MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. – It's a rainy, blustery day on Mackinac Island for this year's policy conference.
With no major election this year, and, other than the residue of a failed Proposal 1, very little political electricity at the Grand Hotel compared to past conferences.
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However, that may actually help with focus. The actual conference sessions are just getting underway, but already this morning I walked past a dozen planning and strategy discussions on everything from education to future energy policy.
Yes, there's plenty of skepticism about what gets done here. Much of the real value of the gathering comes in these informal meetings where relationships are born or strengthened, plans are hatched, and priorities are aligned.
I have also received an email or two from those who refer to Mackinac as a "boondoggle." I'll leave its value up to others, but boondoggle suggests a lot of wasted public money. Very little public money is being spent here -- it's largely businesses, individuals, foundations and PACs.
The thing is sold out, so clearly there's a sense among the attendees that there is something to be gained from this annual event.
I'm always struck by seeing people talking to one another here that likely would have very little chance of crossing paths back home. The porch here (well, thanks to the weather today, it's really more the lobby) at the Grand Hotel becomes an intersection of voices and personalities that may mesh in a way no one had imagined possible. Many, if not most, of these conversations lead no where in particular.
But a few hold great promise. Let's hope those get enough water and sunlight to bloom.