Bailey on Mackinac

By 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.

By Ari Adler

The first day of the policy conference is coming to a close, although it’s only a little after 11:30 p.m., so the “networking” should be continuing for some time yet at the local watering holes.

Opinion leaders, business leaders, state legislators, lobbyists, legislative staff and media from around the state are here along with more average business folks.

So far, the talk from attendees seems to be focused in a few areas:

1. Why is it so cold this year? / At least it’s not snowing (new attendees vs. veterans).
2. The opening session had some good messages (Can we carry it forward?)
3. The annual discussion that involves Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and others is getting stale, particularly when it becomes the talk of the conference only because of the antics Kwame and Brooks try to one-up each other with. (Where is the person willing to stand up and challenge the regional leaders and demand some answers? It seems the region is desperately in need of a hero.)
4. When will the mayor arrive? What will happen when he arrives? (Depending on who you talk to, it’s either a tense moment best avoided or a must-see event.)
5. How can you have a full signal on your cellular phone one second and no signal the next? (OK, that one is actually mine, but, seriously, it would almost be better to just not have a signal rather than the constant teasing from the Verizon Wireless Fairy.)

One last note for tonight: kudos to the folks at Arnold Transit Company. Not only did they handle a lot of people and their luggage efficiently today, but when a certain blogger had to return to his car for something he forgot, they offered a free round-trip to retrieve it. That’s customer service worth telling your friends and neighbors about.