Building Community building ea community 1111111H NMAI; vE 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 33