The St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce agreed to host future Moran mud runs, taking over from Jim and Bridget West of the Mackinac Mudders, at its board meeting Wednesday, September 13. Also at that meeting, George Ford of Moran Township stepped forward to head the committee for the Chamber's ambassador program, said Director Janet Peterson.

This year, three mud runs for trucks and all terrain vehicles (ATVs) were hosted at the Moran fairgrounds by Mackinac County Sportsmen's Off Road Vehicle Association. After developing the program, members of the association handed it over to Mackinac Mudders so they could pursue other goals related more closely to ATV recreation. Mackinac Mudders will remain involved with next year's runs in an advisory capacity, Mrs. Peterson said, while the Chamber of Commerce will coordinate logistics. The mud runs may feature a country music festival next year.

George Ford will now lead a committee of ambassadors who volunteer at Chamber of Commerce events. This year, ambassadors assisted at the Switchback concert, Arts Dockside, and the Underwater Treasure Hunt. With 10 active volunteers, the agency would welcome up to eight more people who would like to be Chamber of Commerce ambassadors for St. Ignace.

City Manager Eric Dodson, Mayor Paul Grondin, consultant Darryl Brown, County Commission Chair Dawn Nelson, and Chamber of Commerce board members and ambassadors took a sample tour through St. Ignace with the Mackinaw Trolley company Tuesday, September 12, at the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce. The focus of the tour was to explore the possibility of developing a downtown trolley system in St. Ignace, linking downtown sites with the campgrounds, the casino, and the marina. The trolley proposal, which is in preliminary planning stages, was originally announced in July.

"Jim Chamberlain of the trolley company did part of his tour for us, to show us how the trolley system could be used," said Cheryl Schlehuber, Chamber of Commerce board president. "His tour brings 4,000 people to St. Ignace from Mackinaw City every year, and he tells us that 3,999 of them have typically never been across the Mackinac Bridge before. The whole idea is to promote commerce in the community using mass transportation."

The City of St. Ignace and Chamber of Commerce, potential partners in the project, are both researching similar services offered in other towns to see if the idea is feasible. The Chamber of Commerce has approached Community Action Agency and Michigan Department of Transportation, Mrs. Schlehuber said, as possible project partners. The suggestion has been made to use a Community Action bus initially, to test the idea for St. Ignace, she said.

"Whether we use a trolley or, at first, a bus, we could give marina, campground, and casino visitors convenient access to our shops and restaurants," Mrs. Schlehuber said. "If the trolley idea works, lots of things can happen."