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Most people think they know Saginaw’s story. They don’t. Eugene Seals left Michigan, built a career, and came back not because his hometown was fixed but because he believed it could be. Now, as President of the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, he’s helping a coalition of entrepreneurs, families, and institutions turn belief into brick and mortar.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
- How a former basketball player turned chamber president applies a team-first mentality to economic development
- Why local families are investing millions in downtown Saginaw and what the Medical Diamond means for the city’s future
- What it actually takes to change a city’s reputation when the headlines are still working against you
Links
Saginw County Chamber of Commerce: https://www.saginawchamber.org
Eugene Seals didn’t plan on running the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce. He planned on being a basketball coach. But a mentor saw something in him and pointed him home, back to a city that had lost its manufacturing plants, half its population, and most of its national reputation. Eugene came back anyway. Not because Saginaw was fixed, but because he believed it could be.
How the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce Is Leading a Comeback
Today, as president and CEO, Eugene leads a team of seven staff members serving more than 960 member businesses across the county. His approach borrows heavily from the basketball court. No silos. No solo plays. Everyone works together, and the team wins before anyone talks about what they did individually.
That team mentality extends well beyond the chamber’s office. Eugene describes a coalition of local leaders, entrepreneurs, families, and institutions all moving in the same direction. The Garber Management Group and Shaheen Development invested in downtown office space years ago when few others would. TriStar Trust Bank is building a new facility. And now the Medical Diamond is taking shape.
The Medical Diamond and What It Means for Saginaw
The Medical Diamond is a partnership anchoring Central Michigan University’s four-year medical school in downtown Saginaw, supported by Covenant Health, Michigan’s health systems, Saginaw Valley State University, Great Lakes Bay Health, and Community Mental Health. SVSU alone plans to bring nearly 400 students downtown. The project has drawn state funding and federal attention, and the infrastructure is already being plotted out along Washington Street.
Outside the city, growth is happening too. HSC has expanded from roughly 1,400 employees to 1,800. Corning has moved in nearby, bringing an additional 1,500 jobs. The combined impact has created a regional housing crisis, the kind of problem a city that lost half its population never expected to have.
Pride, Perception, and the House on the Nice Street
Eugene knows the perception problem. He grew up on Washington Street. His father was a doctor in Saginaw. His mother was the city’s mayor. He has heard outsiders call it “Saganasty” and watched people write the city off based on headlines and outdated information.
His response is a simple analogy. When his family bought their home, it needed new flooring, new windows, a new hot water heater. It was the worst house on a nice street. They chose to invest in it anyway. Now it is one of the nicest. Saginaw, he says, could be one of the nicest houses in a nice state if people just take care of it.
That is what the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce is doing, helping the people who stayed, the people who came back, and the people who showed up for the first time take care of a city that is still being written off by people who have not been paying attention.
