The Alger County Chamber of Commerce

At the Alger County Chamber of Commerce, we prefer to face challenges head on, and with the collective wit of our business community. We believe that a strong region builds strong communities, and our focus on communication and positive energy is always a top priority. We would not exist without the support of our business community and ask, each and every day, that we all do our best to communicate issues directly for a fast and efficient resolution. This approach will allow us to not only grow together, but to sustain this growth for generations to come. Let's build this Chamber together!

About our staff

Dr. Reynolds is the C.E.O. of the Greater Munising Bay Partnership/Alger County Chamber of Commerce and the Executive Directer of the Munising Downtown Development Authority. Kathy brings a wealth of business knowledge to the organizations, as well as all the businesses they represent. Her education includes a Bachelor of Science in Business Education, a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education/Student Affairs, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education. Kathy has over 20 years of administrative and faculty experience in higher education settings, as well as additional work experience in the private sector and non-profit organizations. A few of the positions Reynolds has held include Campus Director for a Brown Mackie campus, where she supervised creation and operations of a new branch of the college in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Executive Director for a newly-formed Michigan State University Northern Area Health Education Center in Marquette; Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Development at Finlandia University in Hancock and an Assistant Professor at Northern Michigan University in the College of Business.

Pat Sanderson is the Office Manager for the Greater Munising Bay Partnership/Alger County Chamber of Commerce and Munising Downtown Development Authority. Pat brings over 35 years of customer service experience in both office and retail management. She provides administrative management support to the Executive Director and acts as liaison to the chamber members and DDA district businesses. Pat is responsible for the day to day operations of the office and organizations, as well as assisting with or coordinating any special events or projects.

Tucker was our Floor Manager, Goodwill Ambassador, Greeter and all around Good Boy. He loved people and was always happy to meet our visitors with a wagging tail.

While Tucker is no longer with us in body, his spirit can still be seen in the smiles of remembrance his many images throughout the community bring.

Harvey is Tucker’s protégé. Although he has some big name tags to fill, he has bounded into his new position with all the enthusiasm of a… well, a puppy.

GMBPCD/Chamber Board Members

Name: Amber Curtis, Chair
Joined GMBP Board: May 2012
Organization/Business: VanLandschoot and Sons Fish Market
Bio: VanLandschoot and Sons Fish Market has been in Amber’s family for 109 years. Her dad and daughter both work there, with her daughter, Sydney, being a 5th generation employee. “Being on the board and representing a business that has been in my community for over 100 years is pretty amazing, even more so, because it is my family. Being born and raised in Munising, as well as raising our children here has certainly been a blessing,” she said.

Amber and her husband Lee reside in Munising and have 2 children, Sydney and Jay. Amber enjoys the outdoors and hiking the PRNL whenever she can. She’s proud of how the town has evolved over the years and believes that wouldn’t be possible without the current leadership and staff of the Chamber and DDA. She said seeing the collaboration of different organizations come together to make Munising and Alger County a better place to live and visit has been the most rewarding accomplishment of the 11 years she’s served on the board and is looking forward to what the future brings for the community.

Name: Larry Baur, Vice Chair /Treasurer
Joined GMBP board: May 2012
Organization/Business: Pictured Rocks Weddings. I began Pictured Rocks Weddings in 2012, in the belief there would be couples who would like to come to this area to have their wedding ceremony take place at one of the many settings of natural beauty in our area. Though I have married local couples as well, over the course of the past 10 years most couples whom I've married have come to the area from other places... most frequently from lower Michigan and Wisconsin, but from states as far away as California and Florida as well. Couples have chosen a wide array of settings for their wedding ceremony... Miner's Beach and Chapel Beach, Wagner Falls and Rock River Falls, Blackrocks in Marquette and the Blaney Park Inn, Au Sable Light Station and a cabin in the Hiawatha forest, to name a few. Though wintertime weddings, say, in front of a frozen Munising Falls are not unusual, the vast majority of the well over 300 weddings I have done have been during the May through October season. I'm now entering my eleventh year of being part of one of the most special moments in peoples' lives, and it's great not just to have that privilege but to meet so many wonderful people, too. Some of whom I've remained friends with over the years. And I'm pleased my efforts support other area businesses, as couples whom I marry avail themselves of other services in association with their wedding, as well as frequently bringing to town with them family members and friends who might not have otherwise made their first visit to the Munising area.
Why I think the GMBPCD is important/any accomplishments you're proud of: Of all the things I'm thankful for, at the top of the list is the collegial and cooperative working relationship which has developed between the Partnership and others such as the Munising Visitor's Bureau, the staff of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the Pictured Rocks Cruises, the Downtown Development Authority, the City of Munising, and others. The place we call home has been strengthened and promoted in myriad ways which would not have been possible otherwise.
Hobbies/interests: I enjoy reading, Qigong, hiking, kayaking, volunteering for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, snowshoeing, traveling.

