Whitehall and Montague

Ignorance Issues

On facebook.com Emily Ackerberg said that she "wishes that Michigan was actually as nice as the 'pure Michigan' commercials make it look . . such a fake out"....

I want feedback on this, I am appalled by her statements....

In my view, she is a great example what holds Michigan and the country back... She has no pride in her state or its natural beauty, instead of thinking about how positively these commercials can be for Michigan, she decides to announce to the world that the commercials are untrue.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on April 13, 2009 at 10:58am: Maybe either Emily wrote this during the past winter or she was in Detroit? ;)

I agree that we live in a beautiful state. Really hoping the film industry wakes up and sets its foot here, because we have it all. Y'want ocean? Got it. Y'want farmland? Got it. Forests? Yup. BigCity? Yup. Snow? Don't even get me started......Mountains, uhhhh, we gots big hills!.

Liz; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Shoreline Media on April 14, 2009 at 8:35am: Okay, I'll bite. Who is Emily Ackerburg, and why would I care a lick about what she thinks? Michigan has more to offer recreationally than many places. We do shoot ourselves in the foot often but not funding our roads and parks the way we should and I think that will haunt our state for years to come if we don't act fast.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by kwame on April 16, 2009 at 7:54am: ya, who is Emily Ackerberg? I've been all over this country, and if I want to spend a quiet day hiking or going to a beach I can't think of a better place than my hometown of Whitehall. I've worked in the Detroit Metro area for the past 10 years and have encouraged my coworkers to travel parts of our state that I love, from Grand Haven up to Sault Ste Marie instead of traveling out of state for vacations and they have come back and told me that they loved it.

For a summer vacation there is no better place than michigan. As for the other 8 months of the year...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by June Beckwith on April 17, 2009 at 5:18pm: I agree with you and kwame. I think you both said it all properly. Media is intended to enhance things. magazines touch up models and stars.....cookbook pictures are all touched up....commercials are the same thing. But, in real life, models and actors still look good and the food you cook from the cokbook still taste good....and there are some really beautiful places you can go in Michigan and appreciate it's beauty. My favorite is the drive from Rothbury to Hart....wow....what beautiful scenery...those farms and rolling hills...beautiful colors....every season....

Shoreline Media said:
Okay, I'll bite. Who is Emily Ackerburg, and why would I care a lick about what she thinks? Michigan has more to offer recreationally than many places. We do shoot ourselves in the foot often but not funding our roads and parks the way we should and I think that will haunt our state for years to come if we don't act fast.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jill Clark on April 19, 2009 at 1:38am: I love those commericials even though they make me homesick! Lately I've seen them running on the Food Network. (And of course I can always go to the michigan.org website and watch them all! ;)

Without reading Miss Emily's actually statements, I would guess that she's just naive. Hollywood ain't what it seems. Texas isn't an oilman's paradise with cactus, cowboys, and millionaires, and Michigan has its share of problems too. (As you guys know!)

What kind of tourism would there be if the commericials showed the old guy in Detroit hunting raccoons? Or White Lake being dredged? Or people waiting at the unemployment office in Grand Rapids? That's silly! You play up the wonderful, positive elements, concentrating on what has been bringing people to vacation in Michigan for decades: her natural resources. That's not to say that the negatives don't exist, but . . . good grief, that should be understood!

Of course I come back mostly for family. But if and when family is gone I will still want to come back for the lake and the beach, the woods, the lovely drive up US 31 that June mentioned, the snow . . . (yes, even the snow!).

Enjoy what you have up there even when the sun isn't shining. (Believe me. Sunshine can be overrated at times! ;); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Amanda Flynn on April 21, 2009 at 12:42pm: I love those Pure Michigan commercials. They make me think of my childhood when my mom and dad would take me up north for the whole month of July. It is true, Michigan winters are horrible, but the summers here are amazing. If I have to move out of the state when I graduate, I will be back every summer. I love Lake Michigan and these amazing beaches. Like June said, that stretch from Rothbury to Hart is beautiful, especially in the fall. If you do not believe that Michigan is all that commercials make it out to be, you need to visit the following places: Fishtown in Leeland (My favorite), Mackinaw Island, Pictured Rock, Whitefish Point, Isle Royale, any of the falls. Those are just a few places.

By the way, if you want to watch these commercials here is a YouTube playlist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78cEped955I&feature=PlayList&...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tim A Hanson on April 21, 2009 at 7:16pm: I want to thank everyone for their feedback. My initial anger and dismay by Ms. Ackerberg's statements on facebook.com was that her statement represents the negative, lack of progressive thinking, and "I don't need to care" attitude that I see sweeping young people in our state and else where. I feel that this kind of attitude in Michigan has to many in its grasp, and such feelings will only hold our amazing state back. When that happens these same people with such sentiments will bitch about how someone in government has failed... WELL folks, with this attitude lets not be so jumpy to blame and simply look in the mirror.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Julie Aebig on April 27, 2009 at 12:37pm: No, she decided to announce to HER social network that they are untrue, not the world. And naming her is not nice, she is friends with people on facebook, not on here. Her facebook friends can judge her in whatever way they choose....we don't know her, her personality or her entire reasoning behind the statement. If she grew up in Montague next to hooker where you can find three legged mutant frogs, maybe she can truthfully say the commercials are nothing like (the part of Michigan she knows best)....

On another note, Michigan is BEAUTIFUL! Montague making CNN's top four places to buy a vacation home is proof of that. And maybe she's destined for another state in her future, but I personally LOVE it here, its beautiful and there is plenty to brag about.

PureMichigan keep 'em coming!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tim A Hanson on April 27, 2009 at 12:53pm: Indeed, naming her was not nice. Since when does news media REALLY care about knowing people, their personality, or reasons behind statements. Ooops, that wasn't nice either.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Becky Roesler on April 27, 2009 at 12:56pm: Tim, I don't know one person who truly doesn't love Michigan for it's summers, and if you actually knew Emily well enough, you'd know that she is one of the biggest fans of Michigan summers, the beach, and the atmosphere...you've taken that quote so far out of context it's ridiculous...Chill out....quit trying to make her some like such a bad person....grow up and get over it.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tim A Hanson on April 27, 2009 at 1:07pm: I used her facebook comments as an example of a relevant issue I see with Michigan and the young people specifically. If someone took my facebook comments and used them like this I would understand that OH, I did write that on the internet and someone could take that and use it either against me or as an example which is what I did with Emily's. I have nothing against Emily, she is a nice girl, I just took her statement to use as an example of an attitude that keeps Michigan restrained from success.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Becky Roesler on April 27, 2009 at 1:13pm: Well, that would make sense...but, you ALREADY asked her on fb what it had meant and she told you, yet you still write this article contradicting what she had already said she meant it by. ...and you say you wrote this to show what the young people are like, then obviously putting her name in it wasn't necessary. You make all these people think that someone thinks Michigan is such a horrible place when really, they have no idea what her true meaning behind it was....way to go.; ▶ Reply to This