In the Great Lakes Bay Region, our neighbors’ greatest success is also ours

Last week a friend of mine started a discussion about the relationship among the cities in the Great Lakes Bay Region that evolved into a pretty good discussion.

The post reads: " True or False: Saginaw, Bay City and Midland are frenemies? "

Let's define "frenemies."

According to Merriam-Webster, a frenemy is a person who is, or pretends to be, a friend but who is also in some ways an enemy or rival.

One person responded, "Mutually beneficial partners with an edge of rivalry."

I agree with this.

It's like a college sports rivalry. Like MSU versus UofM. They are rivals, but they don't really hate each other.

Or like UofM versus Ohi...oh, never mind. Bad comparison because I think they REALLY hate each other.

The Facebook post initiated some interesting dialogue.

A co-worker responded to the post reminding everyone about a controversial comic strip Delta College student reporters for the Delta Collegiate published in the school's paper on Jan. 15, 2010.

The strip depicted stereotypes each city had during that time.

The cartoon titled, "Should've Stayed in Flint," by Rashad Baiyasi and David Ferrier, showed a four-panel comic strip that featured a person visiting each city in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

In Midland, the visitor was greeted and presented with a piece of artwork and told about how the city is home to Dow.

In Bay City, the visitor was presented with a beer after being told the city has the most bars per capita.

In Saginaw, a person in a ski mask welcomed the visitor and presented him with a bag of drugs, pointing out that the city had "the most violent crime in the U.S."

In the very next frame, the person in the ski mask robs the visitor for money and the drugs.

See comic strip here

The comic strip was part of a package that accompanied a story I wrote for the Collegiate about the violence in Saginaw, focusing on some students who were recent victims of a home invasion.

At the time, I believed the comic strip was funny and had no issue with it when the artists asked me about it before publishing.

As I reflect upon it now, knowing about all of the wonderful things I have learned about the GLBR, I believe it was insensitive and irresponsible for me to have been OK with it.

Saginaw, Bay City and Midland all have wonderful attributes that shape the scope of their environments. I would agree we have a friendly rivalry, but we work together as a region more than the average person knows.

Three examples of this are sports, nonprofits and medicine.

Midland and Saginaw are home to the region's only semi-professional sports teams: The Great Lakes Loons and The Saginaw Spirit.

Both share crossover fans that Jimmy Greene, vice president of marketing and community relations for Saginaw Spirit, says they are in the process of integrating.

"The Saginaw Spirit and the Great Lakes Loons are working together to maximize the shared fan base between us and provide more economical packages to do that", Greene said.

President of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance Matt Felan believes other local sporting events were a win for the region even if they were held in one city.

"The Memorial Cup was a regional win," Felan said. "The LPGA, even though in Midland, was a win for the region."

Felan added when there is a big concert in Mt. Pleasant, people are staying in hotels and eating at restaurants throughout the region.

On Thursday, Sept. 19, community foundations from the region came together for a retreat in Saginaw.

Instead of segregating themselves, they are working together to see how they can help nonprofits regionally.

Midland-based MyMichigan Health recently acquired Saginaw-based Ascension St. Mary's, broadening its reach of regional health care.

Those are just a few surface-level examples.

Felan said he doesn't believe there is a rivalry among the tri-cities and that "regionalism takes time," something Greene agrees with.

"Your neighbors' greatest success is your success, and their failures are your failures," Felan said.

I do believe there is some work to do to change the perspective we have of each town.

I would love to see the day when I can take public transportation from Saginaw to Bay City to Midland and back on a calm Saturday, just to enjoy what each community has to offer.

And according to Felan, the transportation piece is currently being worked on.

Michigan Economic Development Corp. granted our region over $100,000 for a regional mobility fellowship. The person who was hired for the job will work to find ways to increase transportation throughout the region, Felan said.

"How do we move people between counties?" Felan asked rhetorically.

Great question!

With all that we have to offer, being able to shuttle people back and forth will be great for the region and maybe even give us a better feeling of connection with each other.

Hopefully, we can one day not be frenemies, but more like roots of the same tree, intertwined in a shared purpose of growth, unity, love and collaboration.