LANSING, Mich. -- Convenience-store retailers are among the more than 100 diverse business partners representing sporting organizations, chambers of commerce, small businesses and merchants participating in a new partnership called Hunting Works for Michigan.
Blarney Castle Oil (EZ Mart), Bear Lake; Corrigan Oil, Brighton; Coyne Oil Co., Mount Pleasant; J&H Oil Co., Wyoming; Paxson Oil Co., Saginaw; and Pohl Oil Co., Westphalia, are among the Great Lakes State's c-store and fuel retailers that have joined the group, according to the Hunting Works for Michigan website.
“Hunting is an activity that has a real impact on Michigan’s local economies, and that’s why we wanted to join this effort,” said Rich Studley, president and CEO of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and a co-chair of the new group. “The Michigan Chamber is a voice for all of Michigan’s businesses, and we want to make sure they have the support they need to prosper and in turn help our communities prosper. In many places in Michigan, hunters are integral to the local businesses, and we want to support that.”
Hunting Works for Michigan is focused on educating the public on how hunting affects Michigan’s economy, monitoring public policy decisions and weighing in on hunting-related issues that affect Michigan jobs. The partners have joined to facilitate important public-policy dialogue and to tell the story of how Michigan’s hunting heritage positively affects conservation and jobs throughout the state.
“We see hunters in the stores all the time during hunting season,” said Mark Griffin, president of the Michigan Petroleum Association (MPA) and Michigan Association of Convenience Stores (MACS), and a co-chair of Hunting Works for Michigan. “Our members appreciate the business that hunters bring in, and it’s a lot of business. Not enough people understand that hunters spend money all over, they buy gas and groceries, they stay in hotels and they eat at local restaurants. We wanted to be a part of telling that story to everyone in Michigan.”
More than 528,000 people hunt in Michigan each year, and hunters spend $2.3 billion annually in the state of Michigan, according to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. While the economic contributions of hunters are considerable, hunters’ dollars also pay for conservation efforts.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation Inc., Newtown, Conn., has launched similar “Hunting Works” chapters in several states.
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