped up its “Girls in Engineering Academy,” a month-long program designed to improve academic achievement and increase interest in engineering topics and careers among girls.
Linda Schlesinger-Wagner is always looking for a way to combine the power of her brand and her love for cities – and she has found it in her newest lines for skinnytees.
Skinnytees is the business that grew out of her divorce and desire to help others when she can. Her goal is to help women especially get a leg up in the world, and there is no better way in Schlesinger-Wagner’s opinion to do that than through something she loves: Clothing.
The company’s latest efforts to do more with their profits and brand line “Detroit Has Legs” products, including leggings, t-shirts and bags. These Motor City-themed articles are on sale on the skinnytees website, and a portion of the proceeds go toward Cass Community Social Services, one of Schlesinger-Wagner’s favorite nonprofit organizations.
“Detroit Has Legs is inspired by the city’s revitalization because skinnytees is Detroit,” Schlesinger-Wagner says.
Iconic Detroit
Cass Community Social Services is a Detroit-based agency with a person-centered philosophy, dedicated to providing food, housing, health services, and job programs. Its leader, Rev. Faith Fowler, is an inspiration to her community and Schlesinger-Wagner.
The “Detroit Has Legs” line started with a simple idea. Schlesinger-Wagner wanted a legging that had iconic Detroit images on it. So she went to her friend, who is a professional photographer, and asked her to take pictures at some of the city’s best-known locations, such as the Spirit of Detroit and the famous train station in Corktown.
It took about three years to find the right printer and project team. Today, “Detroit Has Legs” is sold everywhere and the proceeds of these unique items helps fund Cass Community Social Services and its effort to break the challenges of homelessness through its Tiny House project.
Home ownership
Cass Community Social Services is in the process of building 25 different Tiny Homes (250-400 sq.ft.) in Detroit. Each home will be on its own lot (roughly 30 x 100 feet) and everyone will be on a foundation. Most will have a front porch or rear deck to increase the living space.
The residents will have a combination of experiences (formerly homeless people, senior citizens, college students and a few Cass staff members) but all will qualify as low-income. At first, the residents will rent the homes. Anyone who remains for seven years will be given the opportunity to own the home and property.
Schlesinger-Wagner says she wanted to grow this program into other cities, and she’s already got the name of other towns to expand the fund-raising program.
“It’s a win-win for all of us,” Schlesinger-Wagner says. “Taking care of our cities is natural.”
West Michigan based electrical solutions and industrial tech firm Feyen Zylstra has opened a second location in Charleston, South Carolina. Their new downtown office is adjacent to key locations where it has completed and maintains multi-phase electrical services projects.
Everyone needs a break occasionally for their own physical and mental health. But as a small-business owner, taking a vacation can seem like an impossibility.
With summer upon us, I’m going to give you some tips for taking care of business before vacation in a way that should ease your mind and leave your company running like a well-oiled machine.
Make time for yourself ahead of time
A good leader should always establish business and personal goals. That includes taking some time off regularly. Whether you want to spread things out and take several long weekends throughout the year, or take the family on an extended two-week European tour, set your vacation goals ahead of time.
Make sure these goals are specific and measurable, and that your team knows about them, as well. In addition, be certain they are your (and your family’s) goals, and write them down!
Preparation and delegation
Make a list of tasks your team needs to accomplish during the time you’re away. Then, meet with team members to make sure your instructions are clear.
It’s also a good idea to designate one person as your “go-to.” This is the person who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company and handle any problems that may arise. Make sure this person knows how to contact you if an emergency should arise. And just as importantly, make sure this person understands what is and isn’t an emergency!
Relax!
Your vacation will be wasted if you spend the majority of your time worrying about the business. If you absolutely must touch base with the office while you’re away, schedule these times in advance and limit conversations to 10 minutes each. The bottom line for your vacation time? Relax and have fun.
If you’ve hired good people, and done just a little bit of planning, your vacation can be stress-free and mentally and physically rejuvenating!
Business owners understand the value of networking. The reality is that they often repeat a pattern of joining networks that closely resemble the individual.
The result is often seen as a group that lacks inclusivity, and that is true in most every culture.
Bridging those gaps, however, with growth-oriented business owners who don’t look the same leads to revenue-boosting relationships. Chambers of commerce across the state are combining independent associations in networking events to expand their business activity and growth potential, a critical initiative in a time of recruitment and retention challenges across the state and nation.
Mature alliances
Diverse alliances are perhaps more mature in the Detroit region, but are only beginning to take root in West Michigan.
Bing Goei, a successful west Michigan entrepreneur and the first director of the state’s Office of New Americans, remains the Pied Piper of inclusion since leaving the state office.
