I joined the organization about a year ago as a volunteer on the West Michigan Film Commission (WMFC) task force, a project initiated by WMFVA Board. It was a pleasure to work on a project with the goal of attracting film-related business and supporting local talent. I view the WMFVA as an important economic development effort for our region. As West Michigan becomes a more desirable place to live and work, I see a strong WMFVA playing an important role in that success.
As an employee with the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Division, I have developed a number of business and governmental contacts which I believe will be useful to the Alliance. It would be my aim to serve the membership by increasing the Alliance’s exposure and engaging the broader business community.
Support from state and local government is also important in making West Michigan a hot spot for film and video production. For example, while the Michigan film incentive law was a step forward, the new Michigan Business Tax could be a step back. Experts estimate Michigan would have the nation's third-highest state tax on motion picture companies. This is due in part to the complex nature of the new tax and a lack of understanding about the industry. Unintended consequences like this might be avoided if we continue to increase the film community’s profile. Hopefully, this mistake will be fixed before the law goes into effect January 1, but as we move forward increased support for the film community will be critical.
I look forward to serving the interests of the film and video production community.