This is My Michigan by James Phillips

I have walked many beaches of Lake Michigan. I remember 30 years ago walking with my soon to be wife on the beach at Muskegon State Park. I have been hunting driftwood on the beach at South Haven. I have watched the sunset from the beach at Saugatuck. I have fished with my 3 kids from the beach at Benton Harbor St. Joe. I have spent many days walking and swimming at the great Warren Dunes State Park beach. This is my Michigan!

I have fished many of the great rivers of our great state. I have fished the Muskegon River at many spots with my dad. I have waded the Pere Marquette and Gun Rivers for trout. I have steelhead fished the St. Joseph river at Benton Harbor and Berrien Springs, walleye fished at Buchanan, crappie fished at Three Rivers, cat fished at Mendon and bass fished at Constantine. This is my Michigan!

I have hunted many areas of our state. I have been deer hunting in the big woods of our Great Upper Peninsula. I remember snowshoe rabbit hunting in Baldwin. I have squirrel hunted in four or five different counties, I have pheasant and quail hunted in a hundred different fields. I shot my first Michigan Turkey a few years back. I have picked bags full of Morels. This is my Michigan!

This is my home. This is where I was born and raised. I still live on the same property I grew up on. I have raised my three children on the same property. I hope they raise their children here. This is my Michigan!

This is a great state.  We have it all, great cities, great small communities, great schools and universities, great natural resources and great residents. This is my Michigan!

This state is a GIFT! We need to step up!  Be responsible! Take back control of our Michigan. Stop sending our jobs off to other states and other countries. We know we are better. We have the know how and the resources. We have everything here we need. We need to spend our money here, keep our economies intact. Stop polluting our rivers. Stop stripping our forests. Stop forcing our jobs out. Take care of this gift we have received. This is my Michigan!

THIS IS OUR MICHIGAN!!!