World traveller makes Traverse City home - Guest Blogger - Sakura Raftery

Who wants to live in Traverse City? I didn't know it was me!

On my first flight to Traverse City, MI to meet my future husband’s family, I blurted out, “I’ve never been to the middle!”  Aside from a one-week cross country voyage to New York City for business school and countless layovers at Chicago O’Hare Airport, touching down in the Midwest was a first for me. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, I spent most of my adult life in Boston, New York City and San Francisco. Between that and two passports full of travel across the globe, little did I know that one of the great gems of our country sat in a nook of a giant mit.

Fast forward four years, two kids, and a Great Recession. My husband and I questioned all the reasons why we choose to live in San Francisco, threw out that plan and packed for Traverse City to make a pit stop before our next move. The prospect of leaving city life was absolutely terrifying for me. All the unknowns about rebuilding a community of friends, job prospects, childcare and staying connected to the world converged at once.

The unmistakeable tacos from Roaming Harvest!!!

What I found when we got here was a community on the verge of exploding with creative, young, talented people who wanted to make it the best possible place to live. My husband’s friends from other big cities were moving back, building families and getting creative with their professional careers. From great child care, cost of living, food and wine, a community of friends and family, to the accessibility of outdoor recreation, the reality of living in Traverse City far exceeded my expectations and we decided to stay.

There were three critical elements to making an unplanned move to Traverse City successful for me:

1.     Think about your long-term professional skill set—plan accordingly. Early in my career in corporate finance, I knew that it was just the beginning of the road for me. 6 years into a successful but unsatisfying career on Wall Street, I re-tooled for a career in non-profits by going back to business school and luckily landed a great job at Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan. Staying on top of developing skills only enhances your job prospects as industries change.

2.     Get outside of your comfort zone, often. Part of my personality is driven by seeking different cultures and lifestyles. Every place is a new adventure and mentally preparing yourself to embrace change makes drastic moves fun!

3.     Focus on what is here, not what isn’t. People often ask me, “Do you miss the city?” and truthfully, not really. Yes, having hundreds of restaurants and cultural events on a given night is exciting, but it comes with a lot of strings attached: pollution, high prices, small apartments, crime. Northern Michigan balances big city amenities with the peace of living Up North. Living in TC doesn’t mean you can’t still visit the city every now and then!

Sakura Raftery

The Traverse City Civic Center

Now that summer has finally arrived in northern Michigan, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite places in Traverse CIty: the Civic Center. 

I know, I know. If you live here, you might think it's strange that I'm highlighting a place like the Civic Center because it seems so ubiquitous in our town, but I think it's a gem that is often forgotten since it's so centralized and utilized. In other words, I believe we take it for granted. Not too many towns have a multi-use park only minutes away from downtown!

The Civic Center is a 45 acre park in the city limits that attracts over a million visitors every year. Believe it! It is such a beautiful place, and it truly has an infinite amount of uses. 

In the winter, Howe Arena hosts local hockey games and open skates; in the summer, you'll find roller derbies, dog shows, and many other events like Relay for Life. The same building also houses the Easling Pool, the only public pool available to TC residents, which is open year-round. Even though I'm a big hockey fan, I must say this place really comes alive in the summer.

There is a mile-long walking trail around the perimeter of the park and it's always bustling with activity. Dog walkers, roller bladders, bikers, runners, stroller-pushers…this trail has seen it all. They clear it off in the winter, so you can always count on a safe winter run around the track, and in the summer it's a busy place. I know many devoted Civic Center walkers, and the nice thing about the track is that you'll never be alone.

My favorite thing about the Civic Center is it feels like a different place than the city, even though the city is right around the corner. I feel transported to a place lush with green grass, lots of trees, and seemingly hundreds of squirrels running around. It's rare to find such a large natural area in the city, and having the Civic Center so close makes escaping the city traffic easy.

One of the coolest features of the park is Kids Kove (which was named by one of my brother's elementary school friends). The playground was built in the 1990s by local families and volunteers who all chipped in to construct one of the most badass playgrounds I've ever seen.