Goei has done his homework in answering his rhetorical question: “It is billions of dollars in new business and also important, it connects the buying power of $1.3 trillion nationally (in the Asian community alone.)”
“We are living in a community that is growing in its ethnic diversity,” said Goei. “How we respond to that growth will determine our quality of life. When will we finally see what we are leaving on the table?”
One of the most active groups in forming alliances is the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, whose members provide a range of services, from regular job postings of every level, world affairs keynote addresses from consuls general and in events throughout the Detroit region.
Networking event
The organization is hosting an APACC networking event on Aug. 21 at the Farmington Hills Holiday Inn, bringing together members of the state’s Hispanic and Chaldean American communities as well as members of the Southfield and West Bloomfield chambers of commerce.
APACC, with Goei as its board chair, is including the Grand Rapids community as part of the early stage formation of an APACC chapter there.
The Detroit region largely built such alliances through the automotive industry and continues to flourish with technology and autonomous vehicle business sector development. Detroit in 2018 was named one of the top 10 most welcoming American cities for immigrants and refugee residents by New American Economy, a bipartisan research and advocacy organization.
West Michigan received something of a wake-up call in 2015, when Forbes.com published a list of the nation’s 52 largest metro areas where African Americans are doing best economically.
It placed Grand Rapids at 51, ahead only of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Reality was searing
What had been instinctive and believed true was in black and white, borne out in wage, household income and housing statistics, among others. But the ranking also provided steam — not so much in the streets of protest but as fuel for groups like Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses, formed in 2011 by Jamiel Robinson. The “street demonstrations” have taken shape as pop-up markets of minority businesses and small business expos.
Shortly after the report, Guillermo Cisneros was named executive director of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, in early 2017. He replaced Jorge Gonzalez, who left to help promote business diversity as co-director of Grand Rapids’ famed Start Garden, which began to focus specifically on minority community businesses and will-be entrepreneurs. (Roberto Torres, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s director of immigrant affairs since 2018, is an alumni executive director of the Hispanic Center of West Michigan).
Cisneros began his tenure with a well-publicized “Transformando West Michigan,” with specific cohorts of economic development. Cisneros found partnerships with Varnum Law, Grand Valley State University, Gordon Foods and Culinary Cultivations, a food safety and certification group.
Cisneros said the initiative is producing results.
“We’re seeing change. Many organizations are inviting us to the table,” he said, citing a Local First assessment survey, Talent 2025 and The Right Place Inc. economic development agency. “Ten years ago in Grand Rapids there was no space like that.”
He also sees more opportunity in at least three demographic changes: a millennial generation with fewer differences and dividing lines; a more diverse college population; and the number of city and county leaders retiring in the next 3-5 years, creating a very different dynamic from “business as usual.”
Transformative change
The Economic Club of Grand Rapids also made a transformative change this spring. Grand Valley State University president emeritus Tom Haas is board chair and new board members include Cisneros, Grand Rapids Community College President Bill Pink, Carlos Sanchez, Latino Business & Economic Development Center director; Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington and Kris Spaulding, co-founder of B corp Brewery Vivant.
The Forbes.com report has also helped galvanize Grand Rapids International Network in the added challenge of becoming fully integrated into Grand Rapids. GRIN’s stated mission is “to be united against the culture of exclusion and committed to a culture of affirmation and respect. With the purpose of growing and retaining an international workforce in Grand Rapids.” Its recent event, organized in part by Goei, was billed as “Sushi, Salsa and Soul.”
The efforts link directly to intellectual talent. Cisneros has hired a program manager to manage internships for Steelcase, Spectrum Health and DTE. “We want college graduates to stay in West Michigan,” he said. It especially extends to Holland, where 54% of the student population is Latino. “If they don’t stay, Holland will suffer greatly,” he said.
Those economic cohorts are increasingly important to attract the attention of the Small Business Administration and state and federal contracts with minority businesses. One of the biggest concerns is that West Michigan sees thousands of fewer dollars than the Detroit region while facing a greater need. Cisneros in the meantime is “strategizing to bring those resources to this region.”
“It’s import that West Michigan is powerfully linked to state and federal resources, both for state and federal contracting opportunities and funding for business initiatives,” he said.
As Goei said, “It’s not about us, it’s about our kids. It’s about building alliances and economic prosperity.”
The Detroit River connects the Motor City and Windsor physically — but that connection is also symbolic of the way music flows between the two cities. As a result, musicians, radio stations and DJs say they are able to boost their business across the border in real and financially lucrative ways.
