The following is written on behalf of the members of the Young Professionals of Greater Dowagiac.

For the fourth year in a row, the Young Professionals of Greater Dowagiac organized Fourth of July fireworks and they went off with a bang.

Rain had the group worried during the day, but thankfully the weather cleared and the spectacular show, shot off by the YPGD’s member Kirk Proshwitz, began around 10:15 p.m. and ended at 10:40 p.m.

There were more 50 donors during 2017 for the fireworks, many of whom are repeat sponsors. We cannot thank you enough for your support.

Local Police, Fire and Public Works departments also deserve many thanks for helping to keep everyone safe during the event.

The Dowagiac firework show would not be possible without the many generous donors. Please remember when possible to “shop local” and support our locally owned businesses.

We recognize and thank our many sponsors:

Double Grand Finale Sponsor, $1,000: Four Winds Casino Resort

Grand Finale Sponsor, $500: Accounting Consultants PC, Charles Concrete LLC, Dr. David and Sarah Mathews, F&V Operations and Resource Management, Honor Credit Union, Don and Joan Lyons, Southwestern Michigan College, and Wolverine Mutual Insurance

Rocket Sponsor, $250: Hale’s True Value Hardware, Imperial Furniture, Jim D’s Body Shop, and Wightman & Associates Inc.

Firecracker Sponsor, $100: Arnt Asphalt Sealing Inc., Bakeman’s Barber, Booth’s Country Florist, C. Wimberley Automotive Group, Dowagiac Area Federal Credit Union , Erick’s Carpet Cleaning, Fryman’s Recycling #1, Hannapel Home Center, Judd Lumber, Krook Container Inc., Mahar Insurance, Merrill Excavating, Inc., NAPA, Northern Construction Services Corp., Oil Can Alley, Pri-Mart, Rohdy’s Heating & Cooling, Semco Energy, Symonds Machine, The Marshall Shoppe, Twistees, and Victory Tabernacle Church

Sparkler Sponsor, $50: Leon (Andy) Anderson (Anderson Consulting), Ron & Evelyn Bakeman, Dowagiac District Library, The Mane Attraction, Matthew V. Cripe DDS, Midway Engineering Inc., John and Nancy Vylonis, and Ham-sters and Somewhere in Time

Red, White and Blue Sponsor, $25: Ausra Equipment, Gary Bailey, Dowsett Chiropractic Health, Jeff Neuman (Farm Bureau Insurance), Christine Scelzo, and Sister Lakes Brewing Company

We also want to acknowledge the many citizens who donated and purchased glow sticks from the YPGD the night of the fireworks. Thanks for your support.

Special thanks to our in-kind donors: Creative Vinyl Signs Inc. and Waste Management.

Questions about the YPGD and our future events can be answered by: Pat Bakeman of Bakeman Barbers 782-5694, Becky Grabemeyer 783-2505 or by email: YPDowagiac@gmail.com

Becky Grabemeyer

Dowagiac