On this week's program, host Phil Tower welcomes Paul Beachnau, Executive Director of the Gaylord Tourism Bureau. If you ask Paul, he’ll tell you Northern Michigan summers are the best… especially in Gaylord, Michigan. If you haven’t experienced one lately, Paul covered the “Top 7 Reasons To Enjoy Summer in Gaylord, Michigan." #1 Biking. Gaylord is recognized as a top biking destination! The biking scene is diverse, from single tracks at Aspen Park, Shingle Mill Pathway, and Pine Baron Pathway to the crown jewel of all trails – the North Central State Trail. Newly expanded and now running 73 miles from Waters to Mackinaw City, MI. #2 Hiking. Hiking is available for all levels of hikers. There are plenty of paved and unpaved trails. #3. Elk Viewing. Gaylord is home to one of the largest free-roaming elk herds east of the Mississippi. The Pigeon River Country State Forest is home to a herd of over 1,000 elk, and for a guaranteed sighting, head to the City Elk Park, just a few blocks from the downtown district. #4. Lakes & Rivers. Otsego County is home to over 90 inland lakes and the headwaters of 5 major rivers. There’s plenty of water to boat, fish, and explore. #5. Downtown. Gaylord’s downtown boasts a newly remodeled streetscape, trendy new eateries, and unique stores with up-north charm. #6. Events & Festivals. There’s the new Downtown Summer Concert Series, featuring weekly performers plus the Otsego Lake Fly-In, Michaywe Arts & Crafts Fair, Otsego County Fair, races, fireworks, and more. #7. Lodging. Gaylord has plentiful accommodation options, from beautiful resorts and cabins to vacation homes and trusted hotels.
Online: Gaylord Tourism
In part two of our program, Phil speaks with Jill Wallace, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer/Vice President of Operations, at Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids. Jill told us that Goodwill sells donated goods to fuel its mission of job training and placement opportunities to help people create better futures by building their skills and finding jobs. Jill said that for every dollar spent at Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids stores, $.90 goes directly towards job training and placement services for those in need in our local communities. Goodwill Industries has 18 locations in West Michigan and 155+ local organizations in the United States and Canada. Goodwill even has a national online shopping site with incredible deals at shopgoodwill.com
Online: Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids
Online: Gaylord Tourism
In part two of our program, Phil speaks with Jill Wallace, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer/Vice President of Operations, at Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids. Jill told us that Goodwill sells donated goods to fuel its mission of job training and placement opportunities to help people create better futures by building their skills and finding jobs. Jill said that for every dollar spent at Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids stores, $.90 goes directly towards job training and placement services for those in need in our local communities. Goodwill Industries has 18 locations in West Michigan and 155+ local organizations in the United States and Canada. Goodwill even has a national online shopping site with incredible deals at shopgoodwill.com
Online: Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend a public affairsprogram. Hey, it's West Michigan Weekend
from iHeartRadio. Thank you so muchfor tuning in and Happy Sunday, Happy
first Sunday in June. To you. This is host Phil Tower across whatever
iHeartRadio station you happen to be tunedinto. And of course we're a podcast.
After you hear us on the radio, you can find us on a
(00:24):
left hand side of the page atWood radio dot com. We're overdue to
bring you know every now and in. I was like, I haven't had
this person on in a while,and we're overdue to Welcome back. Paul
Beach now the executive director of GalorTourism Bureau, and he is in studio
with us. Because Paul's that kindof guy you try to avoid having him
(00:46):
on the phone because he's just aforce to be reckoned with. And he's
here in person and looking good asalways. Paul Beach Now, welcome back
to West Michigan Weekend. Phil,Thanks so much for having me. It's
always great to be here and comedown to just one of the great cities
in Michigan other than Gaillard. Well, I am bubbling for enthusiasm about Gaylard.
(01:10):
And by the way, I havereceived no compensation. I have not
been enticed with chocolate or anything.But I want to tell you my wife
and I have been really fortunate.It's spent a number of days and years
in Galard and it is a wonderfulplace to visit and we haven't even discovered
half the things to do there.So it's really we like to highlight different
(01:34):
places across our great state of Michigan, and it's good. We remind you
not only is it great in thewinter time, but it is a golf
mecca. It's a place full ofwater you can recreate on Atseiego Lake,
one of the biggest lakes in thestate of Michigan, and trails to explore
galore, and it's an area PaulBeach now that our listeners should know geographically
(01:57):
really spreads way beyond the actual cityof Gaylor, it does, you know,
Gaylard is really in the sweetest partof Michigan. We are in the
center, very center part in northernMichigan, about an hour from Macanon,
hour from Alpina, hour from TraverseCity. So in addition to the great
things in Gaylard, Phil, youcan take day trips from Gaylord very easily.
(02:23):
There's just so much to do.We're so excited that we're into June
and we've kicked off summer. Youknow, Memorial Day, in addition to
recognizing all of our heroes and ourveterans, is also kind of considered the
first major holiday and the kickoff ofthe summer season. And boy, we
are just going to have an amazingsummer. And if you're looking for outdoor
(02:46):
activity, Gaylared is the place todo. We have some of the best
Michigan's best outdoor recreation opportunities right herein Galor, Michigan. You've got a
great hacket that I'm assuming if peoplego online they can request that through Gaelor
Tourism and have that sense of theirhouse. Because you want to be planning
(03:09):
something, even if it's for thefall, you want to be planning it
now. I want to first talkabout people who want to plan a trip
to Gailard, whether it's you know, towards the end of the summer or
the fall. Paul, what aboutlodging? What are your recommendations? You
do have hotels book early, ofcourse, what else should people know,
like we always say, you know, I worked for the Hotel Book Early
(03:30):
Book often Phil, and you know, we have really been blessed with some
new hotel properties in Gialard over thelast three or four years. We've got
a Hilton True, a Holiday andExpress, a comfort In which is brand
new, which is a Diamond Awardwinner, and the comfort In Chain,
(03:52):
and then are other properties. Youknow, tree Tops and at Sego have
put millions of dollars into their renovation. Tree Tops is redone all of their
rooms and they've redone their condominium unitswhich for a family, for a group
of golfers there, they're phenomenal.Seago Club has just completed a number of
(04:12):
renovations and improved their golf course operationstremendously. The Tribute golf course at at
Sego is as good as any golfcourse in the Midwest. So and you
know, and a lot of greatcottages and cabins. Gaylord has over ninety
small lakes and so that over ninetyand so the opportunities to rent a cabin
(04:38):
on the lake on a small lakeare just amazing. My good friend Sandy
Mattingley has a little company called pineCone Vacations, and you know, if
you're not comfortable going online and bookbooking through VRBO, call up Sandy and
she can walk you through and takecare of your booking. And she amazing
(05:00):
service too, so you have someoneto talk to, you know. You
know, just a wide range oflodging you mentioned, you know, condos
and cabins, especially at Seago Cluband Tree Tops. A lot of people
plan family reunions, get togethers.That's a great thing to do is to
look at the property options there andrentals you mentioned Sandy's Pine Cone vacation rentals.
