MACKINAC ISLAND – Governor Rick Snyder opened the 2012 Mackinac Policy Conference by reminding attendees that this is not an event to do nice things with one another, but is meant to be an accelerator aimed at reinventing the state.
“Do not make this a nice event,” Snyder said. “Make this an event that makes a difference.”
One way the business owners in the crowd could make that difference, he said, is to hire veterans.
Snyder encouraged attendees to attend a session Wednesday focused on veterans entering the workforce.
According to the panel’s description, Michigan has the second-highest unemployment rate of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, at 29 percent.
“That’s simply unacceptable,” Snyder said. “The people that can do a lot to solve that problem are us.”
He called on people not just to attend, but to discuss what their organizations can do to highlight veterans and also hire them.
Since last year’s conference, there is much the state can look back on be proud of, but Snyder urged the crowd to avoid complacency.
“Now is not the time to be satisfied, I’m not satisfied at all with where we are at,” he said.
That said, Michigan does have a good story to tell, and needs to make sure it is told, he said.
“Michiganders are too humble,” he said. “We don’t brag well… We have to speak up more. We are the comeback state in the United States right now.”
While state lawmakers won’t be on the island this week, there will be plenty going on at the policy conference hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber.
The conference is scheduled through Thursday and Gongwer News Service will be providing coverage from the island. The conference was moved up a day from its typical Wednesday through Friday configuration to allow the Chamber to help promote the Detroit Grand Prix scheduled for that weekend on Belle Isle.
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