Local News

The Blue Water Area Chamber’s mission is to support our business community through various means. One of those means is to advocate and support candidates who will work with St. Clair County’s residents and businesses.

On behalf of the Blue Water Area Chamber, its Board of Directors, has voted to endorse the following candidates:

• St. Clair County Community College – Dr. Karen L. Niver
• St. Clair County Community College – Robert E. Tansky
• Port Huron School Area District Board Member – Josh Chapman
• Port Huron School Area District Board Member – Timothy McCulloch

The Chamber strongly believes that these individuals are the best candidates to continue to build on the successes of our region and align with the Chamber’s priorities to build strong, sustainable communities for our membership.

We want to be known as the county that our residents and business community are proud to call home. The Chamber is asking the voters of St. Clair County to support these candidates.

“The chamber has had a significant role in business advocacy for St. Clair County since 1917, said Thelma Castillo, President & CEO of Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce has been supporting its members by fostering economic prosperity and promoting Blue Water area businesses through regional collaboration, advocacy, and member development since 1917.

Submitted by the Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce

Melissa Morrow is known as Coach Mel on her social media channels, Sincerely Creative Mom. She and fellow-influencer Tammy Hodges of Polka Dot Wreath Co. from Springfield, MO brought their online creative coaching group together for a “Fill Your Creative Cup With Cheer” weekend event at the Blue Water Convention Center.

Melissa and Tammy both left professional careers after their online passion for making wreaths, garlands, and teaching others crafting skills became their full-time jobs.

With almost 200,000 followers between them, they both make a living providing free and paid How-To videos on their social channels. They also sell the products they make and are coaches to those who want to learn how to craft and run their own business.

One of the greatest rewards of their businesses are the relationships they’ve built with the people they coach.

“These people in this room are some of the best in the world. They’re like family to us. One lady has been a follower of mine for 3 years, and I met her for the first time in-person tonight, but I said, “My gosh! I feel like I’ve known you forever!” said Tammy.

Tammy and Melissa have several students in their coaching group that have started from scratch, learned how to create beautiful crafts, and gone on to build 6 and 7 figure incomes.

“It’s a big deal to go from working in a cubicle, I was a middle school teacher, Mel was in the CPA industry, and I was making $32,000 a year, and now I’m getting to live this dream. Now, I get to play all day in ribbon and hang out with friends and have a slumber party at a convention center all weekend,” said Tammy.

Melissa said a job change and discovery of another Facebook influencer inspired her to start creating wreaths to boost her income. Being in control of her time and doing what she loves has led to many positive outcomes for her and her family.

Tammy’s husband suffered a traumatic brain injury during military service in Afghanistan. Creating Polka Dot Wreath Co. has enabled her to care for him while also boosting the family income. She started the business when they were stationed at Fort Bragg, and it has grown over the last 9 years to something she could never have imagined.

This weekend’s “Fill Your Creative Cup With Cheer” event was a chance for Melissa and Tammy to connect face-to-face, hop on a stage to demonstrate decorating techniques with their colleagues, and do make-n-take projects together with participants. The conference was sold out with tickets going for $750.

“We’re spoiling them! We wanted to pour into them the way they’ve given to us.” said Tammy.

“We wanted this to be very purposeful,” said Melissa. “We wanted this to be an event that we would want to go to

To learn more, visit Sincerely Creative Mom and Polka Dot Wreath Co. on Facebook and Instagram.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

 

 

 

Port Huron, MI – Lake Huron Medical Center (LHMC) is pleased to announce its October 2022 Employee of the Month, Katlin Curtis. LHMC is honored to have a strong team of staff and  volunteers working hard to deliver high-quality care to the Blue Water Area. 

Katlin works as a Nursing Assistant in the Definitive Observation Unit (DOU) and has been an  employee at LHMC for one and a half years. She was nominated by a visitor who commented, “I  would like to recognize Katlin she is an amazing and loving and caring nurse. She and Holly  make you feel so welcome and are very attentive to anything and everything that I or my brother  needed.”  

Lake Huron Medical Center is proud of each of its employees and volunteers; and extends a  special thank you and congratulations to all our team members, especially Katlin, as we celebrate  their accomplishments. 

To learn more about the programs and services offered at Lake Huron Medical Center, visit  www.mylakehuron.com.

Submitted by Lake Huron Medical Center

 

Susan Tisdel and Judy Redmond love their role as volunteers with Port Huron Town Hall, and they are excited about the upcoming guests who will share their stories with the community.

Port Huron Town Hall is welcoming Darren McGrady on November 14th, and Chef McGrady will share his experience cooking for the Royal Family and five U.S. Presidents. McGrady has also authored more than one cookbook, cooked one-on-one with Oprah, and performed cooking demonstrations for over 4, 00 people at a time.

In December, Port Huron Town Hall will feature Javier Muñoz. an actor and activist best known for his Broadway role as Alexander Hamilton. Susan and Judy remarked that those who love theater will thoroughly enjoy Muñoz’s presentation, and the audience may be in for the special treat of hearing a song or two from Hamilton.

Tickets for Port Huron Town Hall are available at the McMorran Box Office at McMorran.com/shows.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand