Treasures from the shore

Find the North you’re looking for.

If it’s April it’s time to go to MyNorth.com and plan your Up vacation. Here’s where to start:

Lodging

Book early and score your dream cottage or hotel room. (Click Vacation and choose either Hotels & Motels or Rent a Cottage).

Restaurant

Dozens of possibilities for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Traverse City, Petoskey and all around the North. (Click Guides & Resources, then Restaurant Guide.)

Vacation

Click on Vacation and browse our articles—we regularly post some of the greatest escape deals under the Northern sun!

A MyNorth Media Publication

PRESIDENT/EDITOR IN CHIEF Deborah Wyatt Fellows debwf@traversemagazine.com

VICE PRESIDENT EDITORIAL/EDITOR

Jeff Smith smith@traversemagazine.com

MANAGING EDITOR Elizabeth Edwards lissa@traversemagazine.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Kate Bassett

Emily Bingham

Bob Butz

Lisa Doublestein

Mary Ellen Geist

Tim Tebeau

ART DIRECTOR Bob Wilcox bob@traversemagazine.com

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Theresa Burau-Baehr theresa@traversemagazine.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Claire Stortz claire@traversemagazine.com

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Todd Zawistowski todd@traversemagazine.com

WEB DIRECTOR Michael Thompson michael@traversemagazine.com

VIDEOGRAPHER Kris Riley kriley@traversemagazine.com

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Jim Driver jdriver@traversemagazine.com

Ann Gatrell anng@traversemagazine.com

Lisa Gillespie lgillespie@traversemagazine.com

Jeff Hale jhale@traversemagazine.com

Jill Hayes jhayes@traversemagazine.com

Jonathan Campbell jcampbell@traversemagazine.com

Amy Artz Joslin amyj@traversemagazine.com

Cyndi Ludka ludka@traversemagazine.com

Candace Morse cmorse@traversemagazine.com

MARKETING DIRECTOR Rachel North rnorth@traversemagazine.com

CIRCULATION

FULFILLMENT MANAGER Jodi G. Simpson jsimpson@traversemagazine.com

OFFICE MANAGER/ EVENTS EDITOR Monterey Wheeler monterey@traversemagazine.com

CONTROLLER Kirstin Gorney kirstin@traversemagazine.com

2008 Silver Award— General Excellence (CRMA)

2007 Magazine of the Year (IRMA)

2007 Silver Award— General Excellence (CRMA)

2006 Bronze Award— Civic Journalism (CRMA)

2005 Silver Award— General Excellence (CRMA)

2003 Gold Award— General Excellence (CRMA)

Editorial & Advertising Offices

148 East Front Street Traverse City, MI 49684 Phone: 231-941-8174

Fax: 231-941-8391

Subscriber Services

Visit MyNorth.com and click on “Subscriptions” to change your address or to review your account. Please e-mail other subscription inquiries to traverse@pcspublink.com or call 800-785-8632 between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. EST.

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Reprints available. Please call 231-941-8174.

Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine, (ISSN10713719) is published monthly by Prism Publications Inc., 148 E. Front St., Traverse City, MI 49684. Periodicals class postage paid at Traverse City, MI 49684 and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine, P.O. Box 469053, Escondido, CA 92046. Advertising rates available upon request.

Subscription rate: $27.95 for 12 issues. Single issue price: $4.50. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. All rights reserved. Copyright 2009, Prism Publications Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Rachel North, our marketing director, likes to tell the story about Henry Ford and recycling: Ford asked the companies that delivered parts to him in wooden crates to drill very specific holes in different sides of the crates. When the parts were delivered, Ford had his people break down the crates into four pieces of wood, each of which was used in his cars—the holes drilled in one side might have matched where the drive shaft came through the floor. He was a master recycler, not because he had a predisposition to protecting the environment, but because he was cheap! Recycling made good business sense.

Substitute working to protect and sustain Northern Michigan’s natural resources for those wooden boxes, and you have the simple reason that natural resource protection is key to the economy of this region. It’s just smart business.

The largest engines of our economy, agriculture and tourism, have an obvious relationship to the land, water and landscape. But it goes beyond the obvious. Studies show that the very people most likely to keep our small businesses afloat and ultimately thriving—the people who will choose independent, entrepreneurial shopping experiences over big box shopping— are the same people attracted to scenic landscapes, open space, outdoor recreation, clean and plentiful natural resources and intact communities. Destroy those things and we have destroyed the natural, profitable market for our business community.

In addition, protecting our natural resources supports the efforts of our biggest employers in health care and manufacturing who recruit top talent to our region. We have great health care, schools and cultural experiences but it is challenging to compete for top people against larger cities that also have research universities and a plethora of fascinating jobs. Why do professionals choose us? They want the balanced life we offer, combining professional challenge and success with living in a beautiful, accessible outdoor environment and livable communities.

I made these points as part of a panel of five business owners and professionals in Northern Michigan at a forum put on by the Natural Resources Network of the Grand Vision. Jim MacInnis, a panelist and CEO of Crystal Mountain Resort, acknowledged that clean, natural resources and scenic landscapes are key to his business. He went on to speak eloquently about resource protection, the finite nature of those resources and the potential damage to the planet.