May 31,2012 Mr. Dennis DeVany Chief Essential Air Service Division Department of Transportation Dear Mr. Devany, l 

### c 

# ·u

I am Hal Neiman, of Neiman's Family Market. We are a small, but growing grocery chain. We have three stores and presently negotiating on afourth site. Two ofour stores are in Northeast Michigan, one in Alpena and one in Tawas. Our third store is in St. Clair, 250 miles from Alpena. And ifwe proceed with our 4th store, itwill be in the greater Detroit area. Mywife and I have been in Alpena for the past 29 years. We moved ourfamily from Ann Arbor to open ourfirst supermarket. During these years the greater Alpena area toughed out some positive changes, but isolation and lack ofopportunity made these changes hard to come by. And because road access to our Northeast areas is so severely limited, (Route M-32 and US 23) ittakes hours to getto our area from almost anywhere. Even lake access requires an 18 mile hike in on Lake Huron. But what is exciting to see is how OUR community is beginning to appreciate itselfand the many wonderful opportunities and experiences it has to offer its residents, the state, the region, and the nation. As a community we struggled with limited but essential air service overthe years. While far from perfect, our airservice was sufficient to bring or hold on to some business and vacation travelers. recall afew years ago afamily from Scotland ended up in Alpena and because ofa small act of kindness offered to them, they tooktime to come to our store to offer an impromptu concert. We found outthe dad was a renowned bag pipe player in Europe, and as he played his bagpipes, the reason for his notorietywas obvious. He would have never made itto Alpena without Air Service. Yes, I realize this is avery minor example ofthe impact ofour local air service. But it reflects thousands ofexperiences that would never have occurred withoutthe airport and the air flights we now have. It is a fact losing these daily qualityflights will have a devastating effect on our local economy, and on ourties to national and international businesses.**~ut** itwill also have an impact on the bagpiper visitors arid many other events, experiences, and individuals, that easily fall underthe Radar ifquality air access to Alpena is lost. You will hear aboutthe big picture from many, and Iagree the loss of quality air service would have a horrible impact on businesses in our rural region. But Ithink it is importantto acknowledge the significantly negative impactthis would have on the quality of life for almost every area citizen and many others wanting to come to Northeast Michigan. This area is aJewel to all that wantto experience



### 2205 US 23 South • Suite 144 • Alpena, MI 49707 • 989-356-4720 • FAX 989-356-4905an amazing quality of life. Spending time in this communitywhere honesty, kindness, and caring is expected, respected, and revered is an experience most folks neverforget. I have lived here 29 years and I am stilt astounded bythe truth ofthisstatement. Our company has more than 140 employees in Alpena alone. When we add in Tawas staffwe employ over 250 people. Many are goingto school. Many are supportingtheirfamily with a second income. And many have full timejobs that allowthem to provide a wonderful quality of life forthose they love and care for. It may be hard to see how air service impacts my staff, but it does in many significant ways. With air service local shops are more successful, area manufacturers are more successful, and even our hospital that is so critical to our community is able to offerso much, and attract so many more quality staffbecause ofquality local air service. Even our supermarket has access to many more options and choices to offer our customers because folks that serve us can fly in. One specific example, our quality oflife would be dramatically reduced bythe loss ofour hospital, as it did recently in Cheboygan, Michigan. I admitthe loss ofour air service would not immediatelyforce the hospital to close. But ourcommunity like all communities is inter-dependent and intra-dependent. Each time we lose a key element ofour community itwears heavy on all that remains. Our company wilt do all we can to'support local air service. Myfamily has used local air service over and over again in years past, for both business and pleasure, and notjust my'personal family. The Neiman's extended Supermarket family flies out ofthe local airportfor business and pleasure and will continue to do so. But beyondthis, we will encourage others to take advantage ofthis wonderful service. We will notjust getsuppliers and business folks to fly here; we wilt do all in our powerto see use ofthe local service heading out ofour airport continues to grow. While the other bids for local air service are appreciated, truthfully I doubtthey can survive. We do not use or need planes tojumpfrom one small town to another. We need to easily touch base with the rest ofthe world. Sky West has all ofthe qualities that will make it successful in Northeast Michigan. And the money required to support Sky West will notjust grow our local economy, itwill improve the economy ofthe entire region, the state, and the nation. Support for SkyWest will be moneywell spent. Ifyou need more detail on what we will doto supportthis decision going forward, I will be happyto discuss thiswith you or one ofyour staff. I can be reached at 989-356-4720 or by e-mail: hal_neimans@ spartanstores.com. Sincerely,

# ~~L~ Hal Neiman Neiman's Family Markets