Building Community

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Chaldean News JN

Teamwor

Strategic groups seek to enrich Chaldean-Jewish relations.

• EDUCATION — Vinos Kassab, an
educator; and Nancy Welber Barr, vice
president of the JCRC.

ROBERT SKLAR
EDITOR I DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

VANESSA DENHA-GARMO
EDITOR I CHALDEAN NEWS

Fifth of a nine-part monthly series

A

s a continuation of the momen-
tum surrounding "Building
Community," four workgroups
are charged with developing strategy and
projects designed to strengthen bonds
between Southeast Michigan's Chaldean
and Jewish communities.
The ad hoc committees and their co-
chairs (Chaldean and Jewish) are:
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT — Saad
Hajjar, CEO of Advanced Technology
Systems in West Bloomfield, past chair
of the Chaldean-American Chamber
of Commerce and current head of its
political action committee; Ron Asmar,
owner of the Vineyards of Farmington
Hills and an investor; and Howard
Rosenberg, an attorney, investor and
hedge fund creator;
• ARTS AND CULTURE — Mary
Romaya, who leads the push to open
a Chaldean Cultural Center within
Shenandoah Country Club in West
Bloomfield; and Barbara Kratchman,
an arts consultant who is past presi-
dent of ArtServe Michigan;
• SOCIAL ACTION — LeeAnn Kirma,
president of the Chaldean American
Ladies of Charity; and Jeannie Weiner,
past president of the Jewish Community
Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit
(JCRC);

Getting Going
Weiner said both she and social action
co-chair Kirma are interested in, and
concerned with, populations at risk and
issues involving refugees and immi-
grants.
"We want to develop a strategy that
will have a positive impact on Jews and
Chaldeans that involves partnership and
joint volunteerism," Weiner said.
She added, "We hope to do more than
`talk' and will work to make some measur-
able differences. We have already learned
that we have many common interests and
concerns:'
Economic development co-chair Ron
Asmar has worked with Shirley Bloom
— a caterer from the Jewish community
— for more than 25 years. "It has been
wonderful partnering and working with
the Jewish community;' Asmar said. "This
Jewish News-Chaldean News venture
is bound to be a success and so are form-
ing these committees. These two com-
munities have so much in common and
work well with each other. I am honored
to co-chair a committee as part of this
venture."
The committees are in response to
dreams imagined at a May 4 dinner
celebrating "Building Community," the
nine-month-long initiative between the
Chaldean News, a monthly newspaper,
and the Detroit Jewish News, a weekly
newspaper. Both publications are based
in Southfield.
On July 13, the co-chairs met for a
working dinner in Southfield as guests
of Martin Manna, co-publisher of the
Chaldean News, and Arthur Horwitz,
publisher of the Detroit Jewish News.
The intent was to hone goals and objec-
tives, create a mechanism to communi-
cate and share progress on initiatives and
projects, and begin to identify prospective
members of the work teams. The teams
will have Chaldean and Jewish represen-
tatives with backgrounds and interests
that mesh.

daunting nature of trying to
build durable bridges between
their respective communities,
envision the workgroups tap-
ping into tangible, creative,
engaging initiatives that lever-
age shared knowledge into
new friendships, business
partnerships, entrepreneur-
ial ventures, a stronger local
economy and a richer region.
"It's great to see the momen-
tum continue to build on
this initiative,' Manna said.
"Through the work of the vari-
ous community members on
these committees, the partner-
ships and friendships born
from 'Building Community'
will continue to thrive."

"The two newspapers will con-
tinue to provide guidance, access
and other means of support to
assist these workgroups in imple-
menting their initiatives and proj-
ects',' Horwitz said.

Staying On Course
The "Building Community" ini-
Jeannie Weiner
tiative is slated to end in January,
though there is growing interest
among current and prospective
sponsors to extend it through
all of 2011. Its goal is to raise
awareness within the Jewish and
Chaldean communities about
each other's common roots and
the prospects for working togeth-
er to enhance the quality of life
for all Metro Detroiters. Leaders
Ron Asmar
from both ethnic groups keep
Creative director, Deborah Schultz
Southeast Michigan's economic, philan-
Senior copy editor, David Sachs
thropic, political, cultural and religious
engines humming.
Both groups sustain an abiding hope for
their ancestral homelands in the Middle
Our fifth two-page monthly spread, devel-
oped by the Farmington Hills strategic com-
East — Iraq for the Chaldean community
munications firm Tanner Friedman, appears
and Israel for the Jewish community.
today on pages 34-35.
Manna and Horwitz, unmoved by the

building
commum
in 6

DEARBORN

COLLEGE
OF BUSINESS

WHAT'S YOUR VIEW?

AS PART OF THE "BUILDING COMMUNITY" INITIATIVE,
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-DEARBORN IS SURVEYING
READERS OF THE CHALDEAN NEWS AND THE JEWISH NEWS.

WE ASK THAT YOU TAKE THREE MINUTES TO COMPLETE AN ONLINE
SURVEY REGARDING YOUR VIEWS OF THE JEWISH AND CHALDEAN
COMMUNITIES IN SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN.
ALL RESPONSES ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND ANONYMOUS.

PLEASE VISIT
HTTP://TINYURL.COM/BUILDINGCOMMUNITYSURVEY
TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY.

August 5 * 2010

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