As an example, there are artists who hail from Canada who tour on both sides of the border, bringing in record crowds for venues and their own pocketbooks. Radio stations capitalize on the cross-border popularity by selling advertising to companies on both sides of the border. One of those is 93.9 The River, which has a huge fan base on social media for its radio personalities.
Another example is Stingray, a Canadian music service that wants to take on services such as Apple Music and Spotify. Montreal-based Stingray is a leading music, media, and technology company with more than 1,200 employees worldwide. It describes itself as “a premium provider of curated direct-to-consumer and B2B services, including audio television channels, more than 100 radio stations” as well as television channels, karaoke products, digital signage, in-store music and music apps. To date, Stingray says it reaches 400 million subscribers or users in 156 countries.
Then there are the day-to-day working people who say their lives and their livelihoods are positively affected by the commonalities they share as music lovers in Detroit and Windsor, the two cities most closely related because of the one-mile separation between them.
Sean Deason, who heads Detroit’s Matrix Records, has played on both sides of the border. He sees differences as well as musical connections between the two countries.
“As a Detroit techno artist/DJ, I’ve found that Canadian audiences are usually a step or two ahead of the rest of North America when it comes to new experimental or alternative music,” Deason said. “This is probably due to Canada’s close relationship with European countries, especially England, where many electronic music trends are nurtured and developed.”
Deason recalls staying up late as a teen listening to the Brave New Waves radio program or student-produced radio programs emanating from the University of Windsor, formative memories that have impacted what he plays, where he plays and how he feels about his music.
A childhood bond
“There I would hear music by artists and bands the rest of America wouldn’t hear about until much later. Living in Detroit, which is south of Windsor, we got a lot of Canadian TV and radio programs,” Deason said. “When I’ve performed in Canada, I found that Canadian audiences are open to new music that include tracks they’ve never heard before. American audiences prefer to hear more familiar tracks, the big tracks that they’ve heard and can recognize right away.
“I guess I play it a bit safer when I’m DJing for an American audience,” Deason added. “I choose selections that I know they are gonna like, rather than try to expose them to something new or experimental, which runs the risk of falling flat.”
According to Greg Gnyp, a DJ with Bell Media, a Canadian firm that has its corporate feet in a variety of related fields, that’s in part due to the popularity in Metro Detroit of Canadian radio stations.
According to Gnyp, many of the Canadian stations heard by Detroiters are owned by Bell Media. Gnyp has been a DJ for the company for 20 years, first at 89X from 1991 to 2006, and now at 93.9 The River.
The Windsor native said he’s witnessed a unique cultural bond between Detroiters and listeners from Windsor.
“Detroit-Windsor is such a rare thing,” Gnyp said. “It’s a river blocking us. Look at Buffalo, they get some of Toronto, but it’s different. People from Buffalo don’t go to Toronto to drink at 19. You see it in some places, but it’s not quite the same.”
Two cultures combined
Specifically, Gnyp said he’s seen this cultural phenomenon in relation to music.
“Look at Tragically Hip,” Gnyp said. “In Canada they’re gods, and in Detroit, there’s a huge Tragically Hip following because of all the love Canadian radio gave to Tragically Hip. It was so big that they recorded a live album at Cobo.
“That would never be done in Buffalo or Chicago, but it would in Detroit,” he said. “This is a special little area. Detroit-Windsor has a very intense bond.”
Debrah Miszak of the Capital News Service contributed to this report. See her full story here:http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2019/04/michigan-loves-us-some-canadian-music/
Dana Serafin has been fishing the Great Lakes for the better part of 30 years, and he agrees — at least in part — with data provided by officials at the Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division that invasive species such as zebra and quagga mussels are having a negative impact on the whitefish population in the lakes.
But Serafin, whose Pinconning, Mich.-based Serafin Fisheries largely fishes Lake Huron and the Saginaw Bay, says the mussels aren’t the only problem. Sure, he said, they’re a big part of it, but they don’t entirely explain why fishers are having trouble snagging whitefish.
The larger problem, according to Serafin, is the presence of such a large number of other fish — primarily predators like lake trout, which Serafin says prey on whitefish.
“The lakes are saturated with lake trout, and they feed on whitefish,” Serafin said. “They’ve got so many predators it’s hurt them. We have more predators than prey.”
For Denise Purvis, who is based in Ontario and fishes the waters of northern Lake Huron off Manitoulin Island, and a dwindling number — Serafin estimates as few as 13 — of Great Lakes commercial whitefish fishers, the fishery has fallen on hard times.
Whitefish have declined across much of lakes Michigan and Huron, and many scientists and fishers suspect part of the reason is the impact of mussels on the lake’s food web.
