Arsenal of Democracy’ Lager to Launch Memorial Day Weekend
Arsenal of Democracy, a proud nickname coined by President Franklin Roosevelt to describe Detroit’s war effort in 1940, is getting a fresh look as the name of Detroit Liquid Ventures’ newest lager. Arsenal of Democracy, a Detroit-style lager, is launching in time for Memorial Day.
“We don’t in any way want to diminish the pride or importance of the Arsenal of Democracy term to Detroiters,” says Mark Rieth, CEO of Detroit Liquid Ventures. “Just the opposite, in fact. We’re saluting the name and everybody who made and continues to make the effort to keep America safe. Detroit’s assembly plants played an enormous role in WWII and continue to be the backbone of American manufacturing today.”
Arsenal of Democracy is a Detroit-style lager modeled after historic lagers produced by Detroit’s thriving 19th century breweries in the pre-prohibition era. This latest brewed-in-Detroit lager will be available in 12- and 16-ounce-cans and served in Michigan restaurants and bars beginning Memorial Day weekend. Ford’s Garage locations in Novi and Dearborn will feature the brew as part of their Ford heritage collection. A non-alcoholic version of the beer also is in the works.
Rieth says as part of the Arsenal of Democracy launch, Detroit Liquid Ventures will support both Detroit-area veteran organizations and the Arsenal of Democracy Museum, which protects and promotes this important piece of Detroit’s history. The beer was introduced Thursday at the Detroit Athletic Club’s Veteran’s Society and Special Operators Transition Foundation event. It also will have a place in the 71st Annual St. Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade on May 26.
Newly Remodeled Rochester Hills Walmart Supercenter Re-opens
Walmart customers in Rochester Hills were welcomed inside the newly transformed Supercenter at 2500 S. Adams Road this morning. Walmart associates marked the occasion with a ribbon cutting ceremony, community celebration, and the unveiling of a community inspired mural.
The celebration is continuing throughout the day with vendors including Pepsi, Coke, Kellogg’s, Bimbo, and Nabisco offering customers free samples. Tony the Tiger, Bimbo Bear, and the Oreo Cookie Guy also were greeting customers and taking pictures with children. The local food truck favorite Your Food Dude is selling food in the parking lot.
Among the stores new interactive features are:
- Front end transformation with increased numbers of self-checkout lanes and staffed registers for customer convenience
- Added a new grab and go section at grocery entrance for quick meal and drink options for customers
- Updated Customer Service area with digital menu boards for customer ease
- Expanded pharmacy with new private screening rooms for pharmacist consultations and service
- Walmart created a Vision Center 2.0 experience designed around the customer that is convenient, comfortable, and affordable
- Infant area has increased in size to offer more shopping space while selecting furniture, strollers, baby monitoring equipment
- Updated apparel department with new fixtures, fitting rooms, new products lines and display mannequins to help the customers see clothing selections
- Vignette displays in Home Lines, Hardware, and Infants with life size product displays for easier visualization of product lines
- Updated the electronics department with more demo products
- Updated deli department layout with more product selection
- Expanded pet department including fresh pet food selection
- Expanded Grocery Pickup and is now offering home delivery
- New signage for easier store navigation shopping in store and using the Walmart App
- Refreshed interior and exterior, including paint and signage
- Modernized, remodeled restrooms
- Refreshed mother’s room for a clean, comfortable, and private option for nursing mothers
Toyota Soars, Ford Plummets; Other OEMs Make Gains in 2024 Working Relations Study
Results of the 24th annual North American Automotive OEM – Supplier Working Relations Index Study that evaluates relations between U.S. automakers and their suppliers were released by Plante Moran.
The study shows five of the six OEMs improved overall relationships while managing continued tensions over cost-recovery issues related to materials and tooling, and the overall fairness of supplier commercial relations in general. These two issues have been created and compounded by changing electric vehicle demand that has automakers switching to hybrid configurations, or canceling EV programