EDITOR'S LETTER
Journeys to Success
RO N .G A RB INSK I@T IGE ROAK .COM
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8
MIM+E
| SUMMER 2019
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P H O T O : TAT E C A R L S O N
Ron Garbinski, editor
WHILE PREPARING THIS YEAR’S MICHIGAN M+E BEST OF 2019 readers’ choice awards and Hall of Fame stories, we enjoyed the amazing tales about our honorees via our award questionnaires. Many detailed their success adventures and others reflected on the many challenges they face. Take the Accidentals of Traverse City, for example, winner of our Best Band category. The trio was on a western U.S. tour when their van broke down in Tucson, Arizona, described band members Sav Buist and Katie Larson. Here’s the story they shared with us: “While the van was in the shop, we parked our trailer across from our hotel rooms. When we woke up the next morning, our trailer and $70,000 worth of gear were gone. “Luckily, we had brought our instruments inside to keep them warm the night before. But our PA system, our consoles, our monitors, our drum kit ... so much of our stuff was gone, overnight. “We are fortunate enough to have an intense core of music lovers who funded a $35,000 GoFundMe within a week when insurance denied our claim. They made our post viral and helped garner media attention around the incident. As a result, we were able to continue to tour, to play music, to do what we love. We are so, so thankful for that. “We are treating this as an opportunity to learn. So we’ve been looking at trailers, at locking and tracking devices, and making sure we have everything in order. It’s slow going, but the support of our community has made the load lighter. We couldn’t be more thankful for the chance to continue to do what we love.” It’s a good ending that might help others learn from the trio’s nightmare. A second example comes from Arielle Johnson, founder/CEO of Fierce Staffing & Consulting in Detroit. It’s about her sense of purpose: “As I was finishing college and preparing to work for the Marriott, I founded a nonprofit organization that would support young mothers like myself, Fierce Empowerment. After running the organization for a few years, I learned two things,” she reflects. “First, there were significant barriers to making a livable wage and securing stable employment in the communities we served. Second, that as a small nonprofit we were not equipped to truly empower these communities. As a result, I founded Fierce Staffing, a social enterprise that would combine my love and success in the hospitality industry with my passion and commitment to my community.” Today, we honor her as our Up-and-Coming Supplier. We love sharing her accomplishments and journey. In addition to these shining stars, we recognize lots of others who also have amazing stories to tell. So take a few minutes to follow up with them—whether you know them or not—to offer congratulations and to learn more about the road they took to becoming an award winner.
