March, 2022
The Princess was recently nominated as a finalist for the Emerging Business of the Year award by the 2022 Gala Awards Committee of the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce. On March 18, 411 members of the Manistee area Chamber of Commerce met at the Little River Casino Resort to determine by a live vote that their selection was Manistee Harbor Tours who operates the PRINCESS Passenger Cruise vessel on the Lake Michigan shoreline.
In addition to this award, every year,the NORTHERN EXPRESS reporters scour northern Michigan to find 20 average folks dedicating themselves to a not so average existence –people who parlay their passions into something bigger than themselves. Their pick for an unsung but undoubtedly fascinating person in 2022 was AL Laaksonen, the 83 year old owner and operator of the PRINCESS OF MANISTEE. He was their selection for being one of the most fascinating individuals to be found in northern MICHIGAN.