Love III, Cink, Woodland, and Others to Play in Rocket Mortgage Classic, and More

Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies, including updates about the COVID-19 pandemic. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.

Love III, Cink, Woodland, and Others to Play in Rocket Mortgage Classic

Big names in the golf world like Davis Love III, Stewart Cink, and Gary Woodland have committed to play in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, July 28-31, at the Detroit Golf Club.

Love, Cink, Woodland, Harris English, Keegan Bradley, Brendt Snedeker, and Mackenzie Hughes are the most recent additions to the field for Detroit’s only PGA Tour event.

Love is a 2017 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee holds 21 PGA Tour titles, including the 1997 PGA Championship. He was captain of U.S. Ryder Cup teams in 2012 and 2016 and played in six Ryder Cups and six Presidents Cups for the United States.

Cink is the 2009 (British) Open Championship winner and eight-time PGA Tour winner. He finished No. 26 in the 2021 FedExCup standings after becoming the fourth player age 47 or older to win multiple times in a season on the PGA Tour (since 1960). He has played in five Ryder Cups and four Presidents Cups for the United States.

Woodland is a four-time PGA Tour winner, including 2019 U.S. Open championship. He was a member of the 2019 U.S. Presidents Cup team and placed 10^th in last month’s U.S. Open.

English is No. 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking, a four-time PGA Tour winner, and a member of the 2021 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Bradley is No. 41 in the Official World Golf Ranking and No. 26 in the 2021-22 FedExCup standings. He is a PGA Championship winner and was PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2011. He is a four-time PGA Tour winner, finished tied for seventh at the U.S. Open and was fifth at The Players Championship in 2022.

Snedeker is a nine-time PGA Tour winner and the 2012 FedExCup champion. He played in two Ryder Cups and one Presidents Cup for the United States.

Hughes is the world’s No. 2-ranked Canadian, from Hamilton, Ontario, played for his country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is the first player in tour history to win on PGA Tour Canada, the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour. He is No. 43 in the 2021-22 FedExCup standings.

Midtown’s Woodward West Hits More than 70% Lease Rate as First Residents Move In

Residents have begun moving into Woodward West, a $60 million, new construction mixed-use flagship development in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood.

As of June 30, 148 of Woodward West’s 204 units (72 percent) are pre-leased, and the building is expected to be fully occupied months ahead of expectations. The five-story development also has strong demand for its nearly 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail with the first retail tenants to be announced soon.

“Woodward West’s pre-lease success is a testament to the level of demand for new housing in Detroit and we are thrilled to welcome the first residents to this building,” says Peter Cummings, executive chairman and CEO of The Platform, one of Woodward West’s development partners. “I have been involved in many development projects in many markets and have never seen this level of pre-leasing success.

“This is our first partnership with Queen Lillian principals Chris Jackson and Jim Jenkins. They have proven to be great partners and we are already planning our next venture together.”

Woodward West is located on Woodward Avenue and Stimson Street, just south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Twenty percent of the apartments will be offered below market rate as affordable housing for those with qualifying incomes at 80 percent of the area median income (AMI).

“The strong interest we are seeing across all income levels demonstrates the appeal of inclusive housing developments,” says Jackson, co-principal and managing partner of Queen Lillian. “Woodward West is poised to be a cornerstone for the diverse, mixed-income neighborhood west of Woodward and south of MLK.”

Woodward West saw 29 tenants move in over the July 4 holiday weekend, and another 20 move-ins are scheduled for this week.

Small Business Association Names 2022-2023 Board of Directors  

The Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) in Lansing recently named 23 small business owners to lead the organization as its 2022-2023 board of directors.

Park Kersman, president of Lorin Industries, a global leader in coil anodizing since 1943, will serve as SBAM board chair for SBAM’s 2022-2023 fiscal year.

“SBAM plays a critical role in the success of Michigan’s small businesses, and I’m honored to serve as chair of the board this year as we work to help small businesses recover from the pandemic,” Kersman says. “Our leadership team is ready to get to work, making Michigan’s environment more favorable so small business can thrive.”

