Upcoming Young Professional Conference!

Hello everyone!

Summer is soon coming to a close (...sad I know) and the YP's are well into the planning stages of this years' Young Professional Annual Conference. Hosted at the Leelanau Outdoor Center on Friday, October 4, 2013 from 8:00 am - 5:30 pm, this years' conference will include breakfast, lunch, facilitated leadership training and a keynote address by Bill Marsh Jr.

The conference will be a great opportunity for young professionals in Traverse City to network, participate in some fun team-building activities (climbing wall, zipline, human fooseball) and also listen to a truly engaging personal development session hosted by Bill Marsh Jr.

His presentation will provide some insight into the following items:

• What is personal branding and why is it important?
• Four critical steps to creating a strong personal brand.
• The keys to knowing when your brand is strong—and when it needs improvement.
• Relevant stories and powerful illustrations of famous brand-building successes…and failures.

***REGISTER NOW!***

Want to see who has already registered? Check out the Attendees here.

DETAILS

When:
Friday, October 4, 2013
8:00 am - 5:30 pm

Cost:
Member: $80.00
Non-Member: $100.00

T-Shirts: $30.00

Where:
Leelanau Outdoor Center
1653 Port Oneida Road
Maple City, MI 49664
231-334-3808

Google Directions

Contact Person:
Andi Wagenschutz
andiw@tcchamber.org

***REGISTER NOW!***

New Tent in Town & TC Microbrew & Music Festival featuring The Wailers!

Anyone who was in Traverse City last week was sure to see the gigantic new tent setup at the Open Space downtown. A first for the US, www.tentvenue.com has bought this amazing new mobile touring technology for hosting events all year. Owner Sam Porter of Porterhouse Productions just planned the tents inaugural events Paella in the Park, Great Wakes Festival and TC Waterman this past weekend. 

This coming weekend, August 23-24, the tent will be set up at the TC StateHospital/The Commons to get ready for the 5th Annual Traverse City Microbrew & Music Festival, featuring Michael Franti & Spearhead on Friday night The Wailers on Saturday. Tickets for the event are available online here. If you're interested in volunteering for the event, click here.

Check out some sweet facts about this massive tent and photos.

Check out the event photos from the Paella in the Park & Great Wakes Festival from Oden & Janelle Photography HERE!!! Also, check out their photographs from the Ozomatli Concert!

This Quad Span tent holds up to 4,400 people! 

Photo by Oden & Janelle Photography

The tent take approx. 8 hours to set up and 4-5 hours to tear down.

 

The tent can withstand up to 110 mph winds.

The entire tent fits on a 53' flatbed trailer making it super portable and able to be moved anywhere around the country with ease.

Based on economic studies by the TCCVB, if the tent company creates 10 different events with 4,000 people, it will help to drive 3-4 million in new economic dollars to the TC market.

The tent can be completely enclosed and host events 12 months out of the year.

Photo by Oden & Janelle Photography

Photo by Oden & Janelle Photography

Private functions such as weddings of gala dinners can be hosted in the tent
with seating for over 300 people.

Dennos Museum: Birds of Paradise

Hi again! I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but when it's summer in TC everyone makes the most of being outside, doing a million fun things, and enjoying all the fantastic opportunities for fun and sun up here. Life is always crazy but beautiful in the summer months, and I think that's how we all like it. Still, I owe you all a post...and even though I just posted about the Dennos museum not that long ago, their current exhibit is absolutely astounding: I had to share it, because I can't get enough of it!

When the BBC mini-series "Planet Earth" came out a few years back, it was hard for me to pick a favorite disc or feature among all the footage. By my fourth or fifth time through these masterpieces, though, I kept gravitating towards the Birds of Paradise segment. Below is  a snippet to remind you of the awesomeness:

So, when I heard the Dennos was receiving an exhibit all about these birds (put together by the National Geographic, nonetheless), I was pretty pumped. This exhibit is unlike anything I've ever seen in TC and the Dennos. It goes beyond being just an art exhibit or a "look at these things on the wall" walkthrough: it it interactive, hands-on, and remarkable.

The different sections guide you through the history of discovering the birds, evolution and natural selection, the influence of the birds on culture in New Guinea, the variety of birds and their mating dances, plus so much more. It is not only extensive in the breath of subject matter, but it is thorough and reaches all ages of visitors and all learning styles.

For me, this exhibit is intoxicating. I feel like a little kid again, playing with all the games and flipping through all the beautiful pictures. I loved seeing the beautiful hand-drawn illustrations from old field sketches (can you say Audubon heaven?) mixed in with videos of the different matings dances. The colors and uniqueness of each species leaves me realizing there is an infinite number of possibility for life.

And, if that's not enough to convince you to visit, how about a dance-off? There is this great game where two male contestants learn a mating dance (a la Dance Dance Revolution) and the ladies viewing the dances from behind them ring in and choose the male dancer they feel is most worthy of their vote. Despite being a female, I had to test out my Birds of Paradise dances moves....and you should, too!

Sun or rain, this is definitely worth a trip to the Dennos. This is a true example of a world-class museum right here in our hometown, much different than anything you've ever seen here before now. I encourage you to go and play with the birds!

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