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About the Annual Event Series

Back to Michigan is an award-winning series of regional events happening each year in October and November. The events are usually centered around college homecomings and Thanksgiving, both popular times for former Michiganders to visit "home". Each regional Back to Michigan event, known by its local brand, is a casual networking event where attendees can meet with employers and community ambassadors. If you've been thinking about exploring the possibility of relocation to Michigan, register today for the Back to Michigan event happening in your community!

Registration is free for job seekers. 

Employers interested in participation should contact their local regional host

About the Back To Michigan Partners

Starting in 2015, the model for Hello West Michigan's popular ReThink West Michigan event was gradually adopted in other Michigan Regions. In 2018, Hello West Michigan first launched back2michigan.com, a landing page for collaborative event promotion, with each event produced by a different regional talent attraction effort. In 2020, with Covid threatening to cancel all of the Thanksgiving season networking events, Hello West Michigan created the Back to Michigan Host Organization Committee. Together the committee produced a record-breaking event series under the umbrella brand of Back To Michigan. Over 2,000 job seekers participated and it resulted in multiple hires and relocations. 

 

What started as a committee to produce an annual event series has evolved into an award-winning coalition representing regional talent attraction organizations in Michigan. Since 2020, Hello West Michigan has led continuous growth for the Back To Michigan Coalition. 

  • 14 partner organizations 
     

  • Every prosperity region in the state is represented 
     

  • New, formalized talent attraction efforts have started in Bay City, Flint, and the Northeast Lower Peninsula
     

  • New programming aimed at retaining college graduates has started in Flint and Detroit 
     

  • Closer collaboration is underway with the MEDC on their $10 million talent attraction advertising campaign
     

  • Cross-state partnerships between Detroit and Grand Rapids formed with the High Tech Talent Initiative
     

  • Recognized by the International Economic Development Council as an international best practice for regionalism and cross-border collaboration with an Excellence in Economic Development Award in 2021.   

Partner Organizations

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