(05:26):
There are lots of things to do, and with those ninety lakes you
probably could end up pretty darn closeto some water. Let's talk Paul Beach
now about Galer trails. You've gotan incredible hiking and biking trail system.
Really trails that are built for everylevel of endurance, from somebody who wants
(05:48):
to be kind of on a chill, slow walk to enjoy nature, to
people who are going to go youknow, full guns, mountain biking,
off road really just are for theadventure. What are some of your more
popular trails in the area, youknow, and it sometimes it sounds like
(06:08):
an overused phrase where it's like,wow, we have something for everybody,
but I'll tell you we really do. From paved trails that are shorter in
length. At Aspen Park, whereyou can see Michigan's our city maintains an
al Kurd. It goes right alongupond so you can go to Aspen.
It's got almost two miles of pavedtrail and there's a ten k single track
(06:32):
for mountain biking that's very technical.It's very beautiful at Aspen, you know,
and it ranges all the way upto You could go to the Shingle
Mill Pathway phill at the Pigeon RiverForest, which is very rustic. It
follows along the forest. You couldyou can do loops of two miles,
six miles. You can do aneleven mile loop and make an entire day
(06:55):
of it. You could go overto Pine Barren Pathway, which is a
beautiful pathway maintained by the DNR.You can hike, you can take a
mountain bike there. It's a littlenot as hilly and it's great for an
intermediate trail or again maybe taking yourteenagers for a hike, or you can
take your mountain bikes over there,so you know, you mentioned our website.
(07:17):
You're taking a glance at some ofour publications. We produce these really
cool little guides. It's called apocket guide to the trails in the Galored
area and will highlight the trails.You put it in your backpack. And
we also produce one for lakes,so we feature eleven of our favorite lakes
(07:38):
and it gives the contour of thelake where you can put your boat in
the depth of the lake. Whatyou know, we do a little explanation
of what the lake. Excuse me, I'm unfold of the lake pocket guide
as we talk. And this isamazing. This is radio. I'll hold
it up to the microphone for alistening audience, but you can't see it.
(07:59):
But it's really cool and I'm sorryto interrupt. Otziegel Lake is so
big and so beautiful, and Imean the recreation activities. You mentioned Pickerel
Lake. We were talking about thetrail by Pickerel Lake. A lot of
these lakes I didn't even know existed, Big Bear Lake, Big Chubb Lake,
Big Bradford Lake. And you've gota whole guide here because you know
(08:22):
you mentioned a lot of people loveto put a boat in, but they
don't want to be on an overboatedlake, you know. They want to
just put a boat in and throwout a line and just chill in their
boat yep, or you know.And that's the great thing about our lakes.
Some people are you know, geta little intimidated taking a kayak or
a stand up paddle board fill outon the big lake and there's so many
(08:46):
great little launching spots where you don'thave to worry about a lot of boat
traffic. You can explore. Andagain you don't have to worry about some
of the great lakes where the windscan kick up and things can get dangerous
in a hurry, and we justdon't find that. We always recommend that
you take a life vest with you, but if you want to explore on
(09:07):
your kayaker, your stand up paddleboard, just there's some amazing out of
the way lakes up there, andwe'll be happy to send you our lakes
guide at no cost. Look usup at Galard Michigan dot net. We
can send you our hiking guide.Of course, we were always happy to
send our visitor Guide, a verycomprehensive a guide to our lodging and recommendations
(09:31):
on day hikes and we do somerecommended day trips. So just we're really
there to help you out, helpyou plan your vacation. We haven't even
talked about golf, so stick around. That's coming up. We're speaking with
Paul Beach now, executive director GaillardTourism Bureau. Everything we're talking about and
more really just an amazing website atGalardmichigan dot net. Galard Michigan dot net.
(09:56):
While we were just talking about fishing, dumbled upon the fact that next
weekend, Saturday, June eight,Sunday, June night, free fishing weekend,
so you don't have to have alicense, so you can drive up
to the beautiful Gaillard and put yourboat in and then go over and have
a beer at Pole's house afterwords.I'm not going to tell you on the
radio where he lives, but youmight see him about town. I want
(10:18):
to talk about concerts before we switchedto the golf mecca, that the Gaylord
area is you do outdoor concerts inthe downtown area, which I didn't know
this in Gailard. Is this anew thing where you're expanding, Yeah,
so this is a fairly new thing. A snowboat by the Way. Snow
Belt Brewery is usually where you willfind me after five sometimes on the weekends.
(10:43):
It's my hangout, great little groupup. But their marketing manager,
Jordan Auri, just had this visionto expand opportunities for entertainment and started the
summer concert series. It kicked offon May the tenth and every Friday there
(11:03):
are great local Northern Michigan acts.It's free at charge. You can grab
yourself a beer in our social district. It's it's allowed by the state and
you can walk around with a beer, enjoy some entertainment. And it has
been absolutely filling downtown. It's justabsolutely a blast to come into downtown Galer
(11:26):
on Friday nights and we've had somany new restaurants fill over the past couple
of years. You want to takea break and go grab a bite after
entertainment. It's just it's a greatvibe right now. Okay, Paul,
We've got a couple of minutes leftto talk about golf, which I think
is a shame. We could dothe whole segment on golf, but suffice
(11:46):
to say, some of the mostbeautiful golf courses in the state. Scenery
that you will it will just takeyour breath away. Even if you're just
standing on the course, not evenplaying, it will truly take your breath
away. We mentioned at Seagull Clubof course Tree Tops with several world class
courses. What should people do justif they don't know much about golf in
(12:09):
the greater Galored area, where dothey start? So you can go to
we have a separate website just forgolf. It's galardgolf Meeca dot com.
