What do Bill Gates, Taylor Swift, Pope Francis and our next guest speaker all have in common? They were all named on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's 50 Greatest Leaders."

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is visiting Traverse City on Friday June 12 as part of the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance's new speaker series, which brings leaders and innovators from around the state to discuss some of the key issues, solutions and ideas of their expertise. In the Fortune article, Duggan is praised as being just what Detroit needed following the city's historic financial reorganization. Fortune describes Duggan as having a "driven" and "effective" management style. He is credited for balancing the city budget for the first time in a decade, installing 20,000 new street lights all while drastically shortening emergency response times.

During the June 12 event Duggan will share his experience managing a city through its tough times and paint a clear picture of the next steps in its recovery. Northern Michigan will play a vital role in the continued success and re-growth of Michigan's largest city. Mayor Duggan emphasizes this point and explains just how pivotal the Northern Michigan economy and overall development is to the State's future as a whole.

Don't miss this amazing opportunity to hear a well-respected and internationally recognized leader speak on these topics and more. The luncheon is at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.  Contact Chamber/Alliance Government Relations Director Kent Wood for more information at kentw@tcchamber.org or click here for details.

Mayor Duggan's presentation is sponsored by:

Steve Nance of Oryana presents Pine Hill's

Jeanine Rubert with the Hagerty Small Business of the Year Award

It was another great year for the Chamber's Small Business Celebration, and another deserving recipient when Pine Hill Nursery & Landscaping was named the Chamber's 2015 Hagerty Small Business of the Year.

Pine Hill Nursery is a family-owned business founded in 1979 by Ralph Naples and his wife Sandy, along with Ralph's sister Jeanine Rubert and her husband Fred. It employs nearly 50 workers. The original location, along U.S. 31 North in Kewadin, significantly expanded its greenhouse facilities in 1995 allowing the company to grow many of its own plants and increase its selection. A second location opened on Carver Street in Traverse City in 2000.

"What stood out about Pine Hill Nursery was its 36-year track record, a passion for both its business and customers, and the ability to continue to grow in spite of a significant increase in the number of competitors," SBC Judge Tanya Berg said.

Congratulations to all our SBC participants and to the Top 10 finalists. Thanks too to all the YPs who submitted SBC nominations and took part in SBC events. Start planning for next year's Small Business Celebration.

The Chamber's Small Business Celebration is sponsored by:

YPs Making an Impact

The YP Committee made it a point this year to bring in non-perishable food items and make financial donations every meeting. The proceeds of this mission are then passed on to the Father Fred Foundation. In the first five months of 2015, the committee has donated an equivalent of 421 servings equaling 140 meals. This is evidence that with everyone giving just a little, the result and impact can be large.

A huge THANK YOU to all who have donated and contributed to this cause.  For more information about the YPs' donation or to learn how you can join in please contact Josh Janowiak. 

We are always looking for YPs to work the check-in table at the Chamber's Business After Hours (BAH) events. There will be plenty of chances to meet and mingle with fellow YPs and Chamber members at BAH in 2015. For more information, or to sign up for one of the upcoming BAH evenings, contact Bridgett Beckwith.

The next BAH is June 17 from 5 - 7 p.m. at Great Lakes Sailing Co., 12935 S. West Bay Shore Dr. in Greilickville. We hope to see you there!

Are you a proud graduate of the Chamber's Leadership Grand Traverse program? If so, did you know the benefits of the program don't stop now? Join the Fellows of Leadership Grand Traverse and take advantage of exclusive events and discussions!

The Leadership Grand Traverse program has been a huge success in developing and connecting current and future leaders of our community. The Fellows network allows all of those who graduated the program to keep the connections and bonds they made throughout the program while continuing their development as leaders and key role-players in the the community.

The first exclusive Fellows discussion took place May 21 and centered on natural resources, hosted by Grand Traverse Conservation District Executive Director Marsha Clark. LGT Fellows are invited to take part in future discussion including:

• Local Economy: June 16, Laura Galbraith- VentureNorth (Register Here)

• State & Local Government: September 14, Kent Wood- Traverse City Area Chamber (Register Here)

• Arts & Culture: September 22, Krista Cooper- Traverse City Symphony Orchestra (Register Here)

• Health & Human Services: October 1, Mary Marois- retired county Department of Human Services Director (Register Here)

• Education: November 10, Jason Jeffrey- Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District (Register Here)

For more information about the Leadership Grand Traverse and the Fellows programs Click Here!

Click here now to join LGT Fellows

Chamber Leadership programming is supported by:

New Era Social Marketing's John and Emily Petrovich were recently mentioned in an MSNBC article that focused on Michigan's growth and namely the appeal for out-of-state YPs and business owners to plant their roots in Northern Michigan. The couple moved from Colorado to Traverse City and run a successful marketing and social media company. Be sure to check out the full article - Click Here.

Be sure to keep up on what's brewing in the community. Meet local elected officials and other business and economic leaders in a casual environment. The event is for any and all chamber members interested in getting to know the community leaders better and get a chance to discuss key issues.

The event is from 4:30 - 6 p.m. on June 24th at the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information and to register,  Click Here.

We had a great line-up of Lunch and Learns, social events and volunteer opportunities in 2014, and now we are filling out the calendar for 2015. Please share any ideas you have for Lunch and Learn topics, social event locations, speakers or volunteer events in 2015 with YP Chair Allison Beers. 

Are you new to TC or have you been here for years? Just landed your dream job or are you searching for the next step in your career? Sharing your story on the blog is easy, and a great way to reach other young professionals both in our area and across the world. Simply type a brief summary about yourself-your favorite things in the Traverse City area, why you live here, what you do for a living-and send it in to Mo Stych with some great photos. We love featuring our YPs!