“The health of our fishery in northern Lake Huron is not healthy whatsoever,” Purvis said.
Dave Caroffino is a fisheries biologist in Charlevoix who works in the tribal coordination unit in the Fisheries Division of the Department of Natural Resources.
Since 1985, the agency has collected data on whitefish in lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior.
“The vast majority of the monitoring data starting in 1985 comes from agency staff collecting biological samples from the fish caught by commercial fishers,” Caroffino said. “That data wasn’t used for a lot of stuff. It was kind of general patterns, general trends.”
But now the data shows clear declines in whitefish — declines that coincide with the expansion of invasive mussels.
The agency’s estimates of whitefish biomass in northern Lake Huron dropped 45% from a peak in 1997, when the mussels began to widely colonize the lakes, through 2017, when quagga mussels had covered much of the lake bottom.
Invasive mussels and whitefish
Whitefish, which are native to the Great Lakes, are bottom feeders, foraging for invertebrates like diporeia, a relative of shrimp that grows to less than 1 centimeter — 4/10ths of an inch — long. The diporeia live in the sediment of the lakes, feeding on material like plankton.
Since the 1990s, diporeia numbers have plummeted in most of the Great Lakes.
Because mussels are filter feeders, pulling plankton out of the water, some experts think the invasives caused the disappearance of diporeia and declines in whitefish.
Steve Pothoven, a fishery biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Lake Michigan field station in Muskegon, studies the relationship between diporeia and whitefish.
“Lake Michigan had a spring phytoplankton bloom that would feed the diporeia,” Pothoven said.
Now, mussels feed on the plankton all winter.
In Lake Michigan, “that spring bloom is gone now, and that is thought to be a consequence of the mussels,” he said.
Is that enough evidence to blame the loss of diporeia and a drop in whitefish numbers on the mussels?
“It seems like it should be really straight forward, if you look at a food web, but it’s been really complicated,” Pothoven said.
Pinconning’s Serafin doesn’t think it’s all that complicated. The solution, he said, is to harvest the abundance of other fish in the lakes. But he says his suggestions to that end have fallen on deaf ears at the DNR, whom he paints as preferring to sell fishing licenses to sport fishermen rather than supporting commercial fishermen.
In Saginaw Bay, Serafin said, walleye are eating 97% of the hatch of perch. But the DNR’s solution, he said, is to “ignore the problem.”
“They should harvest (the lakes),” Serafin said. “You’re supposed to manage the lake, not let it get out of control.”
Ashley Elgin, an ecologist who specializes in the study of water-based organisms and their interaction with the environment, also works at the Lake Michigan Field Station, where her research focuses on quagga mussels.
To understand what’s happening on the lake bottom, scientists use a ponar grab sampler, a set of metal jaws that are lowered to the bottom where they snap up sediment and other material. Using this technique, researchers sample 150 sites in Lake Michigan and 100 in Lake Huron every five years.
“We survey 46 sites in the southern third of Lake Michigan and we see (diporeia) in only one site,” Elgin said.
That site historically had thousands of diporeia in a grab.
“Now we get excited if we see 20,” she said.
Elgin echoes Pothoven in noting the difficulty in blaming the collapse of diporeia solely on the mussels.
“You had diporeia decline in Lake Huron at the same time as Lake Michigan, when the mussel numbers were very low in Lake Huron,” Elgin said. “Also, Lake Superior has low food levels but healthy diporeia populations.”
Not everyone sees it
On the other hand, not everyone believes the lack of whitefish is a problem — yet.
James “Jamo” Washburne, owner of Scalawag’s, a popular Traverse City restaurant, handles at least 100 pounds of whitefish a day, in addition to all the perch and walleye it serves.
“I haven’t had a problem (with lack of whitefish) this year,” Washburne said. “There’s really not a shortage; it’s just a matter of catching them. A lot of time when the weather gets warm, the fish head to deeper water. That hasn’t happened yet.”
Washburne echoed both Purvis and Serafin in noting a “lack of fishermen.”
“The thing is … there’s a shortage of fishermen,” he said. “Guys have done it for years, they’re ready to (retire) but the kids don’t want the business. It’s too hard.”
Canada’s Denise Purvis is lucky. The company also sells fish wholesale. But these changes in Lake Huron have altered operations at her fishery.
“What’s changed for us to stay in business, now we have to buy a lot of fish that we never bought before,” Purvis said.
“Now I spend my whole time in the spring looking for people to buy fish. I have a harder time keeping employees and keeping those guys employed.
“My company, in the end, can still make money,” she said, but her employees who do the fishing can’t.
