Fellow broadcaster on Michigan Business Network, Andy Hayes, of Northern Lakes Economic Alliance (NLEA) was on the road again, and Chris Holman tracked him down between meetings. It has been extremely busy in 2015 for the Upper Mitten, (the northern portion of the lower peninsula of Michigan).

NLEA has been around for approximately three decades as a 501C3, serving four counties, with six staffers, helping both public and private collaboration and cooperation. They spend approximately 90% of their time doing economic gardening projects, and have been doing that much longer than it has been trendy. Meanwhile, they are proud to note that Patronicity.com crowdfunding is a MEDC project, which is picking up steam with projects in Petoskey and Ellsworth, Michigan, where crowdfunded amounts are matched by MEDC once they hit a threshold.