metro
Best And Brightest from page 8
Congratulating our partner
PETER M. ALTER
on being this year's
recipient of the
Fred M. Butzel Award
for Distinguished
Community Service.
there for days, weeks or even months.
"He chose the U.S. and rose quickly
to the position of chief technology
officer at a major company," Snyder
said. "That showed me the power of
brainpower."
Incidentally, when Snyder asked
the man why he chose the United
States, his answer was "because I like
your music." Still, the governor said,
"I wish I would have been in the posi-
tion to have a desk there for Detroit
or Michigan because we have oppor-
tunities here. I don't want to miss that
opportunity again, whether it be one
person or many:"
Snyder challenged the group to
leverage the EB-5 visa program for
immigration, which provides a green
card to those immigrants who will
invest money and create jobs in the
United States.
"We need to create a pipeline for
these people, dissolve boundaries and
make people feel welcome," Snyder
said. "Immigrants with advanced
degrees and money to invest are job
creators."
Attorney Steve Migliore of West
Bloomfield liked that message.
"I work with a lot of companies that
are bringing new, tech-savvy busi-
nesses to the state and investing in
leadership development:' he said.
Randall Fogelman, vice president
of business development at Eastern
Market, said that immigration is key
to Detroit's resurgence.
"We can't go forward without immi-
gration," said Fogelman, who's lived in
the city of Detroit for 17 years. `And
we can't have a strong state without a
strong Detroit:'
Focus On Problem Solving
Snyder talked about a different philos-
ophy for state leaders going forward:
"relentless positive action:'
"Our total focus has to be on prob-
lem solving:' he said. "I blame no one
for anything, and I'm proud of that
because blame doesn't solve problems.
We don't take credit either. Credit is
irrelevant. It's all about solving prob-
lems. It means an attitude of inclusive-
ness, of winning together. Our greatest
power lies in diversity"
He also talked about the need to
take risks.
"Michigan was the entrepreneurial
center of the world in the early part
of the last century, and the problem is
that we got so successful that we con-
centrated on protecting what we had
rather than taking the risk to reinvent
ourselves."
Aaron Scheinfield of Birmingham,
who's on the YAD board, said, "I
like what he said about focusing on
problem solving. With that kind of
approach, we can get a lot done'
Snyder also issued a call to action.
"It's about us doing it together:' he
said."You're truly a fired-up group,
and I ask this of you: Leave here pas-
sionately and with the attitude that
it's time we do things a new way
and show the rest of the world that
Michigan and Detroit is the best place
to be."
Lena Koretzky is ready to accept
that challenge.
"The fact that the governor took
time out of his schedule to speak to
the group was a symbol of his com-
mitment to the Jewish community:'
she said. "We're ready to work with
him to find ways we can improve the
future of Michigan and its Jewish
community "
She said the event generated much
excitement.
"The feedback has been tremen-
dous with a lot of buzz on social
media from people who attended, and
we plan to continue the conversation:'
said Koretzky, who plans to convene
the group for a meeting within the
next few weeks to talk about the gov-
ernor's message and what they can
do.
"I want to keep the momentum
going:' she added. "The possibilities
are endless." LI
.
affe
J
JAFFE RAITT HEUER & WEISS
;i1p ,mtion
&
ANN ARBOR • SOUTHFIELD • DETROIT
PHILADELPHIA • NAPLES • JERUSALEM
www.jaffelaw.corn
Brett Koretzky, Dan Cherrin, Anessa Kramer and Lena Koretzky chat
with the governor.
10
October 20 2011