Do you ever get tired of turning on the news or picking up a paper only to hear or read how bad everything is? I guess our society is geared towards paying attention to bad news then to look for the positive.

It seems ever day you hear about the housing bubble, credit crisis or job losses.

While I realize our country and in particular Michigan is going through some tough economic times, it is not all doom and gloom.

Th next time you get tired of hearing the negative on tv, I suggest you get on-line and go to www.lakeshoreadvantage.com to see some positive information about the West Michigan area. Below are a few of the highlights from this site.

The Lakeshore is home to some of the World's Greatest Companies: Herman Miller, Haworth, Gentex, Johnson Controls, Magna Donnelly, Heinz, Sara Lee, Conagra, Siemens, Boars Head and Dr. Pepper to name a few.

The Lakeshore was named in Forbes Magazine's top 200 Best Places for Business and Careers.

Gentex is the third largest producer of patents in the State of Michigan.

West Michigan area ranks 6th among the world's 125 top knowledge based economies.

Of people 25-44 years of age, 33.9% have college degrees, 20% above the State average.

The Lakeshore ranked 7th in Forbes top savings cities that are doing the best job of building wealth.

These are just a few things that make are area so wonderful. Couple this with the beautiful beaches of Lake Michigan and things don't look quite so bad.

Everything goes through cycles, good and bad. We need to stay positive to weather the storm. The good news is we have a strong foundation in which to build even greater things!