Gaylord Is OPEN for BUSINESS After Severe Tornado Gaylord, a town of 4,200 residents, as well as some even smaller surrounding towns, have long been one of the Midwest’s best golf destinations. A marketing alliance, Gaylord Golf Mecca, led by Executive Director, Paul Beachnau, was created in 1987 to showcase the great golf available in the area. The ‘Mecca’ had grown to 17 courses and 21 lodging partners. Only Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday has been in business longer as a cooperative golf marketing effort. It’s a joint effort that has been very successful at bringing golfers, as well as outdoor enthusiasts to this Northern Michigan paradise. Gaylord was preparing to celebrate its Centennial this summer when the town experienced a frightful day. Mid-afternoon on May 20, with little advance warning, a severe tornado attacked. It cut a swath two football fields wide with maximum wind speeds of up to 150 miles per hour and stayed on the ground for 20 minutes. Two residents died, 44 were injured and many were without power for three days. Meteorologists said it was the strongest twister to hit Michigan in 10 years and the first in the Gaylord area since 2014. The town was prominent By Len Ziehm
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