Getting
Involved

Young Jewish
leaders meet
a second time
to discuss the
reinvention of
Michigan.

JEFF KRANITZ
Special to the Jewish News

magine a vibrant new Detroit
neighborhood, specifically engineered to
serve the needs of each hard-working,
educated resident — who, incidentally,
will design the 'hood themselves before
moving in.
How about a new "in-state" college
tuition policy? Right now students pay
cheaper tuition rates for establishing
residency before school starts. But what
if Michigan offered financial incentive to
students who clearly and convincingly show
intent to stay in Michigan after graduation?
Those are some of the ideas being
considered by a select group of ambitious,
civic-minded young Jewish leaders in Metro
Detroit. Approximately 30 such individuals
got together for a second time Nov. 10,

I

moving forward with their combined effort
to help reinvent Michigan.
The meeting was held at the Bloomfield
Hills home of Brett and Lena Epstein
Koretzky, who helped sponsor the first event
last month with Jewish News publisher
Arthur Horwitz and his wife, Gina.
Nearly 50 people participated in the
first event, which gained instant clout after
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder agreed to attend.
Snyder encouraged a large community
effort for retaining young talent and bringing
back those who already left.
Phil Okun, regional director at
Compuware, is one of the group's organizers.
He was at the first meeting, and — with
some joking reluctance — agreed to serve
as chair at the second.
"What I really heard him [Gov. Snyder]
say is that we have got to keep our best
and brightest in the state," Okun said at the
follow-up meeting. "The other thing I heard
him say is that it's about community. The
government can't do everything. Community
has a responsibility."
Okun went on to illustrate what that
responsibility means to him.
"Our Jewish community ... not just in the
nation, but in the world ... for its size, has
an extraordinary reputation for fundraising
and having the ability to put that money in
the right place."
He went on to say the people in the room
were standing on the shoulders of giants
like Max Fisher and David Hermelin, as well
as many others who helped our community
earn its reputation.
"I've heard a couple people say — not
through any fault of our own — for the first
time this community is declining. So much
talent is leaving for New York, Chicago,
Atlanta ... and it doesn't look like they're
coming back," Okun said.

rowing up in West Bloomfield,
I lacked the Jewish identity
accustomed to most Jewish kids
raised in the area. I didn't go to
a Jewish summer camp. I wasn't involved in
BBYO. And, I was lucky enough to sneak by
my bar mitzvah using the cheat sheet that
my synagogue graciously provided me.
I grew up playing competitive travel
hockey and, as a result, my culture and
friends were mostly not Jewish. I played
Maccabi four years in a row and ended
up coaching for nearly a decade, which
gave me a taste of the
culture; however, I was still
disconnected.
I went to Israel on
Birthright in 2007 and fell
in love with Jewish history,
culture and even religion as I
attended my first (Orthodox)
Shabbos service. When I got
back home I was as energetic
as most people upon their
return from the Holy Land ...
I started to feel a connection
with the culture. As time
passed, I held my deepening
loyalty to the survival of
Israel; however, I still wasn't
connected to the local Jewish
Brandon and Emily Pomish with a group of visiting Israeli teens at
community. I had never heard
a Detroit Tigers game

Guest
Column

A Buzz In The Air,
A Movement On

A group of young emerging Jewish leaders met last month with Gov. Rick Snyder.

It may be a daunting task, but these
emerging leaders are heeding the call to
action with lots of enthusiasm.
"They really embraced it," said co-sponsor
Lena Epstein Koretzky about the meeting in
October. She is vice president and general
manager at Southfield-based Vesco Oil.
"Everybody showed up, they were plugged
in, and there was so much energy it was
astounding."
After the first meeting, Koretzky said she
received countless phone calls from people
who urged support and encouragement for a
second meeting to take place.
"That's the kind of enthusiasm they're
displaying. They'll call and say 'What do you
have in mind?' or 'Can I help you?' It's been
unbelievable."
The Koretzkys got together with Okun
and decided they didn't want to see all this

positive energy slowly siphoned off over
time, so they formulated the plan to meet
Nov. 10.
Organizers had doubts whether the same
energy and enthusiasm would be present.
As it turns out, their expectations were
exceeded.
"I honestly had no idea how it would turn
out," Okun said.
"But this is great, and we've got to keep
it going."
The next step is to organize the group
into smaller units, isolating their diverse
sets of skills and talent to focus on building
framework around the ideas they choose to
execute.
"It's all about helping Michigan and
helping Michigan's Jewish community,"
Koretzky added.

people in our own demographic
of the Federation, ORT, YAD or even
that we now call friends. I would
JVS. I still shamefully agonized over
say that we are hyper-engaged
having to go to services even for
on so many different platforms
the holiest of holidays, but still, I
that rarely are we home after
seemed to have an urge deep down
work during the week.
to learn more.
Why is this important? I
I met my wife, Emily, in 2007, and
truly believe that this could
we were married in 2010. Emily's
B RANDON
only happen in the tightly
Jewish account wasn't as abstract
PO MISH
established Detroit Jewish
as my own, but she also wasn't
community.
as connected as she wanted to
Young adults are moving
be. We made an accord that as a
back. Young adults are getting involved.
young Jewish couple, we were going to get
A wishful trend has turned into incredible
involved in the Detroit Jewish community.
progress. Our young adult Jewish community
We didn't know where that was going to
is sizzling with engaging opportunities
take us — or what it even meant — but we
professionally, culturally and socially.
wanted to give back to something Jewish.
Whether an individual is considering moving
In 2009, we had both participated in
back to Michigan, graduating college, living
Federation's Young Adult Entree program,
here already or considering moving here
which introduces young adults who have
from another state, let it be known that this
moved back to the area, who are new to
region has become THE hot spot for activity.
the area or have never been involved to the
It will only get better from here. Fl
Jewish community. The program had such
an impact on us that not only were we both
on the board of YAD the next year, I now am
Brandon Pomish graduated from West
chairing Entree for the second year in a row,
Bloomfield High School in 2001. He lives in
and Emily is chairing the next-step course in
West Bloomfield with wife, Emily, and dog
the program called Encore!
Maximus and works at his family's commer-
We regularly attend Shabbos services
cial construction business, PCI One Source
every Friday night, and we have Shabbos
Contracting, He belongs to Temple Israel
dinner with our friends from Oak Park once
a month. We have both met hundreds of
Synagogue in West Bloomfield.

November 24 2011

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