Northern Michigan University is located in Marquette, Michigan, a true “Winter City”, where the pristine natural environment along the shores of Lake Superior brings not only 200 inches of snow each year but also unparalleled opportunities to enjoy winter leisure activities such as skiing, snow shoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling and sled dog mushing. Marquette has been awarded the designation of being a “Michigan Cool City” (2003) and was also named one of the “Most Livable Communities” in America in 2004. Northern Michigan University, with nearly 10,000 students, has made an extraordinary commitment to recognize its location in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as a distinguishing asset on which to build academic programs and research agendas. At the same time, NMU has become increasingly committed to community engagement, recognizing that both students and communities benefit from what the Carnegie Foundation refers to (in defining the community-engaged university) “the exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity”. The purpose of this paper is to describe and illustrate how NMU has successfully integrated the concepts of place (location) and community engagement into its strategic plan and into the educational experience of NMU students. The paper will specifically describe how a faculty memeber in the College of Business has integrated two important leisure events in the community, the Noquemanon Cross-Country Ski Marathon (which attracts over 1,000 competitors fraom around the world) and the U. P. 200 Sled Dog Race (the highlight of the winter social season in Marquette and an Iditarod qualifying event), into a university course on Organizational Behavior. Students enrolled in the course study essential organizational concepts including leadership, teamwork, communication, decision-making and civic responsibility and then take on key volunteer positions for these important community events, assisting organizers in multiple ways to manage the logistics, resources and personnel necessary for success. With this endeavor, leisure and learning intersect for the mutual benefit of both students and the community. Examples of student learning based on this unique combination of leisure activities and community engagement will be shared.