16 | JUNE 9 • 2022 

OUR COMMUNITY

A

fter a two-year hiatus during 
the pandemic, the 25th annual 
JVS + Kadima Strictly Business 
fundraising event will return to an in-per-
son networking and awards luncheon on 
Wednesday, June 22, at the Westin Book 
Cadillac Hotel. Keynote speaker and honor-
ary chair for the silver anniversary is Jason 
Raznick, the founder and CEO 
of Benzinga, an innovative 
news and analysis service 
based in Detroit that focuses 
on global financial markets. 
This year’s event will also 
include an announcement of 
the new name for the recent 
union of JVS Human Services, 
one of the largest human ser-
vice agencies in Metro Detroit, 
and Kadima, an organization 
that provides residential ser-
vices and support to people 
with mental health challenges. 
Rebecca Abel Buick, found-
er of D’VINE Cookies, will be awarded 
Entrepreneur of the Year at the event for 
her work developing a new and successful 
cookie business. Fox 2 Detroit anchor Roop 
Raj will emcee the event as he has done for 
past Strictly Business events.
JVS + Kadima uses funds raised at 
Strictly Business to help more than 12,000 
Metro Detroiters each year who are unem-
ployed or underemployed. This includes 
support to people living with disabilities, 
older job seekers and those with other bar-
riers to employment. 
Over the last 25 years, nearly $6 mil-
lion has been raised at Strictly Business. 
Dozens of Metro Detroit businesses 
and individuals have sponsored Strictly 
Business for 2022: Presenting Sponsor is 
Kenwal Steel; Luncheon Underwriters are 

Gallagher Insurance, Risk Management and 
Consulting, and Stacey and Jason Raznick; 
and Gold Sponsors are Edw. C. Levy Co., 
Huntington Bank and an anonymous 
donor. 

FROM NEWBIE TO 
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
For Raznick, being invited to be keynote 
speaker is a particular honor as 10 years 
ago, he himself received the first Strictly 
Business Rising Entrepreneur Award for 
the launch of his company. Benzinga was 
founded in 2010 and is now a hub for 
actionable information on the capital mar-
kets, with approximately 25 million readers 
of their publication a month. 
“JVS + Kadima does such outstanding 
work for people with difficult challenges 
like special needs and mental illness who 
aren’t always given an opportunity,
” he said. 
“I have been given the support of friends 
and family, and early on I was given sub-
sidized office space by Jewish Federation. 
Everyone needs a helping hand, and JVS + 

Kadima do the hard work of giving people 
opportunities and changing lives.
”
During his presentation on June 22, 
Raznick, a member of Temple Beth El, will 
speak on the obstacles that everyone faces 
in life, the challenges that people deal with 
in the face of mental illness and the impor-
tance of always moving forward one day at 
a time. 
“In elementary school, a teacher told 
my parents that I would never be able to 
read. It was the first real obstacle I remem-
ber facing, but through hard work and an 
innate belief in myself, I proved her wrong,
” 
said Raznick. “Those tenets have guided 
me my whole life and driven my success in 
founding and building Benzinga. I strongly 
believe that everyone can achieve more 
than they think is possible.
”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Even during the pandemic, when the 
event was forced to go virtual, members 
of the business community stepped up. 
The 2021 Strictly Business AdVANtage 

JVS + Kadima to announce new name for combined organization at event 
that features headliner Jason Raznick, Benzinga founder and CEO.

Strictly Business Event 
Back In-Person

ALISON SCHWARTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Rebecca 
Abel Buick

Jason 
Raznick

COURTESY OF JVS + KADIMA

JVS + Kadima recently purchased new vans for transporting individuals to job sites. Here 
are CEO Paul Blatt, Karen Hirzel, Deb Lemanski, Tom Radom, Javon David, Mark Lezotte, 
Joanne Demers, Louie Ronayne and David DeVine, co-chair of Strictly Business.

