Schoolcraft, Mich., March 2006 - Great Lakes Coach, a sales and service company in the commercial transportation business, marked its 55th anniversary on March 8.

"This anniversary is a significant milestone for us," commented Gail Haithwaite, company president. "We've entered new markets with specialty vehicles featuring custom applications such as airport ground transportation, homeland security, prisoner transport, and emergency command centers," she continued. Each vehicle sold is designed to the exact specifications of the client.

Great Lakes Coach was originally founded as Great Lakes Marmon-Herrington Coach Company. Located in Dearborn, Michigan; their original purpose was to sell and service city transit buses manufactured by Ford.

Expanding from the early days of school buses, Great Lakes Coach has grown to assist clients in such diverse fields as health care, rehabilitation centers, retirement communities, churches, corporations, colleges, prisoner transportation, and more. The company is now headquartered on US 131 in Schoolcraft, Michigan.

Great Lakes Coach became certified as a Women's Business Enterprise in 2004, and Haithwaite has been a strong advocate for women-owned businesses. Great Lakes Coach has clients across the nation.