West Michigan CEO Summit

Andy Johston with the Grand Rapids Chamber joins us to discuss the West Michigan CEO Summit - taking place on June 10th and featuring keynote speaker Mark Dantonio. 

More information can be found here: https://grandrapids.org/event/west-michigan-ceo-summit/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is West Michigan's morning News. We'll get in four
and a half minutes to traffic and whether together to
address what's happening northbound one thirty one back in studio
with us Andy Johnson, Senior vice president of Advocacy and
Strategic Engagement for your Grand Rapids Chamber. Andy, thanks so
much for coming in today.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
We're going to get to the West Michigan CEO summit
because it's once again an all star lineup. But Schmidy
had in our trending segment another story, this one from
the BBC that puts Grand Rapids number four for places
to visit in the country. This is from another country
that's got to help sell some tickets too. Talk to

(00:41):
us a little bit about the buzz in Grand Rapids.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Well, like we've been saying at the chamber, Grandapas is
really having a moment.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
There's so much to do here.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
We definitely punch above our weight class as a mid
size city in the nation.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
So much to do here.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
All the museums, the zoo that we were talking about,
the golf courses, the disc golf courses, the biking trails.
It just goes on and on and there's so much
more to come with the amphitheater we were talking about
before the break or during the break, the master plane.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
At the zoo.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Maybe an amphitheater or aquarium coming. But the soccer stadium
un under construction, looks like a spaceship landed on that
amphitheater right over there. Like it's only getting better, It's
only getting better. It's a great time to be in
grund Rappans.

Speaker 4 (01:25):
And you've won me over with the keynote speaker, with
your CEO Summitt coming up June tenth. A guy knows
it a little bit about resilient edge and how to
organize people and how to get the most out of them.
Mark Dantonio, the former Spartan, great football coach.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
The tagline for that I have is half of you
are going to love it. Everyone's going to learn something
from him.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
As a Spartan. This was a really nice addition.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
And he left the most marked Antonio voicemail too, you know,
and when we were talking about getting him to speak,
but he does. He knows how to do this. Our
theme is a resilient edge for the event, and there's
nothing you know, season after season, how do you maintain
that edge. CEOs, business leaders, executives, they need to do

(02:09):
the same in their business. It's really easy to become complacent,
and when you become complacent, you start losing.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
So talk to us a little bit about the event.
It's June tenth. It's not just Mark D'Antonio.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
No, not just Marked antony.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Thanks, packed with CEOs and if you are in business
or would like to be, this is a must get
two event.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
This is one of our sponsors really said that this
is the best networking they do in Grand Rapids all year.
The thesis is simple, it's a Chamber of commerce thesis
for the event. If you can become a better leader
by learning from other leaders, you're going to create stronger
companies that create more job opportunities that contribute to a
thriving West Michigan. So we have a lot of executives

(02:49):
coming to deliver their leadership lessons with key takeaways that
you can have. I'm really excited Miguel Moreno, he's the
chief executive officer of Ross Cam Foods from Columbia. You're
gonna love his energy and his story about building trust
within an organization. Another one I would just highlight Andy
Havemeyer with Wealthy Street Bakery. He's got a story of

(03:11):
resilience and one time was homeless, now is growing his
business and expanding it. I remember him coming to the
chamber and being like, I don't know how to grow
past fifty employees, and he just bought the business from
the predecessor. He goes, now, I know why the predecessor
was so frustrated all the time, because it's tough being
at the top.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
It's lonely.

Speaker 3 (03:29):
So this is an opportunity for executives to get together
and share best practices.

Speaker 4 (03:33):
I just want to throw in a little plug too,
because we're very close with the Herman's Boy and that's
the hell of Meyer family. They're one of our great sponsors,
and so Andy has kind of branched off and done
great street great stuff with the Wealthy Street Bakery. So
cool story there. I also wanted to throw out a
couple of John Tuttle, president of Akroscher. I mean, just
what they're doing on the landscape is incredible.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
To the fastest growing companies in the history of capitalism.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
Something about a resilient edge. Yeah, so he knows something. Obviously.

Speaker 4 (03:59):
Greg McNeely is great too, CEO and president of the
win Quest Group.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah, he's our chair and he really created this theme
and drove it. It's exciting to see the umbrella of
umbrella that wind Quest has and the companies that they
have under his leadership.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
So he's going to be a great addition.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
And then doctor Paul Eisley, who I think we all
know from GDSU. He does a great job of breaking
down what's happening in the economy right now, better than
a lot of the national talking heads in my estimation.

Speaker 4 (04:26):
One favor Steve and I just want to be able
to get on the wind Quest boat if that's possible.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
So we'll see what we can do in Michigan. We'll see.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Don't think it's a passenger vessel that thanks to win exactly.
Mac Race, can you crew?

Speaker 2 (04:42):
What can you bring to the table. That's gonna be
his first question again.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
June tenth will put the link to register and get
involved in the podcast section at wood Radio dot com.
But Senior vice president of Advocacy and Strategic Engagement for
your Grand Rapids Chamber, Andy Johnston, great stuff, Thank you,
Thank you,