This past weekend I had the great honor of attending the World Premiere of a new film called Street Boss, in my hometown of Saginaw, Michigan where the movie was filmed. The writer, producer, and star of the movie – Mark Bierlein – is a long time friend of my family, and it was pretty cool seeing him up on the big screen surrounded by big named actors like Vincent Pastore, Nick Turturro, Carmen Argenziano, and Robert Gallo. Needless to say, I was a little star struck and giddy with excitement as I watched the actors walk down the red carpet with cameras flashing at their every step.

However, it wasn’t long before I began to realize what was really going on underneath all the glitz and Hollywood glimmer of the event. You could see that the real excitement was in the high hopes that everyone in attendance had for Mark. In the eyes of many Saginaw residents, Mark had become their hero, and I include myself in that comment. And it wasn’t because of the fame that we are all sure he is bound to achieve. It was for the hope he was able to give to his community.

Growing up, Saginaw was a small town that thrived on the automotive industry. Almost everyone knew everyone else, and you could bet that everyone knew or was related to someone who worked for General Motors. So, you can imagine the hardships that this little town has had to endure over the last few years. Hope was being wiped out in mass quantities as the GM factories began to close one by one and thousands were finding themselves out of work. A huge part of Saginaw thrived because of the jobs that GM had once provided and many of it’s employees never knew anything else.

That is, until Mark started a three year process to achieve his life long dream of making a movie. After thinking long and hard about it, Mark chose to produce a movie based on a true story that took place in Saginaw. And because of that, suddenly the town had a reason to get out of bed again. Cast and crew filmed all over Saginaw and the surrounding areas. And people who were wondering what they were going to do without GM were now finding themselves in the movie making business. Famous actors and glimmer aside, the best part of the whole premiere for me, was watching everyone around me buzz over seeing the names of friends and family go by in the credits and applauding like crazy as Mark promised to make more films in Saginaw.

After the movie was over, a Q&A session with the cast and crew was held for special VIP ticket holders. Towards the end, someone asked Mark for his advice for future actor hopefuls. His answer is something I will never forget. “You can’t do it for the fame or fortune. You have to wake up every day with a fire in your belly. You have to be hungry for wanting to see your dreams come true. That’s where the real reward comes in.”

Mark’s dreams did come true that night. But because of him, and his determination to achieve those dreams, he inspired a whole town. And to me, that reward was priceless.