We've been marketing golf for thirty sevenyears now. We have sixteen member properties.
They're all eighteen whole courses open tothe public. But the coolest thing
(12:30):
about our marketing co op fill isthe golf packages. So it's the ultimate
and customer service. We have alodging partners. When you go to galor
goolf Mecca dot com, look upour deals and discounts and specials. They're
posted online. But any of ourpackaged partners will book your tea time,
they'll book your room, so youcome in, you pay once with your
(12:52):
credit card, you get a voucherand they can help you play courses that
you're most accustomed to. And youmentioned a couple of our courses but glared
Golf Club, Black Lake, MishawayPines, Lakes of the North. I
mean, some of our standalone eighteenhole golf courses are just absolutely beautiful and
(13:13):
they're just fun to play. They'realways impeccably maintained. But golf has really
been a leader and allowed Gaylor tostand apart for all of Michigan with with
what we call our Galor Golf Meccamarketing co op. So I'm just gonna
remind all the moms and wives andkids that Father's Day is two weeks away,
(13:35):
and i mean, come on,dad needs another tie, like he
needs another golf club in the sideof the head. Sixteen of the best
golf courses you will find in northernMichigan. I think dad wants to go
golfing in Galored Golf Mecca. I'mjust saying, Galardgolf Mecca dot com,
Gillard goolf Mecca dot com. Tocheck out any of those sixteen courses,
(13:58):
and don't think you won't get teatime. I mean, maybe you want
to plan a trip for August orSeptember, but do it now. Check
it out and this is just oneof those great areas. If your dad
hasn't been there. You know thisis a father son weekend or a father
daughter weekend with golf. Perfect opportunityand not to be missed. Paul Beach,
No, we're out of time.Did I not cover anything? Something
(14:22):
I missed? I hope so otherwiseto take Gaylordmichigan dot net. Right,
yeah, go to Galord Michigan onnet. But I think we miss so
much. I might have to doanother show you with you one of these
days. But no, we coveredit. Great viewscapes, great elevation changes,
five major river systems starting Galar.The fishing, we didn't even talk
(14:43):
about fishing. Fishing's great. Butanyway, we'd love to see you.
We love welcoming guests into our quaintlittle downtown. And again, Feil,
thank you so much for having meon the show and talking about all the
great things on Gaylor All Outdoors.You do it well and you make it
easy. Thank you. Paul Beachnow executive director Gaylord Tourism Bureau. He's
been our guest on this segment ofWest Michigan Weekend. You stick around,
(15:07):
We have more coming up on theprogram. Right after this, he ran
for state office and was beaten,started a business and failed, ran for
Congress and lost, but thankfully AbrahamLincoln didn't give up persistence. Pass it
on from the Foundation for a BetterLife at Values dot Com. Welcome back.
It's West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio.Thank you so much for tuning in,
(15:28):
and happy Sunday to you. Inthis segment, man, we are
way overdue to catch up with ourfriends at Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids,
and I thought we would do justthat on our liveline as Jill Wallace.
Jill is Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Vice president of Operations with Goodwill
of Greater Grand Rapids, and Jill, it's great to have you back on
(15:52):
West Michigan Weekend on iHeartRadio. Thankyou so much for having me. I
think it's been only about six sevenyears. And I know it's been a
while because we did have you onthis program a long time ago, but
you know, COVID kind of threweverything off, so we're playing catch up
and there's a lot to really Goodwill. Jill. It's so ubiquitous, it's
(16:14):
in so many hometowns across the UnitedStates, but it's also been a part
of this country for a long time. And you were telling me. The
first Goodwill actually opened like well overone hundred and twenty years ago, is
that right correct? So Goodwill wasfounded in nineteen o two by a reverend
by the name of Edgar J.Holmes out of Boston, Massachusetts, and
(16:37):
essentially he created a philosophy of ahandout, not a hand up. So
he collected uth household goods and clothingthat was being discarded in the wealthier areas
of Boston, and he trained andhired people to repair the used goods for
resale. And that is really theoriginal concept of Goodwill. Wow. And
(16:59):
the first Grand Rapids Goodwill store cameabout in the what was the nineteen sixties
yep, nineteen sixty six local communityleaders in United Way they formed Goodwill of
Greater Grand Rapids and originally we servedpeople in Kent County. We have certainly
expanded that, but the basis wasto provide no cost job training and placement
(17:25):
services to individuals with barriers to employments, and we've obviously just grown from there.
A lot to cover regarding goodwill,not only the donation process, an
online component to goodwill, which alot of people probably don't know about.
So we'll talk to you about that, but a big part of Goodwill of
Greater Grand Rapids and goodwill industries acrossthe country and across the globe if you
(17:51):
Will is the training and career servicescomponent. You guys are well known for
training people for careers. One ofthe biggest areas you do career training in
is certified nursing Assistants. I havea family member, Jill, in a
senior care facility. He's in memorycare and it is a constant turnover.
(18:12):
It's a constant challenge because there areso many of these senior care facilities,
so many people needing good round toclock care. It's a huge area for
growth and Goodwill plays a great partthere in training these people right. We
absolutely do so. We offer nineprograms and our largest program that's our Certified
(18:34):
Nurse Aid Training and it prepares individualsto pass the Nurse Aid Exam, the
State of Michigan Exam, and finda job in the healthcare industry. We
are running these classes on a regularbasis. They're always full. The great
part about this is upon graduation,we have a job here and almost every
(18:55):
single individual is hired the day theywalk out the door. So it's so
great to see and there's such aneed in West Michigan. Yeah, there's
a need. I mean there's aneed all over the place. How do
people find you? I mean typically, how do people say, oh,
I didn't realize I could get trained, especially for CNA training through Goodwill?
How does that process happen? Sothe best way is to visit our website
(19:18):
at goodwillgr dot org. We listall of our programs, give the specifics
you will be talking with some anindividual job coach. We provide that with
all of our training services. Soif you visit our website, there will
be specific phone numbers and email addressesfor each specific program, all right,
(19:38):
and that training is something that happensyear round, Jill, The certified nurse
training does happen year round. Actually, all of our trainings happen year round.
