LANSING (WWJ) Governor Gretchen Whitmer showed her gratitude to hundreds of small businesses for their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She sent personal letters to more than 200 small businesses across the state “who stepped up in exceptional ways during the COVID-19 pandemic” by pivoting their business models and putting their communities first, a release from her office said.
"I am completely in awe of the resilience and determination of Michigan’s small businesses to stand strong and push forward during such unprecedented times,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in the release. “Small businesses are crucial to the success of our economy, and we are more than ready to get back on track and uplift our local entrepreneurs to continue to make this state a great place to work and live.”
She said these small businesses played a critical part in the state’s response by converting their machines and labor to make and distribute masks, fresh meals and additional necessary resources to frontline workers and others in need. They also offered services to make people feel less lonely while in quarantine.
“This pandemic has made it clear that small businesses have always been the heart and soul of our communities," Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist said in the release.
Whitmer kicked off MI Small Business Summer tour earlier this week and launched the Michigan.gov/SmallBusiness site to help entrepreneurs navigate state programs and services they can partake in to “recover, grow and thrive in the years to come.” Whitmer is also hoping to launch the Michigan Mainstreet Initiative, a $300 million investment to “uplift small businesses”
The list of small businesses she honored includes several across Metro Detroit in communities including Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Troy, Rochester, Royal Oak and Livonia. See the full map here.
Michigan’s economy grew nearly 8% in the first quarter of 2021, the best in the Midwest; according to the Governor's Office. An independent analysis financial publication, Credible, states that Michigan’s economic recovery is the 2nd strongest nationwide.