Like, for real: I LOVE KIDS KOVE. Sure, I have a ton of great memories from when I was younger, but even today I love exploring the nooks and crannies of every tower, or trying to conquer every challenge. Besides, who doesn't love swing sets? 

For the more extreme athletes, the skate park is also located in the Civic Center. The skate park was built in 2001 and is a very popular spot. I'm way too intimidated by cool kids to ever go in there, but to be fair I can't even balance on a skateboard.

Nowadays, you'll find BMX bikers, rollerbladers, and scooter riders among the skateboarders. If you're brave enough to try it out yourself, go for it! If not, it's still a great place to see some cool tricks and entertaining teenagers.

The other big perks of summer at the Civic Center are the softball and baseball fields. The American Legion Little League plays there, as well as YMCA softball leagues (co-ed, men's, and women's leagues). 

There are always games going on, and with the addition of lights, the games last until 11 or 11:30 on weekends. There's nothing like a ballgame under the lights on a warm summer night. The YMCA does a fantastic job providing lots of recreational teams in the area, and I'm glad they've made the Civic Center their home for softball games. There is also a rugby team that practices on one of the old fields…sweet!

No doubt there are many other activities that take place at the Civic Center…what's your favorite?

Reaching the summit for wind energy!

Hello Everyone!

This week I had the amazing opportunity to climb the Traverse City Light & Power Wind Turbine!

Follow the journey together with the amazing Jessica Wheaton, Marketing & Community Relations Coordinator for TCLP as we climb to the summit! Unfortunately it was really foggy outside the last few days, so I wasn't able to see the bay, but still an amazing view nonetheless.   

View from the top

Stats:

• Traverse City Light & Power 600 KW Wind Turbine
• Installed in June 1996 at a cost of $650,000
• Blades and Nacelle were made in Denmark and the Tower was made in Texas
• Rotor/blade weight is 19,000 lbs
• Nacelle (compartment at the top with all the engine parts) weighs 381,000 lbs

At the time of installation, the turbine was the largest in the US and also the first utility grade turbine installed in Michigan! (yay for TC)

Control Panel

Jessica Wheaton - TCLP

This bad lad generates enough electricity to power 110 homes annually. Back in the day, TCLP used a "Green Rate" to pay for the installation of turbine which made it the first utility company to offer a Green Rate, which is now available through hundreds of other utility companies worldwide.
 

The blades are an amazing 144 ft wide and from Tower to Hub, that little box thingy on the top is 160 ft. The blades start at 10 mph and provide full power of electricity at 32 mph. If the blades exceed 55 mph, they will power down for safety reasons.

   
    

The base of the wind turbine is an incredible 40 foot wide, 3.5 feet thick and over 180 yards of concrete were used. They also added in 7 tons of reinforcing steel just in case... In 2008, Michigan legislature passed a law requiring all electric utilities to have a least 10% of their generation from a renewable source (wind, solar, landfill gas, biomass) by 2015. TCLP nailed this mandate in 2011, four years before it was required.

TCLP has now started buying energy from five 2-megawatt wind turbines located near McBain. These turbines dwarf the one that I climbed, coming in at a towering 328 feet with blades 303 feet in diameter, sweeping a total of 72, 334 sq feet. These five wind turbines generate enough electricity to power 4,404 homes annually!

Me climbing the tower!

Ladder to the Nacelle

Statistical data provided by Traverse City Light & Power

Guest Blogger: Sara Hartley

Our guest blog post this week comes from TCYP member Sara Hartley. Sara's story about bouncing around the country, learning about herself, and settling back into Michigan is something many young professionals go through: seeing what the world has to offer and returning back home. 

Growing up in a middle class neighborhood in northern Michigan in the 80's put a modern twist on the tale of Tom Sawyer. In the setting sun of an era where strangers weren't necessarily dangerous and running off into the woods at the age of 7 wasn't cause for concern, a grubby Midwestern kid lived the dream.

Unfortunately, it never matters where you are when you're a teenager. You just want to leave. Who cares that you're never far from a fresh inland sea or that the breeze through the trees in summer boosts your serotonin levels. If you've never known the grit and anonymity of a city, and the call to be "where the action is" strikes, it strikes hot.

I left Michigan in 2002 after graduating from Alma College with a music degree and had a handful of performing opportunities lined up to get me on my way. I moved from Colorado to New Orleans to Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and finally to DC before my anxiety got the better of me and my career in music turned administrative. I worked in music administration for several years but never quite settled in on the east coast. I knew that it must be because of my failure as a musician. That had to be it! I was burned out and washed up and needed a fresh start. Back to Pittsburgh then on to Chicago and eventually Baltimore. From music to non-profit development to a culinary degree and finally to a career in education administration.

Sara in culinary school

Geez, when I look at it that way, my life looks pretty fickle. I liked Baltimore though. Met a boy, got a dog, lived in a nice little house, made a bunch of friends, started a folk band. Was I living the dream yet again? Somehow it didn't feel that way. Homesick for northern Michigan I thought I would convalesce a little with a camping trip, meant to restore my travel-weary, now 30-something, self.

It's a funny thing when you finally see the burdensome angst and envy of your younger self for what it is and know that it is time to come home. I was looking out the window of Tandem Ciders, watching a black storm come across the open field next door and I imagined getting back on the plane back to Baltimore. All of the restlessness, never being able to meet my expectations, never measuring up to the Facebook lives of my friends, being so afraid that coming back home meant I wasn't successful, fell away. The cipher clicked into place and my inner teenager relaxed and smiled, my inner grubby midwestern kid jumped up and cheered. It was finally time for my 30-something grown-up self to come home.

It only took 5 months to figure out how to do it. We moved to Traverse City just as we were expecting spring to break through. We've figured out that success has absolutely nothing to do with how big or far away the city is or what anyone else thinks of your accomplishments. It's about being able to smile at your neighbors and make a difference in a community.

For me, my roots are finally back in Michigan soil and I have never felt more successful.

A Day at the Dennos Museum

Hello, everyone! 

I am going to make a strong effort to limit myself in photographs for this post. Every week (schedule allowing), I volunteer in the Collections area of the Dennos Museum. This allows me to utilize my History of Art degree in Traverse City and also be up-close-and-personal with the artwork. I love that I have this opportunity, and it has given me the chance to fully embrace the gem of an art museum that we have here in TC. Plus, it allows me to visit the museum after-hours to snap some great photos!

Currently, the Dennos has a fantastic triple play of exhibits. I'll share a few of my favorite pieces and details from each of them. 

When you first walk into the atrium, bright colorful "wings" hang from the ceiling. These unique and totally individualized pieces are the works of Rufus Snoddy, and are a part of his "Wings of Icarus" exhibit.

At first, I was more taken in by the effect of having all these pieces hanging from the ceiling, because it's a different way to display a sculpture court: hang the pieces above instead of having something on the ground. I wasn't totally into the pieces themselves until I started looking at them one by one instead of all together. Snoddy uses all different kinds of materials, color schemes, and themes. As wonderful as they are to see all together, the works stand well on their own, too.

The largest gallery room is filled with contemporary Japanese Bamboo art. I was stunned by these works and the incredible intricacy, eye for detail, and mechanics that went into creating all these pieces. They were all true works of science, math, and art. It's hard for me to imagine the time and patience these artists devote to their work. Not all the pieces are repetitive or symmetrical; there are some abstract pieces, too, but just as thoroughly planned and executed based on the detail put into each piece.

I took a lot of detailed shots of the bamboo pieces, because when standing close to these works the true craftsmanship and complexity of each work really showed. Even just mapping these pieces out logistically and systematically before working on them must take forever! 

My favorite of all the current exhibits are the works of Larry Cressman. Aside from the fact that Cressman is a professor at my alma mater (I wish I could've met him!), I positively love the delicacy, intimacy, and tangibility of his pieces.

