News Photo by Steve Schulwitz State Sen. Jim Stamas, left, tries a heavy rope workout while touring Performance Locker in Alpena Tuesday. Owner Casey Stutzman showed Stamas what his business offers customers and also shared thoughts and opinions on what government in Lansing can do to help small businesses.

ALPENA — The Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a legislative tour for state Sen. Jim Stamas Tuesday. The tour provided Stamas a chance to see and learn more about small businesses in Alpena, as well as what some of the challenges are for the owners.

Stamas began his tour at Performance Locker, which is a business that provides professional and individualized personnel training services for its customers.

During the tour owner Casey Stutzman told Stamas how the building had been used as a warmup building for ice skaters and locker room for hockey players before the old Mich-e-ke-wis pavilion was torn down. He showed Stamas many of the workout techniques customers use and updated him on the businesses success, as well as concerns.

Stamas said he was impressed with Performance Locker’s operations, staff and Stutzman. He said it is nice to see a niche business going well in Alpena and hopes with help from Lansing, it will continue to thrive for many years. He said the fact the city worked with Stutzman to make his business become a reality also is encouraging.

“To see Casey do something that brings the community together with a unique idea that fits the community with an asset that wasn’t being used and make something happen is great,” Stamas said. “It’s always great to see new businesses open when I come to Alpena.”

Stutzman said he enjoyed giving a tour to Stamas and letting him see and try some of the workout equipment firsthand. Stutzman said it is difficult for small business owners to do their state taxes because of how complex they are and how often the laws change. He said it would be nice if the tax code was changed so it was a simple enough task to be able to do himself.

“You can either become an expert yourself or hire someone who already is,” he said. “We went the accountant route because there were so many other things on our plate that we just didn’t have time to dive into that stuff. I wouldn’t say simplifying the tax code would be a terrible thing.”

Chamber President/CEO Jackie Krawczak said the purpose of the tour was to expose Stamas to local businesses and allow him to exchange ideas and learn about successes and failures. She said it is something Stamas does often when in the area.

“It is important to do this type of thing because if a business faces a problem and they need legislative action for it, they have a relationship already started,” Krawczak said. “This event helps to maintain and expand the relationships between our representatives and business owners.”

Besides Performance Locker, Stamas visited Nowicki’s Sausage Shoppe, Omega Electric and Sign Company, and Fiber Char. There also was a private dinner where other business owners were able to meet and talk with Stamas.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached via email at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter ss_alpenanews.