While it was a morning of celebration in the business community of Michigan’s Great Southwest this morning, Governor Rick Snyder says that even though the state of Michigan has made great strides toward returning to a Top 10 State, and there are many things that have allowed us to stage a great comeback, “Now is not the time to celebrate (those gains). It’s time to appreciate it and understand how far we’ve come, but now is the time to say on the gas.”
Snyder was the keynote speaker for the annual meetings of both Cornerstone Alliance and Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce this morning. Introduced by Congressman Fred Upton from St. Joseph as a man who cares about outcomes, “but more importantly cares about people and all Michiganders,” Snyder reeled off a number or great advancements over the last six years, but cautioned everyone to stay focused and turn attention to the future.
Snyder told the audience of business owners, community leaders and others, “We still had too many young people flooding out of Michigan.” He cited several years ago when Michigan’s unemployment rate was ranked 50th out of 50. “We actually ranked 53rd in a few categories thanks to U.S. territories being included!” He says, “You don’t just accept it. We were broken. Our culture was broken, our state was broken, our government was broken. We had to do something about it, so you step forward and take one problem at a time, put in common sense solutions, and move forward.”
Now, says the Governor, “If you look at private sector job creation, nearly 500,000 private sector jobs have been created, just in the past six years. That ranks us number one in the Great Lakes States, and number six in the nation.” He added, “Unemployment has dropped by more than half, and your unemployment in Berrien County is below the state rate.”
Now, Snyder says, “Net migration of people with bachelors degrees has turned amazing. Over 20,000 inbound as a net number, that’s number on in the Great Lakes States for young people with bachelors degrees coming in, and that’s a major turnaround.”
Meanwhile, several Berrien County businesses were honored by Cornerstone Alliance at the Business Recognition Breakfast this morning at the Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College. Berrien County’s lead economic development organization and the Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce hosted the annual event attended by 525 people.
Greg Vaughn, Cornerstone Alliance Chief Operating Officer and VP of Business Development said,”This event is a great opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Berrien County businesses and their significant contributions to growing the region’s economy. We were pleased to have Governor Snyder as our keynote this morning and join the celebration.”
The team at Cornerstone Alliance awarded their Economic Growth Award to Honor Credit Union. In 2016, Honor Credit Union made over $8 million in investments throughout Southwest Michigan. In June of last year, they opened their centralized operations in Berrien Springs. That 37,000 square foot facility employs over 100 local team members.
In September 2016, Honor renewed their commitment to St. Joseph as they broke ground for a new 6,000 square foot building. That facility will provide their members and all St. Joseph residents a convenient location for their financial needs.
Shari Weber, Honor Credit Union Chief Financial Officer, accepted the award.
Cornerstone’s Large Business of the Year Award was delivered to Vickers Engineering of New Troy. That manufacturing company was established in 1970 and has evolved into a world-class precision machining company guided by customer service, state-of-the-art technology and excellent leadership. As a Tier One supplier, they serve a diverse industry base including Automotive, Oil & Gas, Agriculture, Defense and Industrial markets.
In 2016 to meet increased demands of both existing and new customers, Vickers Engineering made sizable investments in facility infrastructure and equipment. That growth created 50 new jobs. The organization also invested in their workforce training, a top priority as they continue to make world-class products.
Matt Tyler, President and CEO of Vickers Engineering accepted the award.
