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one who inspires in others the
same passion for a cause or goal.

ON EARLY INFLUENCES, CLOSE
FRIENDS AND FAMILY TIES

“A leader is someone people want to work with and
one who inspires in others the same passion for a
cause or goal.” — Allan Nachman

with Nachman and his fam-
ily, as he receives the Fred M.
Butzel Memorial Award for
Distinguished Community
Service at the Annual Meeting
of the Jewish Federation and
United Jewish Foundation of
Metropolitan Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
at the Berman Center for the
Performing Arts on the Jewish
Community Campus in West
Bloomfield.

ALLAN NACHMAN ON
LEADERSHIP

TOP: Allan and Joy Nachman with
Max M. Fisher. ABOVE: Allan in Israel
with David Hermelin in the Michigan
Miracle Mission, 1993.

Q: What is your definition of a
community leader?
I’d say there are four character-
istics: first, a community leader
is a volunteer — giving freely
of time and resources — for all
the right reasons. Second: he
or she is knowledgeable and
deeply connected to the com-
munity in which we live. Third:
a leader has impact — someone
who impresses with their values.
And, finally, a leader is someone
people want to work with and

Q: Please share a little about
your family background.
My dad, the late Harry
Nachman, a first-generation
American, came from Poland
in 1928 (not particularly a good
year to immigrate, but by far, a
better year than for others who
never had the opportunity).
For fear of losing jobs here in
America, immigration was open
only to a small number of peo-
ple able to come from Europe.
So, my father emigrated through
Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the
help of an organization called
the Hebrew Immigrant Aid
Society (HIAS); through HIAS,
he was sponsored by a doctor in
Paris, Ontario — someone who
didn’t know him at all. He was
20 years old when he started off
in Windsor, and then, thanks to
the assistance of Detroit lawyer
Bayre Levin (the younger broth-
er of Judge Theodore Levin and
uncle of former U.S. Sen. Carl
Levin), my dad finally got his
visa to come to Detroit.
My mother, Shirley Rich
Nachman, was born in Toronto.
She met my dad at an annual
B’nai B’rith social in Detroit
known as the Yom Kippur Night
Dance. They were married in
1937. Working his way to suc-
cess, my dad was a carpenter,
then became a residential home
builder. Later in life, he built
office buildings on a small scale.
My family lived in Northwest
Detroit, one block from
Mumford High School — a
neighborhood in the city where
many members of our commu-
nity were born and raised. Both
my parents were deeply involved
in synagogue life; my father
was a founder of the Northwest
Hebrew Congregation which
became Adas Shalom — then
Adat Shalom with a “t.”
Q: Jewish Detroit has a
long history of close-knit ties.
Describe your neighborhood
growing up.
It’s true, we don’t have com-
munities like that anymore.
We were densely packed with
people — families comprised
of first- and second-generation

Americans, all living within
a couple of miles from one
another. We were brought up
with the same values, the same
schooling, same synagogues and
temples … our neighborhood
was our foundation. Our sense
of community was strong. Many
of the people I’ve known since
my youth became involved in
Federation.
Q: How did you and Joy
meet?
I graduated from Michigan
Law School in ’63, moved to
Lafayette Towers in Lafayette
Park and, for six years, lived
the life of a young single lawyer
Downtown with many young
professionals who became some
of my best friends. Every year,
we’d gather for a big party. I’ll
never forget the night I looked
across the room and set my eyes
on a beautiful girl, Joy Orley.
Three months after our first
date, we were engaged — and
married three months later. Joy
and I bought a small townhouse
in Lafayette Park where we lived
until ’73.
Joy and I made a lot of good
friends in those years … One
who we really miss is Irwin
Alterman (z”l), my dear friend
and my partner. Another
good friend, Bob Rubin lived
Downtown as well.

ON CAREER MOVES

Q: What drew you to real estate
law?
As my dad moved from simple
carpentry work to building
offices, he began leasing space
to tenants. I would help him
type out the leases. In that way,
I picked up a smattering of the
real estate business and devel-
oped an interest in pursuing it
on a professional level — setting
my sights on law school at the
University of Michigan. I have
specialized in real estate law
for the entire span of my legal
career.
While practicing law, I started
developing real estate in Metro
Detroit. I subsequently turned to
managing the portfolio of indus-
trial and office buildings which I
had developed. Now, while con-
tinuing as “of counsel” at Butzel
Long, my primary occupation is
managing our real estate with
my daughter, Elanah. The two of

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