The Small Business Association of Michigan on June 13 honored State Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) as 2024 Legislator of the Year at its annual meeting in Lansing, with more than 400 small business owners in attendance.
“Senator McDonald Rivet has helped lead on core issues that encourage success for the small businesses of Michigan over the past year,” said Brian Calley, Small Business Association of Michigan President and CEO and a former Republican lieutenant governor of Michigan. “She has been a voice of support for both owners and employees of small businesses, truly working to understand the challenges they face and working with her colleagues to improve Michigan’s entrepreneurial climate.”
The organization honored McDonald Rivet for supporting key legislative initiatives this session, including halting the movement of policy that would be detrimental to Michigan’s small businesses. Her work has raised discussion about paid family leave and access to affordable childcare statewide.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized as a Small Business Association of Michigan Legislator of the Year,” McDonald Rivet said. “In my Great Lakes Bay district and across Michigan, I see the enormous opportunities and value small businesses add to our local communities and state economy. I’ll always look for practical ways to make it easier for Michiganders to get the training, talent, and capital they need to start and grow small businesses.”
McDonald Rivet, representing the 35th District, is the chair of the Joint Capital Outlay Subcommittee and the vice chair of the Department of Health and Human Resources, Energy and Environment, and Labor and Economic Opportunity Economic Development Corporations Subcommittees.