'Good Morning' comes to Mount Pleasant
As people across the United States grab a cup of coffee and turn on the television this morning, some may see a few images of Mount Pleasant.
Reporters from the ABC talk show "Good Morning America" spent the weekend in Mount Pleasant filming scenes in several downtown locations, and in the home of Coordinator of Student Activities Damon Brown.
Brown's wife Keisha, who has battled breast cancer for the past few years, entered a contest during the middle of April aimed at bringing representatives from the show to small towns across the United States. She sent a letter to talk show officials about her passion and appreciation for the Mount Pleasant community.
"My wife talked about how supportive the community of Mount Pleasant has been," Damon Brown said. "We have several friends in the university community, as well, who have been very, very supportive."
Around 6:30 p.m. last Wednesday, Keisha Brown was informed she was a finalist in the competition and had until 9:30 p.m. that night to create a video presentation as the second layer for her application.
Damon Brown remembers scrambling to pull something together. Members of CMU's Program Board, along with University Recreation Director Stan Shingles, his wife Rene Shingles, and several close friends and neighbors showed up at the Browns' home to help with the challenge.
The end product caught the attention of broadcast officials, Damon Brown said, and Mount Pleasant made it into a short list of the top three finalists.
Filming representatives were at the Browns' home Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. for a live segment in that morning's show. Damon Brown said they filmed in various places downtown over the weekend and talked with other people who live in the community.
"They really wanted to get as much footage about Mount Pleasant as possible," he said.
This morning at 6:30 a.m., members of the community will gather together for a live filming at Sacred Heart Academy, 316 E. Michigan St.
"We're going to show what the community excitement is all about," Damon Brown said.
He said the whole weekend was quite a whirlwind experience that caught his family and neighbors by surprise.
Lisa Hadden, president and CEO of the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce, learned about the filming Sunday evening.
"I think it's a wonderful idea," she said. "We're doing everything we can to keep up with the times and be positive."
Another angle
Steve Smith, director of media relations, said he was contacted over the weekend by representatives from a local ABC affiliate asking for permission to film in Rose Arena at 5 a.m. this morning.
Good Morning America has another on-going contest relating to food drives, he said, and students from an elementary school in Flint won last week's competition. Approximately 100 to 150 students will be bussed to CMU so the filming of a check presentation to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan can be done in Mount Pleasant, since they will already be here.
"Rose Arena seemed to be big enough," Smith said. "We wanted to give CMU some involvement in all of this."
Damon Brown said the winning community will get a block party complete with a concert.
He and his wife said they are excited to bring national attention to the area.
"I think it's great for our community to be where we are right now in this moment," Keisha Brown said. "Michigan is going through a lot right now."
university@cm-life.com