One of our flagship training programs istitled Achieve, and that provides intensive
program and support services to job seekerswho are from a wide variety of backgrounds,
(20:00):
and that includes age as well asjob experience. We provide services to
individuals who are on house to havemaybe struggle with substance abuse, things like
that. So it's across the board. And while we do have nine programs.
We're not boxing anyone in our job. Coaches will help anyone who has
(20:23):
a passion that's outside of any ofthese training programs. Our goal is to
help individuals become employed but also retainthat employment. We follow individuals for a
year after they've become employed. Andthat's what's so unique about Goodwill. Yeah,
you can find Goodwill online at goodwillgrdot org, goodwillgr dot o RG.
(20:47):
Jill Wallace is with us from Goodwillof Greater Grand Rapids. Jill,
I'm curious. Goodwill has been aroundfor a long time. It's been here
in West Michigan for almost sixty years. That's kind of mind blowing. How
has I mean, you've been withGoodwill a while, how has the company
evolved? When people say how haveyou guys changed over the years, what
do you think the biggest change hasbeen? Well, so I have actually
(21:11):
been with Goodwill for eighteen years,so I have been fortunate to write to
really see the evolution. And whenI started, we had ten stores.
We now have eighteen stores. Wealso have an outlet. But the really,
I guess the biggest thing that Iconsider that has happened for us is
we have internalized our mission. Sowhile all of our retail revenue it provides
(21:37):
dollars going towards our job training andplacement services. We have internalized our mission,
meaning we don't just serve participants externally. People that are employed with us,
we provide them services. So weprovide them with a job coach.
If someone who's employed at Goodwill andthey are looking for a different career path
(21:59):
or they would like to make moremoney, we are there to support that.
We provide a personal development growth planfor them. They have an individual
coach who helps them achieve those goalsand they can find out more Goodwill gr
dot org. And again, alot of people maybe looking for training,
maybe can afford a technical or careerschool. This is a great opportunity to
(22:23):
get trained through Goodwill or Greater GrandRapids. And we talked about the certified
nurse assistant training. That is ahuge need. It is something that's certainly
not going to let up in thenext year or five, so that's something
you want to keep in mind aswell. It's interesting to note, Jill
Wallace, thatety cents of every dollarfor items sold in your Goodwill stores,
(22:47):
and for instance, you mentioned eighteenstores across Grand Rapids, ninety cents of
every dollar goes back into your trainingprograms. Right, Yes, that's correct.
And our retail revenue we contribute alittle more than two point three million
towards our mission services every year.And you know, so many people they
don't realize Goodwill is a nonprofit,but we are a social enterprise and our
(23:11):
revenues are used to fund the missionwith forty six percent grant based funded and
fifty four percent is retail funded.Well, that's really interesting. Jill Wallace
is with us Goodwill Industries of GreaterGrand Rapids. Goodwill gr dot org.
Is the website goodwillgr dot org.I want to real quickly again tell people,
(23:33):
Jill, if they are interested intraining and career advising and career services,
did they just go to the websiteor is there a specific number or
place they should go. If youwould go to our website and quick on
training and you will have all nineprograms listed which will give you a specific
individual to reach out to via emailor phone. Yeah, some pretty compelling
(23:57):
data in here. You're twenty twentythree nonumbers, four hundred and sixty two
job starts, over eighteen hundred peopleserved, average starting wage of seventeen dollars
an hour three cents and average startingwage with credentials that might be I'm assuming
Jill a CNA credentialing nineteen almost twentydollars an hour, and you can learn
(24:21):
about all the program there, andthere are a lot of the programs there,
as Jill said, nine of thoseat goodwillgr dot org. You also
told me, and I tease thisat the beginning of our segment, there's
a place you can shop Goodwill online. And this is actually, if I
heard you right, and correct meif I'm wrong, where you can find
some of the more unique and morevaluable things that have been donated to Goodwill,
(24:45):
which go on a website called Shopgodwilldot com. I'm assuming savvy shoppers
already knew about this, and PhilTowers just late to the game here,
but shopgodwill dot com this is areally the amazing website. I'm on the
website and it's every imaginable category.I'm looking at five Brazilian machetes right now
(25:07):
for twenty seven dollars, and it'skind of like an eBay, but for
more valuable Goodwill items. Is thatis that right? That's correct? So
when somebody makes a donation, wewant to maximize that donation, so whether
it ends up on our sales flooror if it is recycled or the more
valuable donations like you're referencing, theygo on our website called shopgodwill dot com
(25:32):
that was actually started out of OrangeCounty, California, and most of the
goodwills. There are one hundred andfifty five good wills across the state.
Most of the goodwills are a partof this, and you can search by
specific goodwill. So let's say,for instance, you want to buy a
snowboard, I would probably shop atthe Denver Goodwill. You know, you
(25:52):
can be very specific for items you'relooking for. A lot of them are
sporting good items, collectibles, lotsof collectibles there are there are clothing,
textiles on the site, higher endproduct, Gucci, things like that.
So when people make a donation,we're able to maximize that and that money
goes right back into our job trainingand placement programs. I found a General
(26:14):
Electric Electric forty channel CBE radio.I don't know if anybody would be on
the CBE radio, but this isjust I typed in radio Jill. This
is dangerous. I could get lostin here for the rest of our interview,
so I'm going to stop looking atShopcodwill dot com. This is fascinating,
it's really really interesting. And again, clothing, jewelry, books,
(26:37):
cameras, vintage stuff, collectibles,computers and electronics art it's all there at
Shopgodwill dot com and eighteen stores acrossGrand Rapids. Let's talk quickly before we
run out of time. First thing, and I think a lot of people
need to hear this. On allten of our iHeartRadio stations, you accept
(27:00):
ripped and not wearable clothing, evenone shoe because you recycle those those products.
I've got just less than two minutesleft. What do you not want
people to bring to good Will Industriesthe Greater Grand Rapids mattresses and any child
cribs, things like that. Andif you have a flat screen TV and
(27:22):
it doesn't work, we prefer younot donate it to us. Those items
we have to pay to put inthe landfill. Unfortunately, we do strip
down electronics so you can donate computersand such. But in twenty twenty three
we received about twenty six million poundsof donations from the community and through our
(27:44):
stores. And our recycling efforts.We were able to divert around nineteen million
pounds of that from landfills, soover seventy three percent of all donated materials
found a new home. So obviouslyGoodwill is we're very focused on recycling.
