The 41st Annual Antique and Classic Boat Show is June 27
By Barb Pert Templeton
The Antique and Classic Boat Show has been a fixture in Algonac for more than four decades now this year, for the first time, members of the city council have approved their participation as a top tier sponsor for the event.
A council meeting on March 3 had officials approving a $1,500 Diamond Sponsorship for the show while also agreeing to utilize funds from the Milford Jackson Trust to pay that bill. Councilman Michael Bembas was absent from the recent meeting.
The boat show, dubbed ‘Where it all began’ is a major summer event in the city and is set for Saturday, June 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Harbour Club in Algonac.
In a memo to the council, City Manager Artie Bryson outlined his reasoning for the sponsorship request.
Bryson noted that the event brings in visitors from across Michigan, Florida and beyond and those guests dine in restaurants, shop in stores, purchase fuel and enjoy the city’s waterfront.
“It brings positive exposure and real economic activity into our downtown and along the river,” Bryson wrote.
He also noted that the city is the birthplace of Chris-Craft and Gar Wood boats and that therefore the city is tied directly to classic boating.
“This honors our history in a way nobody else can,” Bryson said. “Given that deep connection, I believe the City of Algonac should formally sponsor and support this event. Doing so reinforces our brand as a waterfront community and strengthens partnerships with organizations that celebrate our heritage.”
Bryson went out to explain to the council via the memo that the city wants to build a strong, ongoing, working relationship with the Michigan Chapter of ACBS and the Algonac/Clay Historical Society.
The program for last year’s 40 Annual Boat Show.
“Sponsoring this event is a practical and meaningful step toward that goal,” Bryson said.
The National Antique and Classic Boat Show is in Port Huron in September and will bring in 250 boats and many will participate in a boat cruise down to Algonac bringing along two bus loads of people to tour the city’s Maritime Museum.
“This is exactly the kind of event that aligns with our broader efforts to promote tourism, celebrate our history and connect visitors to our businesses,” Bryson concluded.
Council weighs in on sponsorship
At the meeting where the $1,500 sponsorship was approved Mayor Rocky Gillis read Bryson’s memo into the record.
Councilman Jake Skarbek then made the motion to become a Diamond Sponsor at a level of $1,500 and was immediately seconded by several members of the council.
“Most of these boats stay the weekend, they’re coming down here so they’re renting out wells, their shopping at our stores and their going up town,” Skarbek said.
He also amended his motion to say the funds for the sponsorship will come out of the Milford Jackson Trust Fund.
Councilwoman Wendy Meldrum said she wonders why the city never participated in the event before when the event is ‘here in our marina.’
“But this is fantastic, this is great,” Meldrum added.
Gillis replied that he thinks it’s because everyone works in different directions, make different connections in their lives and actually bring different skill sets to the table.
“And if there’s anything that we need to keep being is what we are – which is the birthplace of Chris- Craft, so that’s our identity,” Gillis said. “No other town in American can say they are the birthplace of Chris-Craft and Gar Wood and no other town in America can say this is where they lived and were laid to rest.”
Mayor Pro Tem Dawn Davey said supporting the event is something that should have been done all along.
“I don’t want to say this is a rebranding but it’s a restart of a pause and this is exactly what we needed to start to get rid of the pause and get back to these things that are going to help us not only with tourism but to make sure everybody knows we have some fun here,” Davey said.
