Local real estate agent shines a spotlight on Bay County in an Emmy-nominated TV series

Make sure you’ve time to spare if you ask Ali Smith what makes the Great Lakes Bay Region a high-quality place to live. He’s turned his answer to that question into a television show.

Smith, a real estate agent at Ayre Rhinehart Bay, debuts in February on The American Dream, an Emmy-nominated national television show highlighting lifestyle and real estate. Smith doesn’t know the airing date yet, but says it will be streamed on platforms including Prime Video, YouTube, Tube, Roku, and more. 

Smith filmed the segment around Bay City in January.

“The first segment highlighted the Bay County Historical Museum,” he says. “We made a stop downtown at Water Street Nutrition. That is a very cool local business with a very involved owner. They support a local nonprofit, United We Go, with a special drink.”

When you buy the drink, $3 goes to United We Go. 

“We featured some public art,” he adds. “We stopped down by the Madonna mural to tie in what we did at the Historical Museum, where we displayed the Michigan Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

The Madonna mural is on the outside wall of the former City Market. She faces Adams Street.

Smith also took the film crew to the United We Go murals in Downtown Bay City and the Studio 23/The Arts Center in Wenonah Park.

“I didn’t really highlight any real estate in this segment,” he says. “It was just mostly the lifestyle segment.”

He’s already thinking about what he’ll feature in his next segment, set to film in February and air in March. 

American Dream TV is filmed around the nation. It’s new in this area, but real estate agents in other parts of the state already are featured on the channel. 

“It’s creating positive media that highlights your place,” Smith says. “It’s shining a positive spotlight on local business owners, events, nonprofit, philanthropists, and all the great things that make people live, work and play here.”

The goal is to encourage people to visit, or move, to the area. 

Smith says he’s hearing from people in other areas thinking of moving here. Remote workers, for example, can choose to live anywhere. They aren’t bound by the ability to commute to an office.

“I do believe we are seeing people move here who do remote work. Remote work definitely helps to bring people from other areas,” he says. “One of the pros that came out of the pandemic is we are learning new ways to do business.”

Smith says his next steps include looking for sponsors for the program. 

“We’re looking for sponsors to help cover the costs to be able to continue to provide behind-the-scenes content to further promote small businesses in the community,” Smith says. “I’m always looking for new and unique properties to list and to feature on the show.”

To learn more about sponsorships, contact Smith

 
Enjoy this story? Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.

Read more articles by Kathy Roberts.

Kathy Roberts, a graduate of Central Michigan University, moved to Bay City in 1987 to start a career in the newspaper industry. She was a reporter and editor at the Bay City Times for 15 years before leaving to work at the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Covenant HealthCare, and Ohno Design. In 2019, she returned to her storytelling roots as the Managing Editor of Route Bay City. When she’s not editing or writing stories, you can find her reading books, knitting, or visiting the bars of Bay County. You can reach Kathy at editor@RouteBayCity.com