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Blazing A New Trail
Amanda Fisher — Max and Marjorie’s granddaughter — has big shoes to fill.
Vivian Henoch | Special to the Jewish News
John Hardwick
A
sk Amanda Fisher what makes her
run. She’ll tell you it’s the shoes.
Sounds funny, but she’s serious.
“Really, one of my biggest motivations for
the choices I make are the shoes I have yet
to fill,” she says.
But what she’s really talking about is
the legacy of the Fisher family: a family of
towering figures here in Detroit, leaders
and philanthropists on a national scale and
builders of Israel.
“As my grandmother often says, ‘Giving
starts with your heart, then you have to use
your head,’” she says.
Giant shoes aside, standing in her
own two shoes — a radiant blonde in
4-inch heels — Amanda, 29, is a living,
breathing celebration of her grandfather,
Max, of blessed memory, and her grand-
mother, Marjorie, co-founder of the Fisher
Foundation and still active in her role as the
family matriarch.
Through Amanda’s eyes, Max Fisher
is forever Pops. “My grandfather
had 15 grandkids, and we all called him
Pops,” she shares. “And my grandmother
is ‘Dearie’ to us. That’s the way it’s always
been, my Pops and my Dearie.”
By following the lead of her father, Phillip
Wm. Fisher, and championing the work
of her aunts and uncles, four siblings and
many cousins — all considered stewards
of the Fisher family heritage — Amanda,
indeed, has made her family proud.
Accomplished in her own right, a
founder of her own full-service PR com-
pany while still in college, a networker and
fundraiser of formidable talent, Amanda
has carved a career path that has fueled her
passion for Detroit and brought philanthro-
py to the forefront of her daily life.
Serving clients such as Compass Sports
Management, Amanda helped establish the
All-Star Hoops Festival and Gala, which
raised more than $100,000 in its inaugu-
ral year to support Children’s Hospital of
Michigan Foundation, the Detroit Police
Athletic League and Gleaners Community
Food Bank.
Last year, Amanda again stretched
her entrepreneurial wings to join Renee
Acho’s top-producing real estate team
at Hall and Hunter Realtors. Even now,
in her dual role as a top-selling Realtor in
Birmingham and the newest trustee of the
Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation,
Amanda remains actively involved in
Amanda Fisher stands in front of a caricature of her late grandfather, Max Fisher.
many for-impact organizations including
JARC, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, Starfish Family Services and the
Brightmoor Alliance.
Ask Amanda for the words that best
describe her and she comes up unequivo-
cally with one: Grateful!
“I’m so beyond grateful. Grateful is the
word that really describes how I feel about
my family, all the experiences we’ve had
together and all the opportunities they’ve
given me.”
ON FAMILY, FOOTSTEPS
AND “BIG SHOES”
Q: What are your first or fondest memories
of your grandparents, Max and Marjorie
Fisher?
Talking about big shoes, I think back to
the times when I was a little girl and looked
up at my grandfather as this giant of a man.
I would hear people always say, “He’s a giant
among men.”
As a young child, I didn’t understand
exactly what that meant. To me, he was a
giant, literally. He was huge in physical stat-
ure; a tall man, 6-foot-4. He played football
for Ohio State; his presence was always so
large in any room where he was sitting,
whether he was giving a speech or at home
talking on the phone to a president or dig-
nitary. Seated in his favorite chair, he was
a huge and commanding presence. In my
mind, he always was this giant.
And my grandmother, my Dearie, was
and still is the epitome of elegance. She
always had the looks of a movie star — a
vision in red, wearing her signature color.
We just celebrated her 92nd birthday in
Florida and, to this day, Dearie is as glamor-
ous as ever, quick and witty, doing phenom-
enally well.
Q: What are the greatest lessons your par-
ents have taught you?
“It’s family first.” That’s something my
dad likes to say, but as both of my parents
have taught us, a family is so much more
than genetics in your family tree. As you go
through life, your tree grows and branches
out and blossoms in many different and
unexpected ways. Everyone we’ve touched
through our foundation — our grant part-
ners, our staff, our friends, my team at work
— all are a part of my family now. We have
a big, beautiful family tree today, and it’s
amazing to see how it continues to grow.
Secondly — the thing that I keep tell-
ing myself and what my parents also have
instilled in me — is the importance of
forging my own path and walking with
confidence in my own shoes. In that regard,
my parents always have been my biggest
support system; encouraging my decisions,
hopes and dreams.
And another important lesson: Never
underestimate the value of an education.
Besides your family, an education is one of
the best gifts in life.
continued on page 18
16 February 11 • 2016