Goodwill is the largest recycler of textilesin the nation, so that is near
(28:08):
and dear to our heart. Soone sock, ripped underwear, a ripped
jean shirt that maybe has a hugehole in the back, that's all stuff
you can donate because those fabrics willbe recycled and it is a huge part
of supporting Goodwill Industries or Greater GrandRapids and beyond. Jill Wallace with us.
Jill is the chief Communications and MarketingOfficer, Vice president of Operations for
(28:33):
Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids again onlineat goodwillgr dot org. Jill, I'm
so glad we could catch up.Let's not wait another six or seven years
again. Okay, that sounds great, and thank you for having me.
Thank you so much, boy,we learned a lot. Jill Wallace,
our guest on this segment of WestMichigan Weekend from Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand
Rapids. Be sure to check outthe website goodwillgr dot org. And that's
(28:57):
our program for this week. Thankyou so much for tuning in. Let's
do this again next week right hereon this iHeartRadio station. I'm Phil Tower.
We appreciate you listening. iHeartMedia WestMichigan Weekend a public affairs program
iHeartMedia West Michigan Weekend a public affairsprogram. Hey, it's West Michigan Weekend
from iHeartRadio. Thank you so muchfor tuning in and Happy Sunday, Happy
first Sunday in June. To you. This is host Phil Tower across whatever
iHeartRadio station you happen to be tunedinto. And of course we're a podcast.
After you hear us on the radio, you can find us on a
(00:24):
left hand side of the page atWood radio dot com. We're overdue to
bring you know every now and in. I was like, I haven't had
this person on in a while,and we're overdue to Welcome back. Paul
Beach now the executive director of GalorTourism Bureau, and he is in studio
with us. Because Paul's that kindof guy you try to avoid having him
(00:46):
on the phone because he's just aforce to be reckoned with. And he's
here in person and looking good asalways. Paul Beach Now, welcome back
to West Michigan Weekend. Phil,Thanks so much for having me. It's
always great to be here and comedown to just one of the great cities
in Michigan other than Gaillard. Well, I am bubbling for enthusiasm about Gaylard.
(01:10):
And by the way, I havereceived no compensation. I have not
been enticed with chocolate or anything.But I want to tell you my wife
and I have been really fortunate.It's spent a number of days and years
in Galard and it is a wonderfulplace to visit and we haven't even discovered
half the things to do there.So it's really we like to highlight different
(01:34):
places across our great state of Michigan, and it's good. We remind you
not only is it great in thewinter time, but it is a golf
mecca. It's a place full ofwater you can recreate on Atseiego Lake,
one of the biggest lakes in thestate of Michigan, and trails to explore
galore, and it's an area PaulBeach now that our listeners should know geographically
(01:57):
really spreads way beyond the actual cityof Gaylor, it does, you know,
Gaylard is really in the sweetest partof Michigan. We are in the
center, very center part in northernMichigan, about an hour from Macanon,
hour from Alpina, hour from TraverseCity. So in addition to the great
things in Gaylard, Phil, youcan take day trips from Gaylord very easily.
(02:23):
There's just so much to do.We're so excited that we're into June
and we've kicked off summer. Youknow, Memorial Day, in addition to
recognizing all of our heroes and ourveterans, is also kind of considered the
first major holiday and the kickoff ofthe summer season. And boy, we
are just going to have an amazingsummer. And if you're looking for outdoor
(02:46):
activity, Gaylared is the place todo. We have some of the best
Michigan's best outdoor recreation opportunities right herein Galor, Michigan. You've got a
great hacket that I'm assuming if peoplego online they can request that through Gaelor
Tourism and have that sense of theirhouse. Because you want to be planning
(03:09):
something, even if it's for thefall, you want to be planning it
now. I want to first talkabout people who want to plan a trip
to Gailard, whether it's you know, towards the end of the summer or
the fall. Paul, what aboutlodging? What are your recommendations? You
do have hotels book early, ofcourse, what else should people know,
like we always say, you know, I worked for the Hotel Book Early
(03:30):
Book often Phil, and you know, we have really been blessed with some
new hotel properties in Gialard over thelast three or four years. We've got
a Hilton True, a Holiday andExpress, a comfort In which is brand
new, which is a Diamond Awardwinner, and the comfort In Chain,
(03:52):
and then are other properties. Youknow, tree Tops and at Sego have
put millions of dollars into their renovation. Tree Tops is redone all of their
rooms and they've redone their condominium unitswhich for a family, for a group
of golfers there, they're phenomenal.Seago Club has just completed a number of
(04:12):
renovations and improved their golf course operationstremendously. The Tribute golf course at at
Sego is as good as any golfcourse in the Midwest. So and you
know, and a lot of greatcottages and cabins. Gaylord has over ninety
small lakes and so that over ninetyand so the opportunities to rent a cabin
(04:38):
on the lake on a small lakeare just amazing. My good friend Sandy
Mattingley has a little company called pineCone Vacations, and you know, if
you're not comfortable going online and bookbooking through VRBO, call up Sandy and
she can walk you through and takecare of your booking. And she amazing
(05:00):
service too, so you have someoneto talk to, you know. You
know, just a wide range oflodging you mentioned, you know, condos
and cabins, especially at Seago Cluband Tree Tops. A lot of people
plan family reunions, get togethers.That's a great thing to do is to
look at the property options there andrentals you mentioned Sandy's Pine Cone vacation rentals.
(05:26):
There are lots of things to do, and with those ninety lakes you
probably could end up pretty darn closeto some water. Let's talk Paul Beach
now about Galer trails. You've gotan incredible hiking and biking trail system.
Really trails that are built for everylevel of endurance, from somebody who wants
(05:48):
to be kind of on a chill, slow walk to enjoy nature, to
people who are going to go youknow, full guns, mountain biking,
off road really just are for theadventure. What are some of your more
popular trails in the area, youknow, and it sometimes it sounds like
(06:08):
an overused phrase where it's like,wow, we have something for everybody,
but I'll tell you we really do. From paved trails that are shorter in
length. At Aspen Park, whereyou can see Michigan's our city maintains an
al Kurd. It goes right alongupond so you can go to Aspen.