John Deisenroth, Board member
Joined GMBP board: Over 20 years
Organization/Business: North Bay Builders and Munising Moose Lodge
Bio: John Deisenroth, married St. Julie 52 years ago. She is a patient woman! We have five adult children and, several, near perfect, grandchildren. I attended college full time and part time for 7 years. Developed many minors and no major, I have no degree

Moved to the Munising area 49 years ago in 1974. Saw snowflakes that year, during the 4th of July parade, and wondered what I had gotten myself into..Began my tradesman career as a carpenter that same year. Worked for a few local contractors, had a side gig building furniture and worked as a union carpenter over the next ten years. Established North Bay Builders in 1984 and retired last December after selling it to my son, Daniel Deisenroth.

I served briefly on the Au Train Township Fire Dept, a few years on the Au Train Township Planning Commission, and a few years as Damage Assessment Coordinator for Alger Emergency Services. Been an active volunteer in the Moose Lodge for about 18 years and have served as part of their leadership much of that time.

My only claim to fame would be masquerading as the Grinch for the past dozen or so years with a pause during the Pandemic.
I’ve sat on the Chamber of Commerce Board for the better part of 20 years.

My plans include gardening, completing my house (finally), some travel, and continuing volunteer work at the Moose Lodge.
My greatest surprise is the amount of artistic to technical talent found in Alger County. My greatest appreciation is for the generosity shown by Alger County’s residents.

Kathryn Lund Johnson, Board member
Joined GMBP board: May 2015
Organization/Business: Superior Inspirations by Kathryn Lund Johnson
Bio: As a child, I lived in Lake Linden in the Keweenaw Peninsula for five years before my family moved downstate. After finishing high school in Battle Creek, I attended Albion College for two years, then transferred to Western Michigan University, where I received a BS degree with a major in Occupational Therapy. I worked as an OT at Mary Free Bed Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Grand Rapids and for the Barry County Intermediate School District.

Upon retirement, my husband Mark and I made the life-changing decision to find a place to live on Lake Superior. We made that happen, and never looked back. We thoroughly enjoy our wooded location near Au Train, and would not care to live anywhere else in the world.

Since I am a photographer, I love it that I can step out of my house directly into the natural beauty of this amazing area. I also create jewelry pieces and felted items, inspired by my surroundings. My work is available locally at both Falling Rock Café and Book Store and UP~Scale Art.

It is my pleasure to serve on the board of the Alger County Chamber of Commerce. Each member brings a different perspective to issues, with the mutual goal of encouraging and supporting area businesses. I am extremely honored to be a part of this dynamic organization.

Renee Bowerman, Board member
Joined GMPB board: May 2018
Organization/Business: HCI / Jamadots
Bio: I moved to Munising from Sheboygan, WI in 2006 with Rick Bowerman. We met attending Lakeland College together. I currently hold the position of Commercial Operations Manager for HCI and Jamadots. I try to be as involved as I can in athletic programs at Munising Public Schools and the Mini-Mustangs Basketball Committee. I have 3 daughters who are my life; Adrian (Addie), Clare and Gina.

