ROGERS CITY — Rogers City Mayor Scott McLennan had a front-row seat to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s State of the State address on Wednesday.

McLennan was the special guest of State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, for a day in Lansing. McLennan said he had some alone time with Cavitt to talk business and update him on happenings in Rogers City, toured parts of the state capitol he had never seen before, and met a lot of state and municipal officials from around Michigan.

McLennan said he was approached by Cavitt about a month ago and asked if he would be interested in going to Lansing for the day. McLennan said after checking his calendar, he accepted Cavitt’s invitation.

On Wednesday, McLennan said he met with Cavitt and his staff in Cavitt’s office to discuss business involving Northeast Michigan, especially Rogers City. He said then, he went to the capitol where he toured the facility and met other legislators and elected officials from other communities. McLennan said he established many new relationships that he may be able to utilize down the road.

“That was the highlight of the trip for me,” he said. “I made a lot of connections and exchanged a lot of business cards.”

One of the people McLennan said he connected with was Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi. McLennan said after the two were introduced, the two men chatted and a rapport was built. He said although the communities they each oversee are very different, they also had a lot in common.

“We just hit it off,” McLennan said. “He’s interested in coming up to Rogers City and I’m interested in going down there. The two communities are very different, but we both have the same struggles.”

McLennan said Whitmer touched on points during her speech that he hoped she would. He said the fact that the governor asked for everyone to unite and work together to come up with ideas to fix some of the state’s issues was what most impressed him.

“I wanted her to encourage them to reach across the aisle and to work together and I’m pleased that she did,” McLennan said. “It doesn’t matter what political party you are a part of, we are all in this together. I think that message was important.”

McLennan said he didn’t attend any of the after-parties that were held after the speech and instead, drove back to Rogers City. He thanked Cavitt for hosting him and added that he had a good time.

“It was an interesting day and I was honored to be invited,” he said. “I made some new connections that I’m sure will be long-lasting. It was all great.”