Day Two: Hey, how are you doing? Great to see you!
Thursday, May 29th, 2008By Ari Adler
The conference sessions are running hot and heavy today with lots of people racing from one to the next to hear all the latest ideas for the metro Detroit region.
There are a lot of good discussions being had between panelists and among the attendees before, during and after the sessions.
Perhaps even more telling, however, is how many people are not at the sessions but are, instead, networking one-on-one with folks to connect or reconnect. That’s important because as I’ve discovered over the years, media relations, public relations, government relations – they all have to do with relationships.
I sent some Twitter posts out today about what a haven for networking this policy conference is. During a 2-hour span, I said hello and chatted with folks from Gov. Granholm’s staff, Lt. Gov. John Cherry, Sen. Deb Cherry (D-Flint), Sen. Mark Jansen (R-Grandville), key folks at the Michigan Democratic Party, clients, potential clients and a handful of reporters.
That list is quite remarkable when you consider my background – it’s no secret I used to be the spokesperson for a Republican Senate Majority Leader and often sparred publicly with Democrats.
Some question – including some who are on the island right now – the validity of holding this function on Mackinac Island instead of somewhere in the Metro Detroit region. But when you’re here, you can truly get a sense for why it matters to get away from it all.
By pulling everyone out of the region you create neutral territory where folks from both sides of the political aisle can have a nice chat and maybe even jab each other with a few political commentaries but still laugh together – because they aren’t defending any home turf.
You can have people from all walks of life – business, media, public relations, local government, state government, federal government – and you can have them all view the Metro Detroit region from afar. From up here on Mackinac Island, you can get a virtual birds-eye view of Southeast Michigan.
Thursday night is the middle of the conference and tonight’s activities include a tremendous number of events and parties sponsored by all kinds of different causes looking to bring people together under their tent. Sure, in part it’s to grab the attendees’ attention long enough for them to hear about what you or your clients are up to. But it’s also about putting the humanity back into what we spend the rest of the year bemoaning as faceless entities known as “government” and “the business community.”
I can’t wait.
Tags: DetroitRegionalChamber, Mackinac, MackinacPolicyConference, Michigan