My Mackinac memories go way back to the very first conference I covered for WDIV in 1996. We had moved to Michigan from Oklahoma the prior summer and had survived our first Michigan winter. I am walking up the hill to the Grand Hotel the first day of the conference. It is June 4th and we start getting snow flurries. And my first thought was, “We gotta get out of Michigan. We’re not staying in a place where it snows in June.” (Spoiler alert: We stayed.)
The Weather on the West End
Photographer Tim Pamplin and I have attended the conference so many times together and were so devoted to our routines that just about every conference veteran understands that the bridge end of the porch is our office − and as offices go, it does not get much better. But we always had better luck arranging guests and interviews than controlling the weather. I have lost count of how many times we had to hustle our guest and equipment inside to get away from whatever the Mackinac Straits was dealing.
Left to right: Devin Scillian and Richard Czuba
That brings to mind the year we were interviewing former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. As we were getting ready to start the interview, a huge gust of wind blew in and a large light on a stand was about to come right down on Madame Secretary’s head. I shot out of my seat and managed to catch it just before it reached her. I tried to act as though it was not a very close call, but Sebelius’ assistant looked like she might faint.
Extraordinary Moments With Liz Cheney and John Boehner
Back inside Grand Hotel, I have been lucky enough to be a part of some extraordinary moments on the main stage. A few years ago, my conversation with Liz Cheney made headlines all over as she was beginning a much more aggressive stance as a Republican upset with Donald Trump. Similarly, and easily one of my very favorite moments ever on the island, my conversation with former Speaker of the House John Boehner received a ton of attention when he opined, “There is no Republican party. There is a Trump party. The Republican party is kind of taking a nap somewhere.” (To be sure, those who were in the audience probably remember the moment more for my delivery of a Bloody Mary to Boehner as we began our talk.)
Civility Onstage, Fisticuffs Outside the Conference
I have always admired the way that the conference encourages civility. And yet I am mindful that things sometimes veer into violence. In 2003, former Congressman Mike Bishop was sucker punched while trying to board a late-night carriage outside Horn’s Bar. Around a decade later, Michigan political consultant John Yob says he was punched by an aide to the Marco Rubio campaign, again at Horn’s. (Mom always said nothing good happens after midnight; maybe that goes double if you are at Horn’s.)
Left to right: Devin Scillian and John Boehner
The Race Conversation With Emery King
But without a doubt, the quintessential Mackinac highlight for me was co-hosting a conversation on race with my former colleague, the inimitable Emery King. I had lobbied for a couple of years to do it and finally the Detroit Regional Chamber agreed. For a region so defined by racial striation, the silence on the topic was, I felt, corrosive. The results, especially the honest and frank exchanges between Emery and John Rakolta, were bracing and, I was told, inspired many more conversations about race on and off the island. I could not have asked for more.
