Snyder On Mackinac: Hire Veterans, Brag About Michigan
MACKINAC ISLAND (WWJ) - Gov. Rick Snyder implored Michigan's business leaders to hire veterans and brag more about their state's rebound in opening the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference Tuesday.
After receiving a standing ovation from a packed crowd of nearly 1,000 at the Grand Hotel's theater, Snyder implored the audience to attend a session later in the conference on hiring veterans.
"Unemployment among veterans in Michigan is about 30 percent, and that's simply unacceptable," Snyder said.
Snyder also pointed out that some folks around the world still haven't heard about Michigan's comeback from a near-economic-death experience in the last recession.
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Gov. Snyder
"We are having great success here in Michigan, but we have a problem," Snyder said. "We Michiganders are too humble. We don't brag well ... It's time for us not to brag, not to be arrogant, but to point out the fact that we are back."
But Snyder urged the crowd not to rest on recent laurels.
"Now is not the time to be satisfied," he said. "I certainly am not satisfied with our present state. We need to be accelerating. We have to avoid complacency, we have to avoid being content."
Snyder also urged those in attendance to sign up for Pure Michigan Business Connect, a pledge to do more purchasing from Michigan-based companies, and sign up for Pure Michigan Talent Connect, a talent bank of Michigan residents.
Snyder will also offer a longer keynote speech at the Mackinac Conference Thursday.