It's got almost two miles of pavedtrail and there's a ten k single track
(06:32):
for mountain biking that's very technical.It's very beautiful at Aspen, you know,
and it ranges all the way upto You could go to the Shingle
Mill Pathway phill at the Pigeon RiverForest, which is very rustic. It
follows along the forest. You couldyou can do loops of two miles,
six miles. You can do aneleven mile loop and make an entire day
(06:55):
of it. You could go overto Pine Barren Pathway, which is a
beautiful pathway maintained by the DNR.You can hike, you can take a
mountain bike there. It's a littlenot as hilly and it's great for an
intermediate trail or again maybe taking yourteenagers for a hike, or you can
take your mountain bikes over there,so you know, you mentioned our website.
(07:17):
You're taking a glance at some ofour publications. We produce these really
cool little guides. It's called apocket guide to the trails in the Galored
area and will highlight the trails.You put it in your backpack. And
we also produce one for lakes,so we feature eleven of our favorite lakes
(07:38):
and it gives the contour of thelake where you can put your boat in
the depth of the lake. Whatyou know, we do a little explanation
of what the lake. Excuse me, I'm unfold of the lake pocket guide
as we talk. And this isamazing. This is radio. I'll hold
it up to the microphone for alistening audience, but you can't see it.
(07:59):
But it's really cool and I'm sorryto interrupt. Otziegel Lake is so
big and so beautiful, and Imean the recreation activities. You mentioned Pickerel
Lake. We were talking about thetrail by Pickerel Lake. A lot of
these lakes I didn't even know existed, Big Bear Lake, Big Chubb Lake,
Big Bradford Lake. And you've gota whole guide here because you know
(08:22):
you mentioned a lot of people loveto put a boat in, but they
don't want to be on an overboatedlake, you know. They want to
just put a boat in and throwout a line and just chill in their
boat yep, or you know.And that's the great thing about our lakes.
Some people are you know, geta little intimidated taking a kayak or
a stand up paddle board fill outon the big lake and there's so many
(08:46):
great little launching spots where you don'thave to worry about a lot of boat
traffic. You can explore. Andagain you don't have to worry about some
of the great lakes where the windscan kick up and things can get dangerous
in a hurry, and we justdon't find that. We always recommend that
you take a life vest with you, but if you want to explore on
(09:07):
your kayaker, your stand up paddleboard, just there's some amazing out of
the way lakes up there, andwe'll be happy to send you our lakes
guide at no cost. Look usup at Galard Michigan dot net. We
can send you our hiking guide.Of course, we were always happy to
send our visitor Guide, a verycomprehensive a guide to our lodging and recommendations
(09:31):
on day hikes and we do somerecommended day trips. So just we're really
there to help you out, helpyou plan your vacation. We haven't even
talked about golf, so stick around. That's coming up. We're speaking with
Paul Beach now, executive director GaillardTourism Bureau. Everything we're talking about and
more really just an amazing website atGalardmichigan dot net. Galard Michigan dot net.
(09:56):
While we were just talking about fishing, dumbled upon the fact that next
weekend, Saturday, June eight,Sunday, June night, free fishing weekend,
so you don't have to have alicense, so you can drive up
to the beautiful Gaillard and put yourboat in and then go over and have
a beer at Pole's house afterwords.I'm not going to tell you on the
radio where he lives, but youmight see him about town. I want
(10:18):
to talk about concerts before we switchedto the golf mecca, that the Gaylord
area is you do outdoor concerts inthe downtown area, which I didn't know
this in Gailard. Is this anew thing where you're expanding, Yeah,
so this is a fairly new thing. A snowboat by the Way. Snow
Belt Brewery is usually where you willfind me after five sometimes on the weekends.
(10:43):
It's my hangout, great little groupup. But their marketing manager,
Jordan Auri, just had this visionto expand opportunities for entertainment and started the
summer concert series. It kicked offon May the tenth and every Friday there
(11:03):
are great local Northern Michigan acts.It's free at charge. You can grab
yourself a beer in our social district. It's it's allowed by the state and
you can walk around with a beer, enjoy some entertainment. And it has
been absolutely filling downtown. It's justabsolutely a blast to come into downtown Galer
(11:26):
on Friday nights and we've had somany new restaurants fill over the past couple
of years. You want to takea break and go grab a bite after
entertainment. It's just it's a greatvibe right now. Okay, Paul,
We've got a couple of minutes leftto talk about golf, which I think
is a shame. We could dothe whole segment on golf, but suffice
(11:46):
to say, some of the mostbeautiful golf courses in the state. Scenery
that you will it will just takeyour breath away. Even if you're just
standing on the course, not evenplaying, it will truly take your breath
away. We mentioned at Seagull Clubof course Tree Tops with several world class
courses. What should people do justif they don't know much about golf in
(12:09):
the greater Galored area, where dothey start? So you can go to
we have a separate website just forgolf. It's galardgolf Meeca dot com.
We've been marketing golf for thirty sevenyears now. We have sixteen member properties.
They're all eighteen whole courses open tothe public. But the coolest thing
(12:30):
about our marketing co op fill isthe golf packages. So it's the ultimate
and customer service. We have alodging partners. When you go to galor
goolf Mecca dot com, look upour deals and discounts and specials. They're
posted online. But any of ourpackaged partners will book your tea time,
they'll book your room, so youcome in, you pay once with your
(12:52):
credit card, you get a voucherand they can help you play courses that
you're most accustomed to. And youmentioned a couple of our courses but glared
Golf Club, Black Lake, MishawayPines, Lakes of the North. I
mean, some of our standalone eighteenhole golf courses are just absolutely beautiful and
(13:13):
they're just fun to play. They'realways impeccably maintained. But golf has really
been a leader and allowed Gaylor tostand apart for all of Michigan with with
what we call our Galor Golf Meccamarketing co op. So I'm just gonna
remind all the moms and wives andkids that Father's Day is two weeks away,
(13:35):
and i mean, come on,dad needs another tie, like he
needs another golf club in the sideof the head. Sixteen of the best
golf courses you will find in northernMichigan. I think dad wants to go
golfing in Galored Golf Mecca. I'mjust saying, Galardgolf Mecca dot com,
Gillard goolf Mecca dot com. Tocheck out any of those sixteen courses,
(13:58):
and don't think you won't get teatime. I mean, maybe you want
to plan a trip for August orSeptember, but do it now. Check
it out and this is just oneof those great areas. If your dad
hasn't been there. You know thisis a father son weekend or a father
daughter weekend with golf. Perfect opportunityand not to be missed. Paul Beach,
No, we're out of time.Did I not cover anything? Something
(14:22):
I missed? I hope so otherwiseto take Gaylordmichigan dot net. Right,
yeah, go to Galord Michigan onnet. But I think we miss so
much. I might have to doanother show you with you one of these
days. But no, we coveredit. Great viewscapes, great elevation changes,
five major river systems starting Galar.The fishing, we didn't even talk
(14:43):
about fishing. Fishing's great. Butanyway, we'd love to see you.