Joining Kersman on the SBAM board as officers are:

• 1st Vice Chair: Sue Tellier of JetCo Federal in Grand Rapids
• 2nd Vice Chair: Erick Stewart of Lagniappe Global Commodity in Battle Creek
• Secretary: Sheri Welsh of Welsh & Associates in Kalamazoo
• Treasurer: Gina Thorsen of Stormy Kromer in Ironwood
• Immediate Past Chair: Bill Kimble of C2AE in Lansing

Directors include:

• Allison Beers of Events North in Traverse City
• Kevin Begola of Bridge Street Exchange in Fenton
• Daniel Cherrin of North Coast Strategies in Royal Oak
• Diane Christensen of Custom Results Corporate Consulting in Troy
• Michael DeBruyn of Great Lakes Stainless in Traverse City
• Derek Dickow of DerekDickow.com in Bloomfield Hills
• Patti Eisenbraun of Brown Iron Brewhouse in Washington
• Larry Faragalli of Brightly, LLC in Grand Rapids
• Jim Foucher of RBV Contracting in Detroit
• Bill Grubb of Star EMS in Pontiac
• Sue LaBonville of LaBonville Properties in Midland
• Karen May of Momentum Health in Mason
• Matt Russell of Cynerge Consulting in Pontiac
• Ginny Sherrow of Fenton Winery & Brewery in Fenton
• Breanne Stuart of Homewatch CareGivers in Ann Arbor
• Jason Verlinde of RFT Search Group in Farmington Hills
• Mark Ware of Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island

“We are lucky to have such tremendous small business leaders guiding our work to ensure that Michigan is a great place to own and operate a small business,” says Brian Calley, president and CEO of SBAM. “SBAM has been proudly delivering solutions to Michigan small business owners for more than 50 years and I’m confident that success will continue under this leadership.”

Saucey Farms & Extracts Cannabis Products Hit Michigan Market

Saucey Farms & Extracts, which announced it
s entrance into the Michigan cannabis market in April, says its products are now available in the state.

Partnering with local dispensary Lake Life Farms, the company is releasing its pre-roll strains Spicy Apple, White Truffle, Lollipop Kush, and Fruit Stripe paired with Michigan-specific packaging.

DTE Energy Foundation Awards $1.25M in Grants Focusing on Diversity

The DTE Energy Foundation has awarded $1.25 million in grants to four Michigan organizations committed to advancing critical education and employment programs that benefit Michigan students and residents.

The grant recipients include the Michigan Hispanic Collaborative, Cranbrook Institute of Science, FIRST in Michigan, and Inforum Michigan.

“Education and workforce development programs are the building blocks for any economy, and it is vital that we support and diversify our state’s employee pipeline in a way that benefits women, minorities and all residents,” says Lynette Dowler, president of the DTE Foundation. “These four organizations conduct programs that deliver meaningful results for K-12 and college age students, strengthening Michigan’s economy, diversifying our workforce and reducing the legacy of poverty in some of our communities.”

These latest grants place greater emphasis on programs that create more opportunity and inclusion for underrepresented residents in Michigan. The DTE Foundation is committed to taking intentional steps to support innovative education and employment initiatives in Michigan, especially those that break down barriers of inequity.

GRANT DETAILS

$500,000 for Michigan Hispanic Collaborative

Through its La Próxima Generación program, the Michigan Hispanic Collaborative provides resources and support to college-bound students aged 16-26 and their families. The programming addresses access inequities that have been barriers for Hispanic students, limiting their ability to attend college and obtain employment that provides a living wage. MiHC offers in-school seminars and online support that focuses on life skills, college access, career readiness, and mentorship.

$450,000 for Cranbrook Institute of Science

This grant will be used over the next three years to develop climate change education curriculum, cover funding for a Fellowship program, and sponsorship of the Women Rock Science event.

$200,000 for FIRST in Michigan

This funding will support the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge, serving high school and middle school students. These annual competitions involve student robotics team working with professional mentors to develop new innovations.

$100,000 for Inforum inSTEM

Inforum accelerates careers for women and is a catalyst for removing barriers and increasing opportunity. The objective of its inSTEM initiative is to deploy female role models to inspire and inform students and young adults that STEM career paths are available to females in addition to men. As of earlier this year, 451 women mentors in STEM careers have influenced 6,064 students and young professional as role models, speakers, or project leaders in STEM-oriented events.