/EINPresswire.com/ IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich – September 12, 2012 — Julie Sprenger was recently appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to the Michigan Travel Commission. She is owner and president of Laurium Manor Inn Inc. and Sprenger Enterprises, LLC, Laurium, Mich., in the Upper Peninsula’s Keweenaw Peninsula. She will be responsible for working with a variety of associations, nonprofit corporations and organizations to develop, promote and enhance Michigan’s travel and tourism, the state’s second largest industry. The Michigan Travel Commission is housed within Michigan’s Economic Development Corp.
Sprenger brings 23 years experience in Michigan lodging and tourism to the commission. She is a current member and a past president of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Travel & Recreation Association (UPTRA), a directorship she has served for 15 years. “Julie is deeply committed to Michigan’s U.P., its history, its culture and its wilderness,” said Tom Nemacheck, UPTRA executive director. “She understands the challenges of running a business and how to overcome them. Julie and her husband Dave took a run-down mansion and turned it into one of the U.P.’s most popular bed and breakfast inns. Her experience and ideas will benefit the entire state.”
Prior to renovating and operating the Laurium Manor Inn (opened in 1989), Sprenger worked as a design engineer for Clarkson Inc. in Palo Alto, Calif.; as a mechanical design and project manager for RJ Kaufman and Associates in Livermore, Calif. and as a project manager for Logitech Inc. in Fremont, Calif. She earned an associate degree in mechanical design engineering technology from Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich. Sprenger replaces Rochelle Cotey, ALTRAN Transit Authority, Munising, Mich., whose term on the commission ended in August.
Michigan’s U.P. is a 16,452-square-mile region north of the Straits of Mackinac. It is world-renowned for its wilderness adventures, waterfalls, Great Lakes resort towns and lighthouses, historic sites, islands, regional foods and rollicking festivals. For more information about the U.P. and its dining and lodging options, visit www.UPtravel.com or call 800-562-7134.
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