We love welcoming guests into our quaintlittle downtown. And again, Feil,
thank you so much for having meon the show and talking about all the
great things on Gaylor All Outdoors.You do it well and you make it
easy. Thank you. Paul Beachnow executive director Gaylord Tourism Bureau. He's
been our guest on this segment ofWest Michigan Weekend. You stick around,
(15:07):
We have more coming up on theprogram. Right after this, he ran
for state office and was beaten,started a business and failed, ran for
Congress and lost, but thankfully AbrahamLincoln didn't give up persistence. Pass it
on from the Foundation for a BetterLife at Values dot Com. Welcome back.
It's West Michigan Weekend from iHeartRadio.Thank you so much for tuning in,
(15:28):
and happy Sunday to you. Inthis segment, man, we are
way overdue to catch up with ourfriends at Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids,
and I thought we would do justthat on our liveline as Jill Wallace.
Jill is Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Vice president of Operations with Goodwill
of Greater Grand Rapids, and Jill, it's great to have you back on
(15:52):
West Michigan Weekend on iHeartRadio. Thankyou so much for having me. I
think it's been only about six sevenyears. And I know it's been a
while because we did have you onthis program a long time ago, but
you know, COVID kind of threweverything off, so we're playing catch up
and there's a lot to really Goodwill. Jill. It's so ubiquitous, it's
(16:14):
in so many hometowns across the UnitedStates, but it's also been a part
of this country for a long time. And you were telling me. The
first Goodwill actually opened like well overone hundred and twenty years ago, is
that right correct? So Goodwill wasfounded in nineteen o two by a reverend
by the name of Edgar J.Holmes out of Boston, Massachusetts, and
(16:37):
essentially he created a philosophy of ahandout, not a hand up. So
he collected uth household goods and clothingthat was being discarded in the wealthier areas
of Boston, and he trained andhired people to repair the used goods for
resale. And that is really theoriginal concept of Goodwill. Wow. And
(16:59):
the first Grand Rapids Goodwill store cameabout in the what was the nineteen sixties
yep, nineteen sixty six local communityleaders in United Way they formed Goodwill of
Greater Grand Rapids and originally we servedpeople in Kent County. We have certainly
expanded that, but the basis wasto provide no cost job training and placement
(17:25):
services to individuals with barriers to employments, and we've obviously just grown from there.
A lot to cover regarding goodwill,not only the donation process, an
online component to goodwill, which alot of people probably don't know about.
So we'll talk to you about that, but a big part of Goodwill of
Greater Grand Rapids and goodwill industries acrossthe country and across the globe if you
(17:51):
Will is the training and career servicescomponent. You guys are well known for
training people for careers. One ofthe biggest areas you do career training in
is certified nursing Assistants. I havea family member, Jill, in a
senior care facility. He's in memorycare and it is a constant turnover.
(18:12):
It's a constant challenge because there areso many of these senior care facilities,
so many people needing good round toclock care. It's a huge area for
growth and Goodwill plays a great partthere in training these people right. We
absolutely do so. We offer nineprograms and our largest program that's our Certified
(18:34):
Nurse Aid Training and it prepares individualsto pass the Nurse Aid Exam, the
State of Michigan Exam, and finda job in the healthcare industry. We
are running these classes on a regularbasis. They're always full. The great
part about this is upon graduation,we have a job here and almost every
(18:55):
single individual is hired the day theywalk out the door. So it's so
great to see and there's such aneed in West Michigan. Yeah, there's
a need. I mean there's aneed all over the place. How do
people find you? I mean typically, how do people say, oh,
I didn't realize I could get trained, especially for CNA training through Goodwill?
How does that process happen? Sothe best way is to visit our website
(19:18):
at goodwillgr dot org. We listall of our programs, give the specifics
you will be talking with some anindividual job coach. We provide that with
all of our training services. Soif you visit our website, there will
be specific phone numbers and email addressesfor each specific program, all right,
(19:38):
and that training is something that happensyear round, Jill, The certified nurse
training does happen year round. Actually, all of our trainings happen year round.
One of our flagship training programs istitled Achieve, and that provides intensive
program and support services to job seekerswho are from a wide variety of backgrounds,
(20:00):
and that includes age as well asjob experience. We provide services to
individuals who are on house to havemaybe struggle with substance abuse, things like
that. So it's across the board. And while we do have nine programs.
We're not boxing anyone in our job. Coaches will help anyone who has
(20:23):
a passion that's outside of any ofthese training programs. Our goal is to
help individuals become employed but also retainthat employment. We follow individuals for a
year after they've become employed. Andthat's what's so unique about Goodwill. Yeah,
you can find Goodwill online at goodwillgrdot org, goodwillgr dot o RG.
(20:47):
Jill Wallace is with us from Goodwillof Greater Grand Rapids. Jill,
I'm curious. Goodwill has been aroundfor a long time. It's been here
in West Michigan for almost sixty years. That's kind of mind blowing. How
has I mean, you've been withGoodwill a while, how has the company
evolved? When people say how haveyou guys changed over the years, what
do you think the biggest change hasbeen? Well, so I have actually
(21:11):
been with Goodwill for eighteen years,so I have been fortunate to write to
really see the evolution. And whenI started, we had ten stores.
