Testimonials



Grand Bay Marine

Dear Chuck,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing Grand Bay Marine to participate in the National Cherry Festival this past summer! The Festival was awesome and run very professionally under your tutelage. I appreciate all the effort you put into making this event so successful.

The National Cherry Festival was a very worthwhile endeavor for my company. The community involvement resulted in Grand Bay Marine experiencing tremendous exposure in this marketplace. As a result, we have enjoyed an increase in boat sales as well as increasing our customer prospect base.

Please contact us as your 2003 National Cherry Festival plans unfold.

Again, thank you very much for a super successful community event!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth K. Carney
President
Grand Bay Marine

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Bill Marsh Buick Pontiac GMC

Dear Chuck,

As the local Pontiac-GMC dealership during the many years of GM's relationship with the National Cherry Festival, our people, together with the Cherry Festival staff, have spent considerable time and effort managing the many details surrounding the acquisition, distribution and promotion of Pontiac GMC courtesy vehicles throughout this event.

From our perspective, the results speak for themselves in terms of reinforcing Pontiac GMC's participation as the title sponsor. Consider the following:

• Each year, our dealership delivers approximately 30 "special events" Cherry Festival Courtesy Cars & Trucks. More than half of these are "conquest sales" to competitive make prospects whose decision to purchase a Pontiac GMC was based solely on their presence in the National Cherry Festival.

• The Festival provides an excellent venue to showcase new and innovative Pontiac GMC products each year (such as the Aztec). This is evidenced by the annual increase in showroom inquiries we receive in the weeks following the Festival.

• Since we launched our website two years ago, we've experienced a significant increase in hits on our Pontiac GMC pages following the Festival. Furthermore, according to our own customer research, Pontiac owners are among the most Internet savvy of our entire 6-franchise owner base (topped only by Saturn). This trend towards the Internet presents a compelling opportunity to utilize the Web in future Festival events to further leverage exposure.

The gradual shift from mass media advertising towards special event and affinity marketing by automobile companies reinforces, in my opinion, the viability of Pontiac GMC's continued sponsorship of the National Cherry Festival. As a beneficiary of this relationship, I would welcome the chance to explore, together with representatives from the Cherry Festival and Pontiac GMC, new opportunities to strengthen the expanding potential of this very productive partnership.

Regards,

Bill Marsh Jr.
Vice President
Bill Marsh Buick Pontiac GMC

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Century, Inc.

Dear Chuck,

Please accept my sincere appreciation for another outstanding Century, Inc./National Cherry Festival airshow event! The food was delicious, the setting was perfect and the VIP treatment was outstanding! Even the looming stormy conditions held off so everyone could enjoy a rain free event! I have received many positive comments about the event from Century members and a great time was had by all!

Sincerely,

Julie Finch
Director of Marketing, Planning and Customer Support Services

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Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc.

Dear Chuck,

A quick note to express our sincere appreciation to you, Susan, Mandy and Ron Lemcool for a job well done. Please pass on our thanks to each of them. Your professionalism and desire to meet the needs of your sponsors is clearly evident. A first class event organized and managed by first class people. Also, thanks for great weather this year! In speaking with Bruce King of Cherryland earlier today, he is also very pleased with this year's event and Cherryland's band festival sponsorship.

We look forward to beginning discussions with you on sponsorship renewals for the coming year.

Thanks again!

Craig A. Borr
Vice President, Communications & Marketing

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Oldies 104.3 WOMC

Dear Chuck,

It was a pleasure meeting you on Saturday in the midst of the National Cherry Festival.

What an incredibly organized and impressive Festival! The entertainment was great, the restaurants were excellent and the town is beautiful. We really enjoyed ourselves at the Festival and look forward to next year.

As I told Susan, I'm definitely going to explore the many opportunities for next year's National Cherry Festival. If there is anything that WOMC or I can do for you, please don't hesitate to call.

Best Regards,

Jack Johnson
General Sales Manager
Oldies 104.3 WOMC

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Nabisco

Dear Chuck.

It must feel great to end the century with a VERY successful National Cherry Festival.

On behalf of Planters Nuts, A.1. Steak Sauce, and LifeSavers Candy, we thank you and Susan Wilcox Oleson for all the hard work and effort you put into making our brands visible at this year's National Cherry Festival. From a very successful Go Nuts! Bed Race to Sampling Venue and Kids Events, plus all of the media exposure that Mr. Peanut received (too much to count), we can't thank you enough. Planters doesn't remember the last time we had so much media coverage in a week span.

Please extend my most grateful thanks to all of your workers and volunteers, not only did they contribute to a successful week, but they were always there to help with a smile.

For our second consecutive year as a sponsor, this year was our best. I'm not sure how you and Susan plan to exceed it, but I bet you do. THANKS!

Sincerely,

Mike Fleming
Key Account Representative
Nabisco, Inc.

Tammy Schroeder
Customer Development Manager
Nabisco, Inc.
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Pepsi

Dear Chuck.

Just a quick note to commend you on an outstanding job with this year's Cherry Festival!

As an official sponsor, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know how pleased we were with how the event ran and our involvement with it.

The Cherry Festival provides an excellent opportunity to get "Pepsi" in front of literally hundreds of thousands of people in a family oriented atmosphere.

Additionally, during the busiest grocery weeks of the year, the Festival's grocer partnership program offered us a unique leg up on the competition.

In addition to the direct benefits of sponsorship. the ability to "host" clients at Festival events and activities through the sponsor hosting program is indeed a valuable added benefit.

I also wanted you to know that you and your entire staff are the most professional and business competent staff I have ever worked with on a sponsorship event. Your teams' dedication to a quality event and to maximizing a return on the investment of your sponsors should be the standard for all other comparable events. Tom and yourself should be very proud of the 1994 Festival.

We look forward to participating with the National Cherry Festival next year.

Sincerely,

Mark E. Darrow
Market Unit General Manager
Northern Michigan

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WKLT/WKPK/WAIR

Dear Chuck:

Congratulations !

The National Cherry Festival by all accounts was the biggest and best ever. We received overwhelmingly positive comments from all the events that we participated in.

It' s an incredible undertaking to bring off so many events and activities. To do it flawlessly and so smoothly is nothing short of miraculous!

Congratulations to you and to all of the many people there and on the volunteer staff for a fabulous Festival.

Thanks from all of us for letting WKLT. WAIR and WKPK be a part of it.

Warmest personal regards,

John Dew
General Manager
Northern Michigan Radio

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