Published by: The Holland Sentinel – Nov 15, 2010
By PETER DAINING
Holland, MI —
We’ve all heard Michigan described as depressed, discouraged and run down.
But George Morse uses adjectives like incredible, beautiful and great for his home state as he runs 1,000 miles in 200 cities to encourage small business owners.
He ran five miles in both Holland and Zeeland Friday, talking to business owners in both downtown districts.
He remembers in the 1980s when the mantra was, “The last person out of Michigan can turn out the lights.”
“It bothered me then and it bothers me now,” Morse said. “It kills me to see people give up. The notion that you can’t be successful in Michigan is just not true.”
Morse spoke to a Holland Area Chamber of Commerce committee before running downtown and walking into several shops, including Crane’s Pie Pantry Restaurant, owned by Chad and Mary Jo Creevy.
Creevy said Morse had the staff and some customers stand in front of the store window and say, “We believe in Michigan” in unison.
“I think this is a great way to support small business,” Chad Creevy said. “The majority of businesses are small and we’d welcome help any way we can get it to focus on the majority.”
Morse encourages small business owners not to get too bogged down in politics.
“Go vote, but then go back and focus on growing your business, because that’s where you’ll make an impact,” Morse said.
Holland and Zeeland were Morse’s 67th and 68th cities, which means he’s now gone 340 miles and is a third of the way through his journey.
He also stopped by Shaker Messenger, trading his inspirational book for some Michigan-made granola. Assistant Manager Amy Sasamoto said he won her and owner Diane VanKolken over right away with his message.
“It’s just really interesting what he’s doing,” Sasamoto said. “I do think that downtown Holland and Holland as a whole do a great job of supporting small businesses.”
Morse plans to visit Kentwood and Grand Rapids Saturday before heading home to Oscoda, where he and his wife, Andrea, own several area Subway restaurants.
Morse takes photos and video at each city to make a slide show about each community he visits. Go to www.thousandmilesformichigan.com to see what he’s up to now.
Copyright 2010 The Holland Sentinel
