Emmet County’s Biggest Fan Beth Eckerle

Oct. 30, 2015

One way to honor state, county or municipal employees who have helped preserve Michigan’s history beyond the duties of their official jobs is by presenting them with the Michigan Historical Commission’s Governor John B. Swainson Award. This year, Petoskey’s own Beth Eckerle, communications director for Emmet County, was honored with this impressive distinction.

Eckerle was recognized for her long list of accomplishments at an official ceremony in the capitol rotunda in Lansing, but for her, it’s all just one more aspect of belonging to a community with which she unexpectedly fell in love.

HOMETOWN PRIDE

Eckerle grew up in Grand Haven, Mich., “another beautiful Lake Michigan town,” as she puts it. She attended University of Michigan, graduated in 1995 and moved to Petoskey to take a job with the News-Review.

“That was my first job out of college,” Eckerle explained. “I figured I would stay for a couple of years, then move up to a bigger paper, as journalists do.”

She’d never been to Petoskey before, accepting the job sight unseen.

“So I arrived and I didn’t know anybody. No one!” she said. “But, I immediately fell in love with the place.”

In 2005, she shifted to part-time hours at the paper and, by 2010, had taken a new fulltime job with Emmet County.

“When I learned about the opportunity to be the communications director, I was so excited,” she said, “because I loved writing positive stories in the paper about where we live and what we do here, and this job meant

I could do a lot more of that. Here it is, 20 years from when I arrived, and I absolutely feel that Petoskey is my home. So I feel like learning about the past and history here is an important part of my life.”

IMAGINING EMMET

The new job allowed her to be a “cheerleader” for her adopted hometown. She ran with that role, helping conceptualize, launch and run a number of new projects and activities that would shine a spotlight on the region, the first being Imagine Magazine, a richly detailed publication that features the best of what Emmet County has to offer.

“Seven years ago, the county decided they wanted to start a magazine showcasing the people and beauty of the area, to draw people to live, work and build families and business here,” she said. “I created that magazine while still working for the paper and have carried it over into my job now, and I’m so proud of it.”

Eckerle has gotten regular, positive feedback about Imagine, as many people tell her they were inspired to move to the area by what they read in the magazine.

“I mean, these are people who could live anywhere they wanted, but they choose here,” she said. “It’s just so rewarding.”

She also pointed out that the magazine is helping document Emmet County’s contemporary history.

“I can envision people finding copies of Imagine a hundred years from now and being able to understand how we lived through its pages,” she said.

HISTORICAL ESSENCE

A second magazine — a five-part series of publications called Essence of Emmet — is one of Eckerle’s other favorite projects.

“That one started when several local historical organizations got together to share stories,” Eckerle said. “The project started out of that kind of goodwill about our area, and the magazine series was the most visible result of that.”

Essence delves deeper into Emmet County’s history with stories, photos and illustrations outlining everything from the flora and fauna to Native American lore, wartime happenings, the lumber industry, the trains and city growth. Eckerle serves as editor for both magazine projects, collaborating with Sandy Planisek, the Mackinaw City author and historian, as well as local organizations. The magazine is funded by grants and private donations.

“We started Essence of Emmet two years ago,” Eckerle said. “Part three will be out in January of 2016. We’ve given out 25,000 copies of the first two issues already!” As if those two projects weren’t enough to keep Ecklerle busy — remember, this is all while she’s doing her full-time job as communications director — she’s also in charge of marketing for all the parks in Emmet County, including Camp Petosega, McGulpin Point and the Headlands/Dark Sky Park, the latter of which she mentioned keeps her office “super busy.”

PAST AND FUTURE

Her latest project, “Blast from the Past,” is an email subscription video series that showcases even more of the region’s history. She also assists the local historical organizations with their gatherings. It’s clear she not only has remarkable professional and organizational skills, but also a true passion for her job and for the place she lives.

“The award was such a wonderful surprise, and I was totally thrilled,” Eckerle said, “but one of the best things about it was being able to represent so many people from Emmet County and put another spotlight on us. It was a real validation at the state level. I felt like I was just the person standing up to get the award; it really represents so many people.”

However, simply living in Petoskey seems to be the award that means the most to Eckerle. Residing here with her husband Brian Eckerle and her 9-year-old twin sons, Drew and Evan Piehl, she’s quick to mention how much she loves being part of her community and teaching her kids more about where they live. This is where she’s making all of her plans for the future.

“I just feel really blessed that I’m able to help contribute to the quality of life here,” she said. “I can’t say it enough.”

Copies of Imagine Magazine and Essence of Emmet can be obtained by emailing Beth Eckerle at eckerle@emmetcounty.org or by calling the Emmet County Building at (231) 348-1704.