If you lived in Michigan’s Great Southwest a decade ago you likely saw Champions for Change posters, signs and messages from one end of the community to another. Thousands of business people, residents, and community leaders proudly proclaimed that they were, indeed, Champions for Change as the Harbor Shores Resort community burst onto the scene after years of planning, construction, excitement and hope.
This year marks the ten-year anniversary of the grand opening events surrounding the Harbor Shores Resort project, and as a way of celebrating this important milestone, Whirlpool Corporation and Harbor Shores are releasing a four-part digital series that tells the story of how the community worked collaboratively on multiple projects, including the resort development, as part of a multifaceted transformation of the surrounding Southwest Michigan area.
A teaser trailer for the series has been released today, with four full videos to be released throughout the next several weeks. All of the videos will be housed on the Harbor Shores website as they go live, and viewers are encouraged to check back weekly for each installation of the series.
Harbor Shores Resort, which includes the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course and The Inn at Harbor Shores, is the realization of a vision made possible by $900 million in strategic investments and a collective array of relationships and community partners, including Whirlpool Corporation. The Nicklaus Signature course sits on the same site where 6,000 manufacturing jobs were lost over an 18-month period in the 1980’s. Those empty buildings sat on nearly three million square feet of industrial materials and contaminated soil. In 2008, that property had little state equalized value, yet by 2017, the same land had a taxable value of nearly $74 million.
The 400 affordable homes in the Hope 6 Project, the 120 homes made possible through Habitat for Humanity, the new Boys and Girls Clubs facilities, the City Center project in Benton Harbor and the vibrant Arts District are all a part of the more than $350 million in community projects and entrepreneurial endeavors that have been part of a cohesive and interdependent set of strategies to help grow the area.
Jeff Noel, Managing Director of Harbor Shores and Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs at Whirlpool, says, “While we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the grand opening of the Harbor Shores Resort, the spotlight has shifted from the contrast of what once was and is today, to shine instead on the amazing spirit of countless people who have worked tirelessly together to make this vision a reality.” He adds, “Harbor Shores is but one stone in the new foundation this community has been building for some time, and the indisputable proof of what happens when people come together for the greater good. This video series provides a chance to both pause and reflect on where we have been and most importantly, visualize the possibilities of what we have yet to accomplish.”
The digital series tells the story through multiple perspectives, highlighting leaders who have a unique personal connection to the area and have witnessed this transformation firsthand. The series also spotlights critical organizations and partnerships that have been part of the Harbor Shores journey, including local offices of The First Tee, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, Boys & Girls Club, as well as the Cornerstone Alliance, Southwest Michigan Tourist Council, PGA of America and more.
To watch the digital series as it is released, or for more information on Harbor Shores Resort, visit this link: http://harborshoresresort.com/anniversary
For more information on Whirlpool Corporation and their CSR initiatives, you can visit this link: http://whirlpoolcorp.com/social-responsibility
