Christopher Germain – Member of the Month
This month we’re featuring Chief Executive Officer of the Lake Superior Community Partnership Christopher Germain has our Member of the Month! Christopher recently moved back to the Marquette to accept his position at the LSCP and we’re excited to have him leading our parent organization!
When asked why Christopher joined Connect Marquette, he replied:
Joining Connect Marquette was an easy decision due to the LSCP’s partnership with Connect Marquette, but more importantly, because it provides an opportunity to meet new people and expand my circle of friends and colleagues while being introduced to new places and events.
When it comes to being a Connect Marquette Member, Christopher feels his membership offers him a chance to try new things and meet new people outside of his day-to-day circle of teammates and LSCP partners. Putting aside the value his membership has on him directly, Chris also believes Connect Marquette plays an essential role in Marquette County, especially at a time where we as a community are seeing significant interest in remote and tech workers moving to the area.
We wanted to know more about what Chris likes to connect on. He said:
My day job, economic development, is built on relationships, so shop talk is always something I’m interested in whether it be a new business idea, community place making, housing, childcare, legislative happenings, or one of the many other issues that economic development touches. But that aside, I love to connect with others on things like new cooking skills, finding the best hikes, nerding out about video games, and more. I’m a big fan of connecting over beers or coffee, especially anywhere along the water.
When we asked Christopher about his hobbies, he shared that he’ll be getting married in October, which means he’s much too busy for hobbies right now! When he’s not planning a wedding, he enjoys the natural beauty Marquette has to offer by getting out and hiking or biking. He also loves being at the beach. When Chris is at home, he loves to bake and enjoys playing video games like Civilization, Minecraft, and Zelda. If anyone plays, he’s open to a team up! Over the last several years, Chris has also been teaching himself Spanish through DuoLingo and coding via Udemy to learn more about web development and video game design. Unfortunately Chris also shared he is a big college football fan who specifically roots for THE Ohio State.
In response to a question about his favorite community events or local organizations, Chris replied:
I’m a huge fan of libraries, so the Peter White Library comes to mind immediately as an indispensable organization in the community. It is such a gem. Marquette’s service clubs do so much for the community and I hope to be a part of one soon; I had a great lunch experience with Rotary in early August. Some of my favorite events are Negaunee Pioneer Days (especially the fireworks which are top notch), Connect Marquette’s annual Au Train float trip, and of course the UP 200. Oh, I should throw in the LSCP annual golf outing too; this year I got to grill most of the day which was awesome.
When asked to share his favorite place to eat in the UP, Chris said it was a pretty difficult question for someone who spent the last 4 and a half years covering the entire region for his job so he narrowed it down to three!
- Locally, Midtown Bakery – they’re just so nice and the variety and quality makes for a great quick lunch or dessert stop.
- For pasties, Roy’s in Houghton; while it’s a bit blasphemous, the turkey-cranberry one is amazing.
- For general pub fare, you can’t go wrong with the Wicked Sister in Sault Ste Marie.
- Honorable mentions: Moose Jackson (Iron Mountain), Michigan House Café (Calumet), and of course Border Grill.