Joe Esbrook, Board member
Joined GMPB board: May 2018
Organization/Business: Hiawatha Log Homes
Bio: Joe is a lifelong resident of the Upper Peninsula, he was born and raised in Iron River, MI and attended West Iron County High School and Northern Michigan University. He has a passion for building, the building industry and for log homes. He has fond memories growing up at his family log cabin that his father built by hand in 1962, and that Joe and his family still enjoy visiting today. Joe has a tremendous respect and appreciation for Greater Munising Bay Partnership and the work they do for our members and community.

He also has tremendous respect and appreciation for the hard-working men and women who get the work done day-in and day-out in the building and trades industries. Joe says, “One of our goals at Hiawatha Log Homes is not only to design and provide the best product in the world, but to nurture a business that can support family sustaining jobs for our employees in the region, They are the ones who deserve the credit.”

Joe has served on the Greater Munising Bay Partnership board since May 2018. He and his company are honored to be part of the organization and he is looking forward to helping add value in any capacity he can. He and his wife Jackie are life-long Yoopers and he likes to hunt fish, build things and spend time with his family, which includes his 3 grown children Nick, Josh & Abbey, their spouses and their 3 (and 1 on the way!) grandchildren.

Mr. Esbrook is a business leader with over 35 years of business management, leadership, broadband, voice and data telecommunications, fiber optic transport and cable TV experience. Prior to being named Chief Executive Officer & Operating Partner at Hiawatha Log Homes, Esbrook served as Director of Operations and General Manager of Packerland Broadband, a regional digital cable TV; telephone and high-speed data company serving residential, educational, governmental and business customers with advanced fiber optic technologies. Joe also served as Vice President of Northern Michigan Operations for Charter Communications where he was responsible for directing and overseeing the development and growth of Charter Communications Upper Peninsula and Northern Lower Michigan regional cable TV, Broadband and Telephone operations, serving over 165,000 customers with a team of over 350 employees. Before the sale of Bresnan Communications to Charter Communications in 2000, Joe was responsible for directing and overseeing the development and growth of all of Bresnan Communication’s High-speed Data, Cable Modem Internet, Telephone and Advanced Services Broadband Operations in a five-state region. In 1997 Joe lead a team of dedicated employees to be among the first cable TV companies in the nation to launch 2-way High-Speed Cable Modem Broadband service over hybrid-fiber COAX (HFC) and went on to gain one of the highest cable modem penetration rates ever seen in the industry

Jared Bowerman, Board member
Joined GMBP Board: May 2018
Organization/Business: Mativ (formerly Neenah Paper)
Bio: Jared Bowerman has held numerous roles at the facility including transportation planner, warehouse supervisor, process engineer, production planner, item master, and inventory analyst. He is currently the material handling department manager. Jared has been on the board for just over 5 years. He is especially proud of the GMBP’s area beautification efforts, which have made Munising a much more attractive place to live and visit. His wife Rae (Klosowski) has been a nurse in Munising for over a decade. They have been married almost 20 years. They have two boys and three girls that keep them very busy. They enjoy following their kids’ sports during the school year and spending time with them on the local beaches in the summer months.

Chris Berry, Board member
Joined GMBP Board: December 2023
Organization/Business: Munising City Commission
Bio: Chris and her husband Scott moved back to the U.P. in 2017. She was the Branch Manager at Huntington Bank for about a year and has been with Peoples State Bank since 2018 working in Compliance and Customer Service. Prior to moving back from Wisconsin, she worked for 14 years in Economic Development on the County and State levels. During that time, she participated in many projects involving smaller rural communities. Some of those included, business expansion, workforce development, housing, brownfields and downtown development.

Along with sitting on the City Commission, she is also involved with local clubs. For the past six years she’s been the Mountain Bay Trail Network’s Secretary and has been on the Friends of Valley Spur Board for about five years. Because of her past experiences working with communities, she is excited to be a part of the Greater Munising Bay Partnership board and looks forward to learning, contributing and collaborating with the current leadership, staff and board members.

The Alger County Chamber of Commerce