James Studinger

2016 Gemmy Speaker

Class 1990

• In his spare time - Loves to spend time with his wife and two boys. Competes in Triathlons including Ironmans. Climbed Mt. Rainier, ran the "Rim to Rim to Rim (down, across, up, down, back across and up the Grand Canyon), enjoys swimfishing, hiked through the UP from Miners Beach to Thompson, canoed through the UP from Autrain Lake Superior to Little Bay de Noc Lake Michigan.

• Happy Manistique Memory - playing hockey

• Favorite place to see in Manistique - the woods

• Activities in Manistique - worked at Nordens Groceries, played hockey, fished, hunted and probably took too many laps

• Authored Wealth Is a Choice, is a keynote speaker on financial/economic topics, frequent guest for Fox News on financial segments

• Why is anything possible coming from Manistique? You realize when you step out of the UP that you are unique. Being from the Upper Peninsula and a small town in particular gives you a different perspective and relationship with people than you'd get in the city. Financial upcoming has very little to do with the money a person might make later in life. So there's no setback to wealth potential. In fact, small town life naturally encourages people to have experiences critical to success. Things don't come easy for us. We don't expect handouts. We're strong. We're compassionate. We endure. We act.