Someone probably should have sent President Barack Obama a
Stormy Kromer before his visit to the Upper Peninsula instead of waiting until he was here to give him one as a gift.
Obama, who visited Marquette last Thursday to tout wireless Internet access, exited Air Force One at KI Sawyer International Airport and was greeted by what the U.P. in February is well known for producing: sub-zero temperatures. The President, sans hat or gloves, then made his way via motorcade to Marquette. Along the way, he was cheered on by well wishers waving flags, holding signs and calling out to him. Even snowmobilers were stopped at trail heads and intersections, waving as the President's black SUV drove by.
"I think it's pretty cool that the President of the United States decided to come speak here in the Upper Peninsula," said Gabe Green, a 30-year-old tech at
Marquette General Hospital. "I think every Yooper and Marquette resident should take pride and be proud that the President chose to come here."
Obama--who is just the third sitting president to visit the Upper Peninsula after William Taft in 1911 and George W. Bush in 2004--was in town to speak at
Northern Michigan University, which has an extensive WiMax network to allow students throughout the county access to the Internet. The remarks at the college are part of the administration's effort to promote innovation and investment in infrastructure, which Obama focused on in his State of the Union address when he said he wanted the government to help make wireless Internet service available to 98 percent of Americans.
Obama spoke about the importance of the Internet and how it has the ability to completely change the face of a business, especially those in rural areas such as the Upper Peninsula.
Two local businesses that he mentioned by name were
Getz's Clothier and
VIO.
Getz's was ahead of its time when it opened a website in 1995 to offer its wares to the world. The company, which has been in operation since the 1880s and is still owned by the Getz family, has since seen Internet sales become a large part of the business.
"For local businesses, broadband access is helping them grow, prosper, and compete in a global economy," said Obama. "In fact, Marquette has been rated one of the top five 'eCities' in Michigan for entrepreneurship. Consider Getz's Clothiers, a third-generation, family-owned Marquette institution. They've occupied the same downtown store for more than a century--but with the help of broadband, they were recently listed as one of America's 5,000 fastest-growing companies. Online sales make up more than two-thirds of its annual revenue. It can process more than 1,000 orders a day, and its workforce has more than doubled. Today Getz's is a local business with a global footprint."
For Getz's, business has been good both online and in the brick and mortar location on Front Street in Marquette. Having the President mention the company in his speech was a great tribute to all of the hard work that has gone into the transition from pure in-person sales to a drive into the virtual market.
"It's a great honor to be mentioned, of course, and we're very proud of what we do," said John Spigarelli, the vice president of marketing and e-commerce for Getz's. "But more than that, we're very proud of our area, because this is a group effort. We couldn't do it without the local people and the university supporting us."
Spigarelli said the reason Getz's fit so well into the president's Internet initiative is that e-commerce has allowed the department store to extend their business beyond the Marquette area.
"We hope people will understand that you can do what we do in remote areas, with a talented workforce and the support of a great community," Spigarelli says.
The President's remarks alone are helping a little with Internet business for the companies he mentioned. VIO marketing director Clint Slack said they had already seen a light increase in web traffic just following the speech. He said that he agreed with what Obama had to say about Marquette and high-speed Internet access.
"As he mentioned, Marquette is a great example for the entrepreneurial spirit," said Slack. "Our access to global growth through increased high speed internet has fueled that existing spirit."
Despite coming to the area specifically for the event at NMU, Obama wasn't all business when he first arrived in Marquette. Instead, the President decided a lunch break was in order, bypassing McDonald's, Burger King and KFC for one of Marquette's favorite lunch locations:
Doncker's.
After signing some copies of his book and sharing a few laughs with the customers and owners of Doncker's, he got down to business.
"He inquired about the Obama Burger, which we had on special, and then he decided to go with the DJB," said Shane Baker, executive chef at Doncker's. The DJB is a turkey club with three type of cheese, three types of bread, garlic aioli and pesto mayo that was named after Danny Beck, a friend and co-worker who died in an accident last year. "He got that and a side of macaroni and cheese."
And while the President didn't have a
Stormy Kromer when he arrived, he did when he departed. Obama received a gift basket from NMU that included four of the iconic hats--one each for his daughters as well as he and his wife, Michelle. In addition, the owner of the Stormy Kromer business in Ironwood, Bob Jacquart, presented the President with a custom-made Kromer featuring the letter POTUS, the acronym for President of the United States.
Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of the U.P. Second Wave and a full-time freelance writer. He was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula. He attended the President's remarks with his daughter, Shaylyn, and fiancee, Kim. He can be reached via email.