Destination Midland: Meet Rhiannon Gonzales
Watch Episode 35 of
The Max Loves Midland Show
Out this Wednesday 03/18/26!
Rhiannon Gonzales, In Her Own Words:
“I'm Rhiannon Gonzales, the Midland Destination Ambassador for Go Great Lakes Bay, our regional convention and visitors bureau. If you had asked me years ago where my career would lead, I probably never would have guessed tourism and hospitality. But looking back now, it makes perfect sense, because everything about my path has always been rooted right here in the Great Lakes Bay Region.
I’ve lived in this region my entire life. I was born in Saginaw, attended Freeland schools, moved around a bit as a kid, and eventually graduated from Hemlock High School. Hemlock felt small when I was growing up, and whenever my friends and I wanted to do something fun, we’d end up in Midland. Whether it was going to the movies, heading to the mall, or just finding something to do on a Friday night, Midland always felt like the “big city” compared to where we lived.
Even when it came time for college, I couldn’t imagine leaving the region. I toured other universities, including Grand Valley, and part of me thought I should move away as so many people do at that age. But my roots here were strong. My family, and especially my grandparents, were a huge part of my life. Being able to drive ten minutes to see them mattered more to me than going somewhere far away. So I attended Saginaw Valley State University, which, in hindsight, was exactly where I was meant to be.
Before I ever stepped into the tourism world, I spent years working in retail management. I worked at places like Rue 21 and Bath & Body Works. Retail teaches you a lot. You wear every hat imaginable. You’re handling staffing, sales, inventory, customer service, problem solving, and about ten other things all at once. It’s exhausting work, but it builds skills you don’t even realize you’re gaining.
Eventually, I reached a crossroads. If I wanted to keep moving up in retail, I would need to relocate. District managers get sent wherever the company needs them, sometimes across the country. That was something I just couldn’t see myself doing. I’ve always loved this region too much to leave it behind.
That’s when a friend encouraged me to apply for a group sales manager position at The H Hotel in Midland. At the time, I wasn’t confident I was qualified. I had never worked in hospitality before and didn’t know much about the hotel industry. But my friend told me to apply anyway, and I’m so glad I did.
Working at The H completely changed my perspective. Before that, a hotel to me was just a place you stayed when you were traveling. I had never thought about the business, the planning, the partnerships, and the community impact that goes into it. The H is such a unique property. It’s a conference center, a gathering place for nonprofits, a destination for visitors, and a hub for the local community all at once. Being part of that opened my eyes to how hospitality connects people and places.
Through my work there, I began collaborating frequently with Go Great Lakes Bay, our regional convention and visitors bureau. Tourism might sound simple on the surface, but it’s actually about something much bigger. Yes, we want people to visit our region. But the deeper goal is building a place that people love.
One of the concepts that stuck with me early on is a kind of community vitality cycle. When you build a place people want to visit, you’re also building a place people want to live. When people want to live there, businesses want to invest there. When businesses invest there, more people visit. It becomes this powerful circle that feeds itself.
Eventually, Great Lakes Bay reached out and encouraged me to apply for the Midland Destination Ambassador role. I wasn’t even actively looking for a new job, but I’ve learned that sometimes opportunity finds you when you’re ready for it. Because I had already been deeply involved with the community and hospitality industry, the transition felt natural.
Now my work revolves around helping explain and shape the story of the Great Lakes Bay Region. That includes Bay, Saginaw, and Midland Counties. We promote the incredible places, businesses, events, and experiences that exist here. Some days, that means maintaining our website listings and partner records, ensuring visitors can easily find information about restaurants, shops, and attractions. Other days, it means helping businesses share their events or connecting travelers with the perfect way to spend a weekend in our region.
But my favorite part of the job is encouraging people to be champions of where they live.
I always tell people two things. First, be proud of the place you call home. If you don’t love where you live, how can you expect anyone else to? And second, be a tourist in your own hometown. Take a weekend and explore your own region the same way you would if you were visiting somewhere new.
That might mean walking through Dow Gardens and experiencing the nation’s longest canopy walk. It might mean catching a Great Lakes Loons game at Dow Diamond, even if you don’t know much about baseball. It might mean browsing the Midland Area Farmers Market, trying a new downtown restaurant, or driving 20 minutes to Bay City to visit the planetarium or explore antique shops.
There is so much here, often right in our own backyard.
When I think about the future of Midland County, I hope most of all that we continue building on the momentum we already have. I want to see our community continue to embrace inclusivity, support local businesses, and welcome new ideas and new people. Midland has this rare combination of opportunity and connection. There’s always something happening, always something to do, yet it still has that small-town feeling where you run into friends at the grocery store or see familiar faces walking downtown.
My hope is that we keep leaning into that balance. That we continue to grow while holding onto the community spirit that makes this place special. Because when people truly love where they live, it creates the kind of community others can’t wait to visit.”
Do you have a Midland County story you would like to tell that aligns with our vision?