Kurt Williams of Capital News Service, who also writes for Great Lakes Echo, contributed to this report. Find his entire story at:
https://news.jrn.msu.edu/2019/06/invasive-mussels-slam-commercial-fishery/
When it comes to a classic supply-demand issue — this one the imbalance in the number of workers needed to take care of an aging population in Michigan — experts are saying things aren’t likely to get better unless some fundamental changes occur in the funding model.
Indeed, solving the problem is mostly about the money — particularly what the industry is paying its workers — which means fewer people are choosing to go into a field where demand already outstrips supply.
Dr. Clare Luz, an assistant professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University who has studied the issue for a decade, says there’s a need for some 32,000 more eldercare workers next year.
Difficult jobs
It’s a critical shortage, said Luz.
“Most older people want to stay home and families need help caring for them,” she said. “In-home personal care assistants are important because they can pay close attention to people’s medical needs.”
Those jobs are difficult, both mentally and physically, notes Erin Swadley, who owns Marquette Home Care, which provides assisted living for the elderly. “A lot of times care workers are dealing with people who have dementia, so you’re always repeating yourself, and that can be emotionally draining,” she said.
Melanie Brim, president and CEO of the Michigan Health Council, agrees with Luz’s observations.
The issue is exacerbated by high turnover of staff, largely related to the rates of pay that are typically at or around $12 an hour, which is considered to be below a living wage.
“The result is that recruiting people to the field is difficult,” said Brim.
Rewarding, but taxing
And while there may be personal rewards to those who serve as a caregiver, there’s also an acknowledgment that the inherent conditions of the work are often taxing — including incontinence and behavioral issues, even to the point of sudden bursts of violence exhibited toward a caregiver.
“It’s hard work,” notes Brim. “It’s not well-paid so there’s an incredibly high turnover, so as you’re trying to recruit, you’re also always trying to replace people.”
Experts like MSU’s Luz, who is part of IMPART Alliance, an organization of elder care workers, researchers and agencies working to fill the need for more workers, are working to create a standard training program and increasing awareness of the need.
IMPART Alliance officials also meet with legislators to alert them to the problem.
Perhaps the best long-term answer to the problem lies in better pay for eldercare workers.
Ruthanne Sudderth, senior vice president of public affairs and communications at the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, said taking a very broad perspective on the issue is important, especially due to the different challenges faced in different parts of the state.
“There are some that are aligned, but the challenges faced by our members definitely vary based on who they serve and where they serve them,” said Sudderth.
“Part of it is making sure we have reliable data on the healthcare workforce issues that we are facing and understanding where the need to focus is,” she added. “We need to ensure we have the leadership capacity from the state and from stakeholders like the MHA and others to work together to develop solutions to some of these capacity issues, whether that’s incentivizing providers to go into some of these high-need fields or incentivizing providers to go into high-need geographies.”
Recruitment and retention
Currently, however, firms that hire those workers are faced with reimbursement rates that don’t support the kind of wages that are likely to sustain an organization’s recruitment and retention efforts.
Bob Stein, general counsel for the Michigan Assisted Living Association, would agree that work needs to be done at the level of professionalizing the field and communicating to prospective employees how intrinsically rewarding the work can be.
However, a better economy also means that people have more options when it comes to entry-level jobs.
“This is not one of their choices,” he said. “In Traverse City, for instance, places like Walmart, McDonald’s or Target raise their minimum wage to $11 because you can pass the cost to the customers, but not with this job.”
MSU’s Luz says the issue here is different because it’s a matter of life or death for many.
And then there’s Marquette Home Care’s Swadley, who says the basic problem is a fundamentally easy one to understand, but not one that’s easily solvable.
“I’ve been struggling to hire more workers for a while now and the best thing we can do is to provide a more livable wage,” she said. “That’s the best way to attract more skilled workers.”
Zaria Phillips of Capital News Service contributed to this report. See her full story at:
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/2019/04/state-struggles-with-eldercare-worker-shortage/
As the economy grows and business expands, Michigan conference and meeting planners have flung open the proverbial doors to attract organizations new and old to host events around the state’s many hospitality centers — and the nation is responding.
Detroit is having a hotel boom and occupancy rates are swelling. Grand Rapids is boosting its conference business with a focus on craft beer, family fun and walkable entertainment options. Lansing has scored several big sports events, filling up meeting spaces, conference centers and hotel rooms. And Traverse City has gained traction with meeting planners across the nation as it sees its corporate conference schedules growing.
Across Michigan, convention and meeting planners say they are enjoying a surge in bookings for space, events and related activities as cities around the state invest in marketing programs and advertising initiatives, including the Pure Michigan campaign that continues to encourage people to spend their time, money and conference dollars in the Mitten.
