In an unprecedented year that few will ever forget, the Berrien County community of Bridgman persevered through what the Greater Bridgman Area Chamber & Growth Alliance — The CGA — refers to as “Projects, Programs, People and Places in 2020.”
That was the theme of the organization’s Annual Meeting conducted this evening at the Lake Township Park Pavilion led by Chamber Board President Brett Boyd through the partnership created with the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber.
With positive conversations continuing with several potential investors and developers interested in bringing more housing and hotel options to the community, SWM Regional Chamber President & CEO Arthur Havlicek says the future is bright for the Red Arrow Highway Corridor through the community with significant investments projected there. 
Havlicek, who addressed the annual meeting gathering in the park says, “The Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber was proud to support the Bridgman community through our partnership and affiliation with the Bridgman CGA.” He admits, “It’s been a difficult year, but we’ve been able to remain future-focused on making Bridgman the next great place in Berrien County, a place where we’re about to see a lot of significant investment activity, and it’s going to remain a great place, a beautiful place to visit, and an even better place to live.”
The CGA continues to partner with the Cornerstone Alliance to promote development in the Bridgman/Lake Township region, specifically the property once owned by LECO Corporation. Additionally, the SWM Regional Chamber has actively connected the City of Bridgman with civil engineers and real estate developers to lay the groundwork for future projects.
Thanks to the partnership with the SWM Regional Chamber, the CGA and the entire Bridgman area was able to benefit from many of the Chamber’s pandemic response initiatives, most notably the Buy Local Berrien Facebook group that now features more than 14,000 engaged members, and the Chamber’s creation of the Buy Local Berrien Holiday Gift Guide, the Buy Local Berrien Challenge, and the Buy Local Bridgman Gift Card program which directly benefits Bridgman merchants. Many of the Chamber’s other programs extended to the Bridgman community as well including their work with Berrien Reopens, Southwest Michigan Safe, Back2WorkSafe, Virtual Networking, and many elements of pandemic advocacy. The details behind each of those was artfully crafted by the SWM Regional Chamber’s Sarah Spoonholtz for the 2020 Annual Report publication distributed at the meeting.
Earlier this month, Havlicek’s leadership in partnership with Bridgman City Manager Juan Ganum and others helped pave the way for a unanimous vote of approval by the Bridgman City Council for a new Downtown Social District which is now before the Michigan Liquor Control Commission awaiting the green light there.
Bridgman CGA President Brett Boyd is proud of the organization’s work during the year of pandemic, saying, “It’s been a tough year, but Bridgman is still poised for greatness. So many of the businesses struggled but they fought through a lot of this, and I think are coming out on the other end quite resilient, without a doubt.” He adds, “We’re very fortunate to be in this community, where the people of the community really wanted to support those businesses and stepped up to help them survive, and now with the new Social District we have a chance to continue to help those who were hit the hardest.”
Once approved by the MLCC, patrons of adjacent bars, distilleries, breweries, restaurants, tasting rooms, and similar food service establishments which faced some of the harshest state mandated restrictions and shutdowns, may purchase alcoholic beverages in specially marked open containers to be taken into the Social District’s “Common Areas” for consumption.
Havlicek was ecstatic to gain the community’s support for the districts, saying tonight, “I applaud the Bridgman City Council for their unanimous approval of the concept of a Downtown Social District, because they really understand the struggle that the hospitality industry has gone through. They were able to recognize that social districts are a tool for them to be able to support those businesses and the other businesses in their downtown by having something unique that will attract more visitors to our area.”
Boyd tonight expressed hope that plans currently underway to return the Makers Trail Festival to the community this year after being forced to cancel it last year will allow it to come back strong. Current plans are to host that popular event on Saturday, October 2nd, pending additional details as the date draws closer.
On a final note, Boyd says that the CGA’s Goals Committee was formed in an effort to foster greater collaboration between the City of Bridgman, Lake Township, the CGA itself and the SW Michigan Regional Chamber. That committee has been tasked with identifying what the immediate and long-term needs are for the community and determining a solution to tackle them. Among the topics under consideration are economic development, more and affordable housing, hotel accommodations and more.
Boyd says, “I think this is an extraordinary area that we’re hopefully creating and trying to bring people back again, making Bridgman a very unique and great place.”
In formal business, the annual meeting participants approved the slate of officers for the coming year including:
- Brett Boyd as President
- Beth McNeil as Vice President
- Bob Clark as Treasurer
- Shane Peters as Secretary
