Steve and Nicole

“Nicole and I met at a bonfire. The smoke was blowing towards her, and when she moved over next to me, it stopped. We struck up a conversation and we’ve been off and running ever since. She’s always wanted to go to Scotland, so we booked the trip after she graduated. I’m sure she knew the proposal was coming, but I still tried to surprise her.

I hired a photographer, and we needed to be at a certain spot at a certain time for the pictures. But on the way, it started raining, a complete downpour. We were hiding under a tree, I said a prayer…and it stopped. I got down on one knee, proposed, got our pictures…and it started to downpour again.

We’re in the very early process of renovating a house here in Bay City. We got tired of paying rent, and saw having a house as an opportunity to invest in our community, support the culture, and contribute to building a great neighborhood for all the little kiddos out there, and hopefully, other young families will follow behind us as well.

A lot of kids grow up thinking that they’ll move away and get a job somewhere else, and that was true for both of us. But after getting involved with the community, we fell in love with it and wanted to stay and help make things happen.”

- Stephen Prince

“I grew up in Munger– right next to the potato festival—went to Delta College after I graduated from Bay City Central in 2017, then went over to SVSU for my degree in professional technical writing. Originally, I wasn't going to stay around the area, but I just love this area so much. I didn't want to leave home, and it was a luxury to be able to get a really great education in my backyard.

Like a lot of kids, growing up I assumed that I was going to go to college ‘somewhere else’ and get a job there. But getting involved with the community exposed me to all of the opportunities and the possibilities that are here. Once you get influenced by that and after meeting like-minded people with the same passions and ideas, you don't really want to leave. There are a lot of people here with the passion to make things happen, and I'm excited to stay and be a part of that.”

–Nicole Horn

“My mom has always been interested in genealogy and she traced our family roots back to the mid-1800’s, making me something like the eighth generation here in Bay City. There’s a gentleman in our family tree who lost his leg in 1890 and owned a harness shop where Artigianos is now—pretty much a cowboy with one leg running across Bay City.

Despite our long family history in Bay City, I grew up thinking I was never going to live here as an adult. In high school, everybody wanted to get out. But when I got into politics, I discovered a love for my community. That’s a love you can discover, too— just go out and walk the streets. Talk to your neighbors, about anything, and you'll start to fall in love with your community.

Because of all the campaigns I've done, I’ve knocked on a lot of doors and probably walked every street in Bay City. I fell more in love with every campaign cycle and every opportunity to talk to citizens, ask them about their lives and what they care about.

I had the opportunity to leave Bay City a couple different times. I've lived down in Lansing for internships, and while I love Lansing, I felt a distinct connection to my community here. I really appreciate this community and I’m thankful for it. For example, there’s a pickleball group I’m part of, and Nicole and I just went out the other day and played with strangers. They were incredibly kind and taught us everything. It was wonderful, and it's hard to pass up those kinds of connections. That's why I chose to live here.”

–Stephen Prince