Page 19 - Michigan Credit Union League: 2017 Q2 Contact

Credit Union Perspective
Joe Beckwith, VP of marketing of My Personal Credit Union,
has lived in Grand Rapids all his life. Like everyone else, he has
noticed his hometown continue to grow and gain popularity.
Commenting on the town’s boom, he said, “When I was
younger, specifically downtown, everyone left at 5 o’clock and
it basically cleared out. There were very few things happening
at night in downtown Grand Rapids. I mention that because it’s
so interesting to see what it’s like now. It’s very walkable, tons
of restaurants, tons of craft breweries, tons of things to do every
night; there’s always something going on.”
Beckwith also mentioned the town’s particular appeal to young
professionals. “Now we’re experiencing the millennial generation
wanting to live downtown, and that’s expanded into the
neighborhoods. They are becoming places to live for millennials
because they’re on bus routes, they can hop on their bike or walk
to downtown. They don’t even need a car.” He continued, “A lot
of different organizations are doing a lot of different things to
make Grand Rapids a cool city.”
Beckwith, a regular AC&E attendee, admits that the burgeoning
city appears to translate to a more enthusiastic convention
showing. “When it’s here, it seems like the numbers go up.”
With such an infectious buzz around the city, it makes sense that
Grand Rapids credit unions have also seen a significant increase
in younger memberships over the last five years. “I think Grand
Rapids’ popularity boom has definitely made it easier for credit
unions in the area,” said Beckwith, who has seen the member
demographics of My Personal Credit Union trend younger. “It’s
definitely easier to add new, young members when more people
are moving in.”
While the flood of new, young members has been an obvious
benefit to area credit unions’ field of membership, Beckwith
said it also offers new and interesting challenges to the
workforce. Grand Rapids’ surplus of industry jobs has forced
other organizations, such as financial institutions, to be proactive who would like a craft coffee instead of a craft beer, Madcap
about showing prospective recruits everything they have to offer.
“We have to show them, we have to make our case,” said
Beckwith. “We provide a very nice benefits package and
opportunities for advancement, and a lot of times people don’t
take into account the big picture that some of the other industry
jobs show you that salary, but it’s a contract job at a big company, Last but not least, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is
or a small company, and they don’t offer those benefits.
“It’s like anything else; things change quickly and you have to
be able to adapt quickly.”
Beer City USA
After being voted as the United States’ No. 1 travel destination in
2014 by Lonely Planet, Grand Rapids has seen incredible growth
in not only tourism, but a large business boom and a consistent
increase in population.
Along with being Michigan’s second largest city, Grand Rapids
wears many hats, one being Beer City USA according to
national polls, and Best Beer Scene according to the 2016
USA Today readers’ poll. Hosting more than 40 breweries, the
nation’s Beer City has more brewery property per square mile
than almost anywhere else in the country.
The long list of breweries in the area includes Brewery Vivant,
Grand Rapids Brewing Co., New Holland Brewing and The Mitten
Brewing Co. In neighboring cities are Perrin Brewing Company,
Big Lake Brewing, Grand Armory Brewing Company, Odd Side
Ales and Bell’s Brewery. Among the long list of watering holes,
the perennially packed Founders Brewing Co. sticks out among
the rest.
After completing a $40 million expansion in 2015, which has
largely contributed to the incredible sales of their All Day IPA,
Founders continued to outgrow their city block and added
another building about a mile from their main location. All Day
IPA now accounts for half of the liquid they bottle, keg and
can, and is now sold in 35 states. Only a year and a half after
the beer hit the market, it was accounting for 25 percent of
Founders’ total sales. If you haven’t tried All Day IPA already,
don’t forget to see what all the fuss is about this summer,
along with some other choices that can only be found at their
Grand Rapids taproom.
But Grand Rapids is more than just the nation’s beer capital; it
also holds its own in the events department. There is never
a shortage of activities happening and there is something for
everyone. For those who enjoy fresh food and great community,
the farmers market downtown is open every day. For visitors
Coffee Company makes a mean chai latte. Stella’s Lounge comes
highly recommended if you’re looking for great vegetarian dinner
options. Yesterdog is the place to go for a fantastic coney dog—
the most entertaining part is trying to find your celebrity crush
on the wall because they’ve most likely been there.
essentially a real-life “Narnia”; the art sculptures and exhibits
provide hours of relaxing entertainment. Concurrent with
AC&E, they will be offering an exclusive exhibit of the works
of contemporary Chinese postmodernist Ai Weiwei. Art fans
looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience should make sure to
schedule some free time to head to the Gardens.
Second Quarter 2017 I Contact 19