Rekindle the Spirit, a program sponsored by the Munising Chamber of Commerce recently held its 12th annual event. The idea behind the program is to help people to shop locally for Christmas. In return, Rekindle the Spirit collected a vast array of prizes won through a drawing which took place on December 15, 2023.
The idea was simple: members of the community could bring in any receipts for any purchases from any local businesses. In return, for every $50 in receipts they would receive one ticket for the drawing.
This year, there were 3,919 entries accounting for nearly $200,000.00 of money spent in Alger county. Roughly $9,000.00 in prizes were awarded, including televisions and game consoles. A snow blower, sunglasses, gift cards, a six-month membership to Fuzzy Fitness, and a Roomba were among the dozens of potential awards available. The prizes themselves were sourced from local businesses.
“Every aspect benefits the town,” says Kathy Reynolds, C.E.O. of the Greater Munising Bay Partnership/Alger County Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Director of the Munising Downtown Development Authority. Many of the prizes were donated by sponsors. Money donated in lieu of goods was spent within the community, adding to the benefit to area businesses.
In the 12 years the Rekindle the Spirit program has run, is has seen receipts for local business total close to $2.5M.
Rekindle the Spirit is a local program unique to Munising and Alger county. “Other people have tried, but haven’t been able to get it to work,” Dr. Reynolds adds. She holds the success of the program to “keeping it simple” and to the generosity and enthusiasm of local businesses.
This year, the businesses who helped sponsor the event were: Alger General Agency * Alger Parks & Rec * Alger Title Agency * Bald Eagle Harley-Davidson * Bear Trap * Bear’s Den * Big C Realty * Bowerman Funeral Home * Buckhorn Resort * ByGeorge Brewing * Cross General Contracting * Das Gift Haus * Denman’s Hardware * Dogpatch * Down Wind Sports * Driftwood Deli * East Channel Brewing * Embers Credit Union * Falling Rock Café & Bookstore * Foggy’s Steakhouse * Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tours * Hall Contracting * Hiawatha Telephone Co * Higher Love * Madigan’s Hardware * Mazzali Agency*MediLodge*MissGood Stitch * Moose Lodge* Munising DDA * Munising Memorial Hospital * Munising Township * Munising Visitors Bureau * Nebel & Nebel * Northern Lights Vision * Paddling Michigan * Peoples State Bank* Pictured Rocks Cruises * Pictured Rocks Kayaking * Pictured Rocks Real Estate/Vacation Rentals * Putvin Drug Store * Re/ Max Superiorland * South Bay Outfitters * Superior One-O-Five Salon * Timber Products * UP Engineers & Architects * UPPCO * UP-Scale Art * VanLandschoot & Sons
