Cl se
aul Silverman's involve-
ment in community
stretches far and wide. He's
equally devoted to the
Detroit Jewish community as he is to
the arts and the city of Detroit. He's
what you could call a new breed of
leader.
"I found that volunteer work real-
ly fits into my other work; it's seam-
less," said the 31-year-old real estate
builder, developer and manager.
"One nice thing is, compared to a lot
of my peers, I can spend crazy
amounts of time doing volunteer
work, I can leave in the middle of
the day, create my own schedule. I
really enjoy going to meetings. It's a
nice break"
Silverman has held leadership
positions in the Federation's Young
Adult Division and the Financial
Resource Development, Grants and
7/17
1998
102
Distributions and Real Estate and
Property Management committees.
He has traveled the country repre-
senting Detroit at Jewish confer-
ences, visited Israel with the same
purpose, studies Torah weekly with
Rabbi Eli Meyerfeld of Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah, and devotes time and ener-
gy to the Yeshiva, AIPAC and the
Fanclub Foundation for the Arts.
Growing up in Southfield in what
he describes as not a very Jewish
neighborhood, Silverman sought out
Jewish involvement elsewhere. But
after his bar mitzvah at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, he stopped learning.
"I had a void in my life, probably
up until about five years ago," he
said. "I decided after college that vol-
unteering was something I'd like to
do."
Silverman credits his parents with
inspiring him to get involved. "My
dad was active in YAD when he was
young, so I knew it was there. I start-
ed slowly. If you say 'yes' enough, I'm
amazed how many things I'm
involved with."
But he's reluctant to identify him-
self so neatly. "There are a lot of
things I have to learn before I say I'm
a leader," said the University of
Michigan graduate. He is part-owner
of a mortgage company called St.
James Servicing and works with his
father in the 80-year-old family real
estate business, operating out of a
well-windowed office that overlooks
the Rouge River.
"I don't really think I do a lot," he
said. He and his wife Jennifer don't
have kids yet, "so our nights are free.
I have weeks where every day I have
something. I'm sure when we have
kids I'll probably scale back my
involvement. I won't eliminate it,
just be selective."
So why is he involved at all?
"Simply because I can. Either finan-
cially, time or talents. I feel that
when I attend a meeting, I can give
something very positive. I like to feel
I'm solving a problem, be part of
something. I think some people want
to lead because they want power. I
don't care about power. I just like to
be nice to people, make friends,
build things. I'm an eternal opti-
mist."
Silveman's not shy; if he has some-
thing to say, you can bet he'll make
sure its heard. "This is what I like to
do -- talk, argue, resolve things."
He certainly won't keep quiet
about Israel. "The older leaders, their
commitment to Israel was so
ingrained in them, they continue to
do things whether Israel disappoints
them or not," he said. "They are not
fair-weather friends. I don't think the
younger generation shares that same
view of Israel. We're still definitely
struggling with 'What does Israel
mean to you?'"
As is evident with his own non-
Jewish involvements, Silverman sees
the attraction of organizations like
Fanclub or the Karmanos Cancer
Institute or the Detroit Institute of
Arts' Founders Junior Cotmcil, of
which he and his wife are an active
part.
"I don't consider myself only a
Jew. If I'm a leader, a leader in
metro Detroit," said Silverman.
"The trick is to make Jewish char-
ities so enticing, they'll do it because
it's the place to be," he said. "Not
just because it's Jewish."
Jimmy Hooberman
3
immy Hooberman's corporate
real estate company, the
Hooberman Company, Inc.,
owns about 600,000 square
feet of space around metro Detroit. ___/
The 32-year-old Southfield native -----
could probably fill that space with the
passion and ideas he has for reinvigo-
rating the Jewish community.
A graduate of the University of
Michigan Business School and New
York University's real estate develop-
ment program, Hooberman said
Judaism "didn't mean anything to me
on a conscious level growing up (his (-_/
- \
family belonged to Congregation
Shaarey Zedek). Being Jewish was
extremely important, but being reli-
gious [wasn't]." Except for Shabbat
dinners and holiday celebrations, his
family's focus- was more cultural than
religious.
"That rubbed off on me. My par-
ents were involved in charitable orga-
nizations, behind the scenes. The
biggest influence was Shalom
Detroit," he said of the Federation
project that welcomes newcomers to
Detroit. Hooberman's parents would
call new Jewish residents to the area,
invite them over, refer them to doctors
and lawyers, basically taking fellow
Jews under their wing.
After spending three years in New
York City, Hooberman returned to c'
Detroit and in 1994 started a real
estate development, investment and
property management company with
his father. He now buys, builds and
manages industrial and office property
around the city.
In a way, that's what Hooberman