Good Afternoon,
I thought it best to maybe take a minute today and speak to you directly instead of making a story out of our announcement today for a couple reasons. First off, the level of gratitude we have to share is far beyond any short article we could post accompanied by a video and secondly, maybe a little story about how we got to today's announcement, what it took and how we plan on going ahead with it. So here we go!
We're absolutely honored, thrilled and thankful beyond words that Mercy Health chose us as a media partner in Muskegon. This makes a statement so far beyond just buying an ad. There are literally thousands of options for Mercy to use to spread the word and they picked us. This includes The Muskegon Channel, Muskegon Channel Radio, Channel 96 Muskegon and where it all began, Positively Muskegon.
We're a small, local company of no more than a dozen contributors and all of this began with a free blog and a GoPro camera in 2015. We've focused on one mission since, to show the rest of the world that Muskegon and all of it's people are truly remarkable and that this community, while never claiming to be perfect, is strong, resilient and never got the credit it deserved from outside media sources. We've worked tirelessly to show how we make amazing things happen when we don't have as much as others. We've shown you the people who show up day after day and get it done. We've been able to showcase some of the most truly spectacular events like the Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree, to a global audience and quite proudly, we've also been able to show you the meekest of the meek who we can all rally around and help when needed, because that's what we do as a community. To have Mercy Health recognize this and make an investment in the local economy like this...it's remarkable and it's an honor beyond compare. 
Mercy Health on Facebook
We have built a place for those who wish to get a start in media to try it out or those who had grown tired of what's offered elsewhere a place to work and grow. We have kept our prices for advertising remarkably low because of the belief that media should be as much of an economic engine in a community as anything else. We need a place that people can spread the word about who they are, what they do and why people should come to Muskegon for it and we need to keep it affordable for just about any small business and give them more than anyone else. We have gone on from that one GoPro camera to live broadcasts on any kind of screen you can imagine. From a phone to a 80 inch TV, the Muskegon Channel spreads the word to an audience we never imagined through things like our mobile app, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Technology has given us something no traditional broadcast tower could ever.... that's a nationwide audience for radio and television, right here from Muskegon.
To us, the opportunity with Mercy Health means that most of all, we'll get access to the people that make Mercy Health happen. These are our friends and neighbors who we all look to for our health care. After the last year we've been though, the realization that all of the facilities in the world, as beautiful as they may be, they simply don't function without the people who make them go. We've seen first hand just how much can be asked of them at times and in the next year, any chance we get to showcase these incredible folks, we're going to take it. Yes, we plan on being part of some of the events that go on and of course, when the new facility in Norton Shores opens up...we hope to make a big deal out of that. But to get to sit with the actual doctors, nurses and team members who truly make Mercy Health what it is...those are the stories we hope to tell and the knowledge we hope to share.
In closing, I'd like to add this too. With Merch Health, just like any of our other great sponsors....we didn't ask for more than what we could provide at least double the return on and the grand scheme of all things in the marketing world, we're humbly thankful to be the "little fish" in the pond. It gives us unprecedented ability to show first hand how any client should be treated when they invest in a partnership with any media entity.
Welcome Mercy Health. Welcome to the organization and the thousands of truly gifted and amazing people that keep us safe, heal us, comfort us in the time of need and believe like we do in Muskegon and all of the people here. This is a honor of the highest magnitude for our team at the Muskegon Channel.
Andy O'Riley
