NLEA June News - First Edition of "How it's Made in N. MI" Video

Catch up on NLEA (the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance)'s latest News.

Scroll to end for Core Partner Updates and neat videos!

Community bank stays in touch creatively

Check out this creative way Citizens National Bank communicates with their customers and community. Each week their Vice President, Marketing Nancy Lindsey posts a video from her garage! Nancy has been producing a weekly video since the stay at home order started 12 weeks ago. Simple, informative, fun and personable. A great combination. To check out the full collection… “Like” them on Facebook. The latest video features a special guest, click below to watch.

Watch full video

Tabled Plant Rehabilitation District to resume in Charlevoix Township

Work at the Plant Rehabilitation District (PRD) located at the old Viatec company building at the corner of US 131 and Martin Road in Charlevoix has been resumed after a decision to table the project in September 2018 was made by owners of Charlevoix Warehousing. Since that time they have made other changes to their operations which include the purchase of the Charlevoix Manufacturing.

The project was initially approved by the Charlevoix Township Board in May 2018 and needs an updated resolution of approval at a public hearing scheduled for their July 13, 7:00 pm meeting, present to represent will be Alec Amstutz, an agent, and Tony Pearsall, co-owner.

All hands on deck at Shanty Creek

When the Stay Home, Stay Safe order was lifted Antrim County resort, Shanty Creek Resort, brought back most of their staff even before guests started to arrive. To keep them working, people in all departments helped with landscaping and maintenance.

Management stated that the team's camaraderie and pride (in their work inside and outside on the property) is at the highest it's been in some time. Many have moved outside their comfort zones to work in other departments in order to get the properties beautiful for a safe re-opening for their staff and guests.

This team morale really warmed our hearts, take a look at some photos of the team- having fun being safe and proud at work. Some watered gardens and painted while others climbed up in scaffolding and boom lifts (pictured in the banner above).

Shanty Creek employees have fun at work painting

Shanty Creek employees have fun on scaffolding

Central Lake Pavilion nearing use

The Village of Central Lake is in the home stretch of their Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Village. The project began as a result of participating in the MEDC’s Rising Tide program in 2018. The scope of the project consisted of five new permanent docks at Thurston Park and a new pavilion on the corner of Main and North Street in the village limits. The docks are completed and in use this season and the pavilion is expected to be completed before the end of the month. The docks and pavilion will be a valuable asset for the Village and all its users!

Breaking records in East Jordan

Although 2020 has been a challenging year, the East Jordan DDA was determined to continue the tradition of planting bold geraniums in the 47 planter boxes down their Main Street. With the limitations set by social distancing and wearing masks, on Friday, May 29 they worked with the local Garden Club, Rotary Club, and select community volunteers and ended up planting the boxes in a record time of 29 minutes! Not only was it all accomplished in record time, but they had more community participation signed up than ever before, all while still abiding by the Governor's Executive Orders.

Boyne Theater becomes community asset

The lights of the Boyne Theater will shine again! For the last 18 months a small group of community members have worked closely with Richard Bergman, owner of the Boyne City Taproom and the Boyne Theater, to find a new way to help bring the theater back to life.

On May 30th Boyne City Main Street purchased the theater for $350,000. Boyne City Main Street’s mission includes economic vitality and historic preservation which will, over time, realize the shared vision. Bergman is providing all of his research and plans to support the project. The City of Boyne City, acting in concert with Boyne City Main Street, purchased the adjoining parking lot north of the theater for $150,000. That lot and its 20 spaces are now fully open to serve the public. The effort to reopen the theater will take an estimated 3 to 5 years and a preliminary estimate of about $2.1 million to complete.

'How it's Made' in Northern Michigan

Behind the scenes into how regional businesses do business

Focusing in on a summer project this year Emma Vondra and Kelsey Robinson, the NLEA interns sponsored by DTE Foundation want to highlight manufacturers in our region and showcase one aspect of their daily assembly line. For a demo video they decided to go to Spare Key Winery to dive in and show how a northern Michigan-based winery makes their wine. Stay tuned for other companies to give us a glimpse into how it's made.

A look into how wine is made at Spare Key Winery

Watch video

COVID-19 Helpful Resources

Click here for a short list of resources and information for businesses and communities during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. NLEA will continue to update this information as more resources become available. Things evolve quickly and often, if you have questions please call our office at 231-582-6482 or email us at info@northernlakes.net and we will direct you promptly.

We encourage you to contact and visit the websites of your local Chambers of Commerce, Downtown Development Authorities (DDAs), and Main Street organizations for the most updated information pertaining to your community.