We now have eighteen stores. Wealso have an outlet. But the really,
I guess the biggest thing that Iconsider that has happened for us is
we have internalized our mission. Sowhile all of our retail revenue it provides
(21:37):
dollars going towards our job training andplacement services. We have internalized our mission,
meaning we don't just serve participants externally. People that are employed with us,
we provide them services. So weprovide them with a job coach.
If someone who's employed at Goodwill andthey are looking for a different career path
(21:59):
or they would like to make moremoney, we are there to support that.
We provide a personal development growth planfor them. They have an individual
coach who helps them achieve those goalsand they can find out more Goodwill gr
dot org. And again, alot of people maybe looking for training,
maybe can afford a technical or careerschool. This is a great opportunity to
(22:23):
get trained through Goodwill or Greater GrandRapids. And we talked about the certified
nurse assistant training. That is ahuge need. It is something that's certainly
not going to let up in thenext year or five, so that's something
you want to keep in mind aswell. It's interesting to note, Jill
Wallace, thatety cents of every dollarfor items sold in your Goodwill stores,
(22:47):
and for instance, you mentioned eighteenstores across Grand Rapids, ninety cents of
every dollar goes back into your trainingprograms. Right, Yes, that's correct.
And our retail revenue we contribute alittle more than two point three million
towards our mission services every year.And you know, so many people they
don't realize Goodwill is a nonprofit,but we are a social enterprise and our
(23:11):
revenues are used to fund the missionwith forty six percent grant based funded and
fifty four percent is retail funded.Well, that's really interesting. Jill Wallace
is with us Goodwill Industries of GreaterGrand Rapids. Goodwill gr dot org.
Is the website goodwillgr dot org.I want to real quickly again tell people,
(23:33):
Jill, if they are interested intraining and career advising and career services,
did they just go to the websiteor is there a specific number or
place they should go. If youwould go to our website and quick on
training and you will have all nineprograms listed which will give you a specific
individual to reach out to via emailor phone. Yeah, some pretty compelling
(23:57):
data in here. You're twenty twentythree nonumbers, four hundred and sixty two
job starts, over eighteen hundred peopleserved, average starting wage of seventeen dollars
an hour three cents and average startingwage with credentials that might be I'm assuming
Jill a CNA credentialing nineteen almost twentydollars an hour, and you can learn
(24:21):
about all the program there, andthere are a lot of the programs there,
as Jill said, nine of thoseat goodwillgr dot org. You also
told me, and I tease thisat the beginning of our segment, there's
a place you can shop Goodwill online. And this is actually, if I
heard you right, and correct meif I'm wrong, where you can find
some of the more unique and morevaluable things that have been donated to Goodwill,
(24:45):
which go on a website called Shopgodwilldot com. I'm assuming savvy shoppers
already knew about this, and PhilTowers just late to the game here,
but shopgodwill dot com this is areally the amazing website. I'm on the
website and it's every imaginable category.I'm looking at five Brazilian machetes right now
(25:07):
for twenty seven dollars, and it'skind of like an eBay, but for
more valuable Goodwill items. Is thatis that right? That's correct? So
when somebody makes a donation, wewant to maximize that donation, so whether
it ends up on our sales flooror if it is recycled or the more
valuable donations like you're referencing, theygo on our website called shopgodwill dot com
(25:32):
that was actually started out of OrangeCounty, California, and most of the
goodwills. There are one hundred andfifty five good wills across the state.
Most of the goodwills are a partof this, and you can search by
specific goodwill. So let's say,for instance, you want to buy a
snowboard, I would probably shop atthe Denver Goodwill. You know, you
(25:52):
can be very specific for items you'relooking for. A lot of them are
sporting good items, collectibles, lotsof collectibles there are there are clothing,
textiles on the site, higher endproduct, Gucci, things like that.
So when people make a donation,we're able to maximize that and that money
goes right back into our job trainingand placement programs. I found a General
(26:14):
Electric Electric forty channel CBE radio.I don't know if anybody would be on
the CBE radio, but this isjust I typed in radio Jill. This
is dangerous. I could get lostin here for the rest of our interview,
so I'm going to stop looking atShopcodwill dot com. This is fascinating,
it's really really interesting. And again, clothing, jewelry, books,
(26:37):
cameras, vintage stuff, collectibles,computers and electronics art it's all there at
Shopgodwill dot com and eighteen stores acrossGrand Rapids. Let's talk quickly before we
run out of time. First thing, and I think a lot of people
need to hear this. On allten of our iHeartRadio stations, you accept
(27:00):
ripped and not wearable clothing, evenone shoe because you recycle those those products.
I've got just less than two minutesleft. What do you not want
people to bring to good Will Industriesthe Greater Grand Rapids mattresses and any child
cribs, things like that. Andif you have a flat screen TV and
(27:22):
it doesn't work, we prefer younot donate it to us. Those items
we have to pay to put inthe landfill. Unfortunately, we do strip
down electronics so you can donate computersand such. But in twenty twenty three
we received about twenty six million poundsof donations from the community and through our
(27:44):
stores. And our recycling efforts.We were able to divert around nineteen million
pounds of that from landfills, soover seventy three percent of all donated materials
found a new home. So obviouslyGoodwill is we're very focused on recycling.
Goodwill is the largest recycler of textilesin the nation, so that is near
(28:08):
and dear to our heart. Soone sock, ripped underwear, a ripped
jean shirt that maybe has a hugehole in the back, that's all stuff
you can donate because those fabrics willbe recycled and it is a huge part
of supporting Goodwill Industries or Greater GrandRapids and beyond. Jill Wallace with us.
Jill is the chief Communications and MarketingOfficer, Vice president of Operations for
(28:33):
Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids again onlineat goodwillgr dot org. Jill, I'm
so glad we could catch up.Let's not wait another six or seven years
again. Okay, that sounds great, and thank you for having me.
Thank you so much, boy,we learned a lot. Jill Wallace,
our guest on this segment of WestMichigan Weekend from Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand
Rapids. Be sure to check outthe website goodwillgr dot org. And that's
(28:57):
our program for this week. Thankyou so much for tuning in. Let's
do this again next week right hereon this iHeartRadio station. I'm Phil Tower.
We appreciate you listening. iHeartMedia WestMichigan Weekend a public affairs program
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