Cressman challenges the idea of the line as a stagnant thing on a piece of paper, and the validity (or lack thereof) of the line in nature (since we often thing of lines as something that is drawn, man-made, or a part of an unnatural construction or shape like a square). Working with pins, Cressman suspends his works away from the gallery wall and his beautiful artwork seems to float in space. It is a surreal experience to stand in front of his work and appreciate the fragility of each piece and the love that Cressman put into installing each piece on the gallery walls. 

I love that Cressman uses natural elements like stems and twigs to showcase the lines in nature, but brought into a gallery meant to display man-made artwork (typically mounted on the walls). The way Cressman's pieces hover in midair makes them feel ethereal, as if they are part of an entirely different dimension. I got lost trying to following the lines of each work as the elements crisscrossed and overlapped one another. The shadows and light of the room play into each piece, too, which creates another set of lines in each piece.

If you'd like to check out any of these works, I recommend doing it this weekend, because it is the last time the Cressman and Japanese bamboo artwork will be on display. There will be a fantastic new exhibit coming up in June, but more on that later...go check these out if you're interested!

NMC BBQ & Guest Blogger Sara Hartley

It was like a Norman Rockwell 4^th of July came early on Sunday at the NMC BBQ. Enough people to populate a small city came onto the college campus for the grub and good times. The mood was inspired by the fair weather and amazing planning that kept the lines moving and friendly greetings hailing. Honestly, had there been a square dance and a barber shop quartet all bedecked in seersucker, they wouldn't have been a bit out of place. There were games for the kids tumbling out of the moon-bounce with cotton candy in their hair and fake tattoos on every limb. There were exhibits of robotics and renewable energy alongside LARPers and inflato-gladiators. This was some four-star people-watching!

Grandparents watched their grand kids making new friends, young couples sat in the grass under the trees listening to local musicians like Billy Strings and Blake Elliot. Every so often a loud “toot toot” came from the boiler room counting off how many thousands of people had come out to be a part of this down-home tradition. While NMC seemed pretty proud of counting up those thousands, you could still see the identity of a small Michigan town on the faces of the stompy-footy kids being dragged away from the cake-walk, the grandparents sitting in the shade ready with the Benadryl and band-aids, the brother holding his little sister’s hand and the parents who look forward to washing the dust and sugar off of these exhausted little feet and hands and knowing there won’t be a fight about sleeping tonight.

But the BBQ isn't just for families. Those of us who are all grown up, with or without kids of our own, got a full day out of our $6 tickets too. We got to remember traditions, smile back at the strangers and feel like we finally opened the windows and got the winter out! This fabulous tradition is just the starting shot for our fun-run through a summer up north.

Sara Hartley

And the 2013 Athena Award goes to...

Hello again everyone!

Cathie Martin = the best woman ever.

 Cathy was recently honored as the 2013 Athena Award recipient at a banquet at the Hagerty Conference Center of Northerwest Michigan College.

In case you don't know what the Athena Award is, each year the Athena organization selects, based on nominations, one community leader based on the following criteria. Success in personal and professional activities, community activities, volunteerism, supporting other women and mentoring.

“The Athena model is authentic self, celebration and joy, collaboration, advocacy, giving back, learning and relationships,” said Athena Award co-chair Jan Bassett.

Martin has donated tens of thousands of volunteer hours (INSANE) to a variety of organizations and charities, serving at the local, state, national and international levels. She is also member and past chair of the Munson Healthcare Regional Foundation board, as well as a longtime Zonta member.

In order to get Cathie to come to the awards ceremony, it took a little tomfoolery as she was planning to go to her granddaughters school concert. She only agreed to attend the 19th Annual Athena Awards banquet as she thought someone else was being selected for the award. Gotcha :)

After a very impressive and tear-jerking introduction by the 2012 Athena Award recipient  Ranae McCauley, Martin took the stage to a standing ovations of 150+ attendees, family & friends.

For the first time in the history of Athena, the organization also awarded two scholarships for the Traverse City Chamber's Mini-MBA program, in collaboration with Ferris State University. John Stocki (ME!) and Courtney Sorrell were the lucky recipients of the scholarships. We will start the 9-month program in September.

All photos were provided courtesy of Karen Youker Photography. Visit www.karenyouker.com!