Publisher's Notebook

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www.jarc.org

Capturing A 'SPARK' For
Jewish Detroit's Future

M

ichiganders who are seeking
evidence that Governor-Elect
Rick Snyder can deliver —
and quickly — on his vision for creat-
ing jobs, reshaping the state's lagging
economy and keeping our young talent
here can find it
in Ann Arbor.
That's where
SPARK, a non-
profit economic
development
organization
founded in
2005 and
chaired by
Snyder, has
innovatively
pushed
business
location, retention and expansion
in Ann Arbor and throughout
Southeastern Michigan.
SPARK's "open source" approach
—which makes its business incu-
bation, talent identification and
enhancement, pre-seed venture
capital funds, and development
expertise available to communities
and organizations — has helped
transform Ann Arbor from a col-
lege town to an "economic driver
for the state'
In a recent three-year period,
SPARK initiatives generated nearly
$1 billion in new investment corn-
mitments in Washtenaw County,
created more than 7,000 new jobs
and retained more than 5,700 jobs.
Michael Finney, currently SPARK's
CEO, is reportedly on Snyder's short
list to lead the Michigan Economic
Development Corporation (MEDC),
where SPARK's playbook can have a
larger impact.
While SPARK'S remarkable suc-
cess is a good indicator of how Snyder
and his team will approach reshaping
Michigan's economy, it also underscores
what kind of job-creating activity is
taking place "just over the border" in
Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor ...
and how we are missing vital opportu-
nities by failing to infuse this energy
and dynamism into our own Jewish
community's needy economic develop-
ment pipeline.
Here is a sample of three current

SPARK initiatives, plus one structural
recommendation, that should be inte-
grated into our collective efforts at
retaining and attracting Jewish talent in
Southeastern Michigan:

MichAGAIN
Finds Talent
This pilot initiative, launched over the
summer in Los Angeles, is focused on
recruiting talent back to Southeastern
Michigan. On Dec. 1, SPARK repre-

sentatives will be in Chicago hosting
a complimentary cocktail reception
at a well-known restaurant to recruit
Information Technology professionals
for several immediate opportunities.
General Electric, which is consolidating
its North American IT operations in
Wayne County's Van Buren Township,
is the lead underwriter for this
MichAGAIN event.
The Jewish News is assisting SPARK
with recruitment by sharing this infor-
mation with you, our loyal readers, and
asking you to inform your Chicago-area
family and friends with IT backgrounds

about the event and the excellent job
openings "back home" in Southeastern
Michigan. You can find a full-page
advertisement with additional informa-
tion on page 4. You also can find reser-
vation information at www.MichAGAIN.
org.
SPARK is envisioning 2011
MichAGAIN recruitment events in
Chicago and other cities for a range of
employment opportunities. Elizabeth
Parkinson, SPARK'S vice president for
marketing, told me that the easi-
est talent to recruit to Michigan are
those who grew up, have family or
went to school here.
Our Jewish community needs to
be plugged into the planning and
support of every MichAGAIN out-of-
town recruitment initiative.

Annarborusa.org
New Job Openings
Every month, an average of 100 new
jobs are added to www.annarborusa.
org, SPARK'S website. And the num-
ber of postings has been growing
exponentially in recent months.
Aside from opportunities for
IT professionals, there are current
openings for marketing, sales and
business development professionals,
chief financial officers, chief operat-
ing officers, chief executive officers,
project managers, non-software
engineers and even openings from
startup and life science companies.
A majority of the openings are in
the Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County
area, with as many as 25 percent in
Oakland and Western Wayne coun-
ties.
The more than 350 employers who
utilize www.annarborusa.org tell SPARK
they fill almost one-third of their open-
ings just through inquiries from this
site.
Our Jewish community and its
under-marketed and under-utilized
ParossahWorks job site should find a
way to partner with www.annarborusa.
org for communicating job opportuni-
ties. As of Nov. 12, ParnossahWorks
had 13 job postings from Washtenaw
County, including one from Sept. 17 for
a hood and duct cleaner.

'SPARK' on page 6

Adam Bender and friend Steve Cool
at - Youmacon 2010"

As part of JARC's "Making
Community Connections"
program, Adam Bender
joined the Otaku Anime
Club with other Japanese
animation fans. Recently,
Adam attended the
"Youmacon 2010" anime
convention in downtown
Detroit and then enjoyed a
meal with his friends at the
Hard Rock Cafe. Adam
thinks being part of the
Anime Club is really "cool".

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will benefit the men, women
and children JARC serves.
Help JARC continue...

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OUR ANNUAL
FUNDRAISING
GOAL!

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or call 248-538-6611 and
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2010 HELP MEET OUR GOAL
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i

November 18 • 2010

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