Michigan-based meeting and convention planners predict the impact of the short-term rise in hospitality, tourism and events will have a long-term effect, translating into much-needed improvements — including larger, convention-sized hotels in Detroit and Lansing that could boost bookings well into the next few years or decades.
No longer ‘scared off’ by Detroit
“Meeting planners and attendees aren’t scared off by the name ‘Detroit’ any more,” said Michael O’Callaghan, executive vice president of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. “They’re more intrigued (and) they recognize this as a city that has changed dramatically and is an exciting place to visit.”
One such group is FIRST — For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — an organization that sponsors youth robotics competitions. FIRST moved its championship games to Cobo Center in 2018, bringing an estimated 50,000 people, including competitors, coaches and families.
“We’re proud to help people discover Detroit,” said Donald E. Bossi, the president of the global nonprofit FIRST, which is based in Manchester, N.H. “The state government, (Michigan) businesses, the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau — they all get it. This is the ‘Super Bowl of STEM.’ It’s a tremendous opportunity for our kids, for the city and for the state.”
The same goes for the Automate robotics convention, the nation’s top industrial trade show. It recently announced to cheers that it was moving its event from McCormick Place in Chicago to Detroit in 2021. That brings more than 20,000 exhibitors, vendors and participants for more than four days to the Motor City. The Ann Arbor-based Association for Advancing Automation, which hosts Automate, has said it will hold the event in Detroit in 2023 and 2025 as well.
“We’re bringing it home,” noting that a previous event called the Robot Show was held in Detroit in the 1980s, explained Bob Doyle, vice president of A3 (Association for Advancing Automation), the hosting organization.
“Like many shows, we were ready for a refresh,” Doyle said. “We knew we needed to grow and had to leave the McCormick Place partnership. We started to look at other cities and began working with the Detroit visitors’ bureau and Cobo Center. Everything just fell into place and it absolutely made sense to bring it home to Detroit.”
Cobo Center’s major renovations in recent years get some of the credit. As a result, its event bookings have gone from 166 to 244, and its revenues from $5.5 million to $13.8 million from 2013 to 2018, officials said. Cobo projects revenue of $14.25 million for 2019.
Hotel boomlet
Detroit is a prime example of the near-record highs in hotel occupancy, nightly rates and venue construction in recent memory. In downtown, where most of the city’s hotels are located, the average hotel occupancy rate in 2018 was 69.7 percent, according to the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. Just a decade before, downtown hotels had an occupancy rate below 50 percent, the Bureau said.
Downtown Detroit’s nightly rate was $171. Regionally, the hotel-occupancy rate is 67.8 percent and the nightly rate is $106. These data points do not include room taxes, which are about 12 to 15 percent in downtown Detroit, the bureau noted.
Some of the new hotels that opened recently in Detroit include The Shinola, an upscale boutique hotel with 129 rooms, and The Element at the Metropolitan, an extended stay hotel that has 110 rooms. Both hotels opened in January 2019. Other recent openings include The Siren Hotel, which has 106 rooms and opened in March 2018, and The Detroit Foundation Hotel, which has 100 rooms and opened in 2017 across from Cobo Center.
Upcoming hotel openings include West Elm, a boutique hotel planned in Detroit’s Midtown, The Mid, which will feature a 228-room hotel along Woodward, and the Cambria Hotel, which would be at the edge of downtown and have 154 rooms.
What’s missing from this hotel boomlet is a larger, conference-sized hotel that would have 700 to 1,000 rooms, O’Callaghan said. Having a bigger hotel like this within walking, biking or scooter distance of Cobo Center or other popular meeting spaces would attract significantly larger conferences.
O’Callaghan said to be more competitive, a city needs something like 10,000 hotel rooms within its downtown or core area. Detroit has about 6,000 or so with the recent additions. Coming up with those other 4,000 or so rooms may be a challenge – but not one that is impossible to see the city meeting, given its extraordinary renaissance in the past decade.
For example, the National Basketball Association and Final Four basketball tournament organizers have long said they would like to put additional events in Detroit – but they will only do so once there are enough hotel rooms near the city’s three significant sports arenas. Such statements are great, but they also haunt meeting and conference planners who are ready to land such a large and significant event in terms of location publicity.
Lansing sees an uptick
A similar hotel boomlet is happening in Lansing, said Scott Keith, president and CEO of the Lansing Entertainment and Public Facilities Authority. In late April, Lansing’s Gillespie Group and Concord Hospitality announced it will open a 124-room Courtyard by Marriott on East Michigan Avenue. The hotel, the first to open in downtown since 1986, is scheduled to open in late 2020, officials from the Raleigh, N.C., hospitality group said.
