Oceana County residents undoubtedly reside in one of the most stunning areas in the state, possibly even the Midwest. This area not only produces a wide variety of the nation’s most delicious produce, but it is where hundreds of thousands of people come to visit for recreation year after year. While the Silver Lake Sand Dunes are a huge draw, so is the never-ending natural beauty, many great businesses and the people who live here. Over the past several years with the merger of the Silver Lake Sand Dunes Visitors Bureau and the Hart Area Chamber of Commerce, the Silver Lake Sand Dunes-Hart Visitors Bureau (SLSD-HVB) has played a major role in maintaining and building on those attributes.
Executive Director of the SLSD-HVB, Scott Beal, who retired Oct. 2, has had the privilege of leading the visitors bureau for the past nine years. Before heading into his next phase of life, Beal shared, from his perspective, the bureau’s greatest accomplishments and what this position has meant to him.
Before being hired as the executive director for the visitors bureau, Beal worked in managerial positions for the Hilton and Marriott corporations. His main role was to open brand new hotels and train staff. It was a great experience, however, all of the travel and responsibility were tough. He was ready to settle down and be less busy. After leaving the corporate world, Beal and his wife took a gap year to see the country and decide what was next. They eventually settled back in his hometown of Ludington, when his wife ran into Sarah Tucker at the gym, who told her about a new position opening up at the visitors bureau.
“After years of working with chambers, bureaus and boards at Hilton and Marriott, it was something I wanted to try,” Beal recalled. “I was ready for the change.”
After years of staffing the Silver Lake Sand Dunes Visitors Bureau with part-time positions, the visitors board was also looking for a change. As the area’s tourism industry was expanding, they realized that area businesses needed more support.
In June of 2017, the Silver Lake Sand Dunes Visitors Bureau board took a huge step. Using the PA59 lodging assessment tax collected from the three hotels in Hart and the three hotels in Silver Lake, they created and were able to fund the new full-time position.
While the visitors bureau is mainly funded by the area’s lodging assessment tax and is focused on bringing people to the area, the Hart Area Chamber of Commerce is funded by membership dues and focuses on community events. After becoming one entity in 2020, both shared in the expense of the thinkdunes.com website. “It’s our biggest cooperative venture to date," Beal said. “As part of the Pure Michigan website, we get a lot of hits and clicks. It’s one of the top five tourism websites in Michigan.”
When Beal was first hired in 2017, he was working solely for the chamber. “I said to myself, ‘This is easy.’ Then the global pandemic hit. Some may remember the ‘Discover Oceana’ website that was developed during the shutdown. It was not just tourism; it was survival,” Beal shared. “That website showed more of a county-wide effort. We pooled all of our resources together. That’s still the ultimate goal, to come together someday.”
A lot was happening in the Hart area during Covid. The City of Hart was graduating from their Hart Main Street involvement, and Nichole Kleiner was hired as the city’s Community Economic Development Director. “That took Hart, and everyone, to another level,” Beal noted.
Not only that, but people were flocking to Oceana County as a place to get outside and away from the crowds. Looking back, Beal reflected, “The funny thing about Covid was everyone was doom and gloom at first. They thought everyone was going to go out of business. Here, businesses did as well as in 2019, even on a smaller scale. Tourists and visitors felt safer here than going to larger areas. We say it’s when Eastern Michigan discovered Western Michigan. When people got their stimulus checks, they couldn’t go to the Grand Canyon, so they came here; 2021 and 2022 were record years. We were pleasantly stunned.”
By 2023, Beal was extremely busy, and overwhelmed. In 2025, the board took a serious look at where they were and where they wanted to go. They made the commitment to hire a marketing manager. Kaitlyn Yonker, a three-year graduate of Aquinas College with a major in business and sports management with a concentration in marketing, was hired and brought a whole other level of support to the organization. “To have two people was a big step, (as) one person just couldn’t do it anymore,” Beal said.
At the end of 2025, Beal realized Yonker could do his job, and so he announced his plans to retire. Yonker officially assumed her role as executive director on Oct. 5. Former marketing intern Emily Miles, currently finishing her degree at Ferris State University, will replace Yonker and start full-time as marketing director in December.
“It’s not just being nice to people,” Beal said, adding that while public relations is a huge part of the job, it goes both ways. “I’ve been amazed by how nice the businesses have been, especially when we’ve made mistakes. They’ve been so professional and appreciative throughout my time here."
“In a weird way, Covid helped Oceana County. So many sharp people moved here. They gave up big-time jobs to settle here,” Beal added.
Knowing that young people are the future, Beal hopes that more of the Gen Z-ers will eventually move back to the area.
When asked what he had planned for his retirement, Beal laughed, “I wish I had a cool answer. Right now I can’t think of anything more appealing than just relaxing or cleaning out my car!”
No matter where retirement takes him, this community will remember his influence for years to come. He will carry with him the friendships formed and the connections made. He leaves big shoes to fill, but in true leadership fashion, he’s prepared his successors, he’s confident in them and he’s ready to let go. He is grateful to the many people who made his time in this position so enjoyable and rewarding.
Going forward, Yonker and Miles plan to continue the bureau’s focus on making the community aware of the work they do. “We find that even though businesses have been members for years, they still don’t fully understand all the chamber does and how much it benefits their business,” Yonker said.
Another focus going forward will be the integration of the ever-evolving use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in planning vacations. “We will be doing a lot of website updates this winter, which will allow people to plan their trips using AI. We believe having that capability will bring more attention to our chamber members and help them stand out more.”
For more information about the Silver Lake Sand Dunes - Hart Visitors Bureau, please contact Yonker by calling 231-873-2247, emailing marketing@thinkdunes.com or stopping at the Visitors Bureau located at 2388 N. Comfort Dr. in Hart, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To connect with their social media pages, please visit “Think Dunes” for the visitors bureau information or “Think Community” for more chamber-related information.
