I want to welcome all of our old and new friends alike to our new website. I would like to take a moment of Thanksgiving before I go any further. Thank you to my wonderful and loving wife, Lynn, for her unending support. She is the wind in my sails and my font of encouragement. I want to thank the all of members of our Executive Planning Committee for their contributions, support, and talents, particularly Kevin Janeway for his friendship and mentorship. Thank you to my former employer for downsizing me and opening the door to my cage. Thank you to Dan Beaton for carrying us through the second phase of our online presence and to John Hogan of HMB Group for putting together our current and most phenomenal website. Also, thank you to my long-time friend Vince Fullerton, for whom I reconnected with on Facebook, to meet John Hogan. Thank you to all of you, for your patience, your input, and your support. And finally, thank you to Facebook for allowing me to post my frustration last December which evolved into the Made in Michigan Movement as it is today.

My name is Neil Yaremchuk and I am the CEO of the Made in Michigan Movement. But title aside, I am born and raised a Michigan man. I have been and am affected daily by our economic climate as have so many of you. It is a unique and uncomfortable period in time, more so, that the rest of the nation still simply cannot relate. Yet I have seen the eye of this economic storm and it is beautiful. I have found inspiration and renewed hope through this adversity.

We started the Made in Michigan on December 23, 2008. That was the day my former company president flew first-class into Detroit to announce forthcoming job cuts—my job. We were downsized for a variety of reasons but largely because people quit buying a significant Michigan product. I was angry at first but my wife Lynn really encouraged me to redirect that energy into a solution. The solution was simple-start a company that could get people, Michigan people, to buy Michigan products and services again. A business that had the intensity and thoroughness of a Rich Rodriguez training schedule paired with the optimism of a Detroit Lions season ticket holder. I posted this idea in a Facebook group that December evening and sent it out to 63 friends. By Christmas morning, we had quadrupled the group size. On February 2, 2009, the day we incorporated as the Made in Michigan Movement, we had 5,000 members. We didn’t want to become another listing service or a site that favored a particular region. To fix the problem of hemorrhaging tax revenue, we knew the entire state had to be involved and action had to back up our words. This led us to our mission statement which states that, “The Made in Michigan Movement is dedicated to bridging the gaps between the Michigan consumer, producer, grower, and retailer. By getting the people of Michigan to buy Michigan goods and services again, we can make a significant impact in the restoration of our economy. The MI Depart of Agriculture notes, that if every MI family spent $10 a week on Michigan products, over $37 million would be put back into the state economy each week. Further, for each dollar that is spent in MI, approximately 70 cents of that dollar gets redistributed throughout MI. And that is the Made in Michigan Movement motto: Earn it here, spend it here, and keep it here!

We wanted a business that was fun, made money but above all, it had to make a difference in the lives of others. We couldn’t just profit from the community and not give back. So we decided that we would donate 10% of our profits to MI based charities and non-profit organizations and be physically active in philanthropic endeavors; check writing is not enough. We are proudly working with Covenant House MI to rescue Michigan’s 5,000 homeless youth, Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit and their various projects, and we are participants in the 2009 Brooksie Way 5K this year. In addition, in the shadow of the 8th anniversary of 9/11, the Made in Michigan Movement is offering a complimentary premium business membership to any active, reserve, or retired member of MI police and fire departments, or from any of the five branches of our military. It’s our way of saying thank you.

Shifting gears from our philosophy to our function, our website at http://www.madeinmichiganmovement.com is currently in its third phase but is ever evolving. We have come from a patchwork five page site with static lists to a dynamic and interactive hub of information and communication. It is with intended purpose to be a one-stop, online environment to network, advertise, expand, discuss, promote and educate. We are utilizing the most effective elements of social media and expanding the site with a marketplace, an art gallery, an affiliate program, and an iTunes style feature to meet the needs of all MI businesses. Further, we are also expanding the premium membership features by including a section exclusively for member press releases, executive editorials, and “friending” applications. With a current following of 13,000 people, the Made in Michigan Movement is growing bigger, stronger and more effective each and every day.

Beyond the website, we take even greater action. We have an On the Road program where we travel the state and meet one-on-one directly with business owners. We don’t talk to you, we listen to you. We document the journey through our blog, tweets, streaming video, and photos which are shared with our members. It’s a hybrid of Michigan Matters, Weekend Getaway, and Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. Additionally, I am also excited to announce that the Made in Michigan Movement will be hosting a statewide expo in 2010 called The Michigan Experience. We are hosting over 300 MI based businesses, under one roof, and from all areas of commerce. It will be an incredible marriage of B2B and B2C opportunities that focus on bridging the gaps that currently exist between MI businesses as well as the in-state consumer. We will break down the barriers that divide SE Michigan, West Michigan, Northern Michigan and the U.P. We WILL unify the Michigan business community!

At the Made in Michigan Movement, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our service to both the loyal Michigan consumers and our faithful business clients. We listen to your feedback and take action and as always, our door is open.

Again, I thank you and look forward to helping turn this economy around.

Neil Yaremchuk, CEO
Made in Michigan Movement