“It’s not only exciting to finally bring the city a new hotel after all these years, but to also provide an internationally recognized brand into the fold,” Gillespie Group President Pat Gillespie said in a statement.
Keith said another two or three hotels are likely to join in soon, and he expects announcements in short order. “Everyone is waiting for the first domino to go,” he said.
To bolster its base, the Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority is going after new groups, such as youth sporting events, and creating standout activities that utilize its convention and meeting spaces all year long. For example, a youth wrestling tournament brought more than 3,000 wrestlers of all ages and their families to the Lansing area.
The Authority worked locally with food trucks, musical performers and vendors to create its first Margarita Fest in 2018 at the Lansing Center and the event sold out. Its second Margarita Fest had more than 5,000 interested people on Facebook. The Authority has since added a whiskey event to the rotation, capitalizing on people’s love of tastings and fun hangouts.
“Sometimes, to make things happen, you have to do it yourself,” Keith said. “When the economy is good, you can take risks and try to develop things.”
Lansing also benefits from having large educational facilities such as Michigan State University, significant political landmarks like the state capitol, as well as great new tourism hot spots, such as Lansing Brewing Company and American Fifth Distillery, within the city limits.
“People are looking for things to do when they come in for conventions and meetings. They want restaurants. They want walkable amenities,” Keith said. “People are looking for experiences, especially if they feel authentic and unique. … People are making decisions on whether to attend a convention or bring their spouse based on that.”
Grand Rapids ‘a fantastic experience’
Grand Rapids has benefitted from its walkability, modern amenities, access to entertainment and award-winning craft breweries, as well as its reputation for safety, cleanliness and family focused activities for convention attendees who bring along spouses and kids, said Tom Bennett, vice president of Sales and Services for Experience Grand Rapids, the official Destination Marketing Organization for the Grand Rapids/Kent County area on Michigan’s picturesque West side.
That has been bolstered by the April opening of a $60-million Embassy Suites by Hilton property, which features 250 suites in a seven-story building, Bennett said. The stylish hotel in the Monroe North neighborhood features waterfront views of the Grand River, proximity to the Grand Rapids Art Museum and walkability to Van Andel Arena and the DeVos Place Convention Center.
It joins the Amway Grand Plaza, which has almost 700 rooms, as well as other nearby hotels such as the Hyatt Place, Marriott, Homewood Suites and Holiday Inn.
Bennett, who joined Experience Grand Rapids in 2014 from a similar stint in California, said Grand Rapids is able to complement offers in Lansing and Detroit while also competing well for conferences that otherwise may look at Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati or Milwaukee.
“The nice thing about selling Grand Rapids is people are always blown away and surprised by what we offer” in terms of event space, hotels and entertainment options, Bennett said. “People love coming here because it’s a fantastic experience from the time they arrive — from the airport to downtown, it’s 15 minutes. We’ve got newer hotels. You can walk to your conference space and it’s well run. At the end of the day, we’ve got phenomenal options for entertainment, live music and beer.”
Bennett also points to what he calls a “palpable” West Michigan hospitality spirit, one that exudes great energy.
“Plus, you’ve got the lakeshore, which is only 30 minutes away,” he said.
And who, he says, could resist adding a beach vacation on to a conference experience?
Traverse City’s strong reputation
Traverse City is continuing to gain a reputation as a meeting destination, resulting from a combination of the hard work of its local tourism organization, as well as its partnership with the Pure Michigan campaign, said Tori Piersante, vice president of sales for Traverse City Tourism.
The area, which is popular with tourists because of its famous film festival and adjacency to nationally known Sleeping Bear Dunes park, has many factors going for it as a meeting and convention center, Piersante said.
“Most planners are looking to make sure the rooms, space, rates and availability all line up and there’s been a big increase in the free time amenities of a destination. Planners are looking for ways to provide experiences for their participants, which is where we shine,” Piersante said. “Unique venues, outdoor adventure, award-winning foodie town, off-site excursions to Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, 40-plus wineries with tours and dinner pairings, kayak and micro-brew tours, tall ship and catamaran cruises and up-north beach bonfires are among the favorites for guests to experience.”
Traverse City also has a quality regional airport and strong marketing and branding, as well as fresh meeting properties. Renovations are happening around the region. There’s the renovated Governor’s Hall at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, a 19,000-square-foot meeting space that’s flexible enough to accommodate up to 2,500 people, Piersante said. The Park Place Hotel & Conference Center, which opened in June 2018, has renovated its Tower Lodging rooms and is working on others, she added.
Also, The Cherry Tree Inn & Suites and its sister property, Pointes North Beachfront Resort Hotel, are both getting a facelift. Exterior work on Pointes North is underway with completion expected in May. Interior work on both properties will be completed around the same time, Piersante said.
Beauty of Michigan a draw
For many meeting planners, the bottom line is this: Once people see the beauty, venues and resourcefulness of Michigan’s conference centers and organizers, they immediately understand why they need to host an event here.
“We didn’t just take a dart and throw it at a map. It was a conscious decision” to bring SME’s RAPID + TCT event to Detroit, said Maria Conrado, event manager for the manufacturing association. The event, which has more than 125 presentations, eight workshops and three keynotes, filled Cobo Center in May 2019 – revisiting the city for the conference it last held in Detroit in 2014.
“We put a lot of thought into it. We’ve had talks with our customers about it. It’s really a win-win,” Conrado said of the Detroit convention site. “We’re going to shine in the city and the city is going to shine with us.”
Now in its second year in Detroit, the Weird Home Tour is a mix of the personal and the professional. So if you like to see other creative offices, homes or a combination of the two, then the Weird Home Tour is for you.
The Weird Homes Tour highlights what it calls “unconventional homes” in select cities around the country. During the self-paced tours, visitors will see some of the most odd, extraordinary, inspirational and “weird” homes that Detroit has to offer. The Detroit edition is set for Saturday, August 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Riding off last year’s inaugural wave, WHT Founder David Neff says he is happy to return to Detroit, where weirdness abounds.
“Our first year in Detroit was a smashing success, so much we had to come back,” Neff says. “And the city, with its rich history and big-hearted residents, has welcomed us with open arms.”
With the purchase of a ticket, the Tour provide a map of the homes, and visitors can start and stop when they want, any time throughout the day, viewing the homes in the order of their choice. At each home the owners are onsite, available to answer questions and go in-depth into their design, unique aesthetic and perspectives.
This year’s homes and VIP locations include:
• The Boom Boom Museum – Matt and Sara’s dwelling is anything but your typical Royal Oak apartment, sporting a Tiki Room out of this world. The double decker infinity pool is your first glimpse into what will surely be sensory overload.
• Hamtramck Disneyland – Hamtramck Disneyland is the folk art masterpiece of Dymtro Szlak. Taking nearly 30 years to construct the ‘land’ it is built atop the two garages on the properties that he owned, filling the air with whimsical kinetic structures that light up and play music.
• Ron’s Recycled Roost – Tucked away in a quiet eastside Detroit neighborhood hides Ron’s handmade wonderment of custom woodwork and true Detroit DIY-style skill. Revived from its official condemned status by the city, and once crumbling at nearly all its seams this ‘roost’ is a must see.
• MBAD African Bead Museum – 16 years ago, Olayami Dabls came to the corner of Grand River and West Grand Blvd with a vision. Today, it covers almost an entire city block, and houses 18 outdoor installations, African Bead Gallery, N’kisi House and African Language Wall.
• The David’s Pop Art House – From the outside Judy and John Davids’ home you might think it’s your run of-the-mill modest 1916 bungalow but you would be very, very wrong. Inside it is like a large pop art installation where practically every wall has a bold color or covered with a psychedelic print.
• Detroit Artists’ Test Lab – Glenn’s one part gallery, one part residence, and one part artist incubation space, is a feat of some serious dedication and creativity. A place with bowling alley kitchen counters, lights above made from cheese graters, tool boxes used to hold utensils and car side mirrors act as sconces.
• Fun House of Style – Returning for her second year on the tour, Shanise has decorated her home with what inspires her. The home is bursting with creative style, vintage board games, lunchboxes, autographed posters, and framed magazine covers.
• Detroit Gallery of Metals (VIP home) – The Detroit Gallery of Metals, is not just the home and studio of renowned metal artist, Carlos Nielbock, it is a cultural institution established to celebrate, preserve, and explore the role of metal arts in Detroit and around the world. From his signature ornamental metalworks, such as the legendary “Detroit Sign”, iron elements of the Industrial Revolution, bronze sculptures of West Africa, to Detroit Windmill Sculpture Park, the Detroit Gallery of Metals is a wonderland of metal arts and history. (Available for VIP ticket holders only)
As a company WHT is all about the triple-bottom-line, meaning they wouldn’t be in the game if giving back to communities wasn’t intrinsically part of the work they do around the country. The tour, which partners with a local affordable housing nonprofit each year, has partnered up with Southwest Solutions this year and will be donating 10% of all gross ticket sales from the Detroit tour to aid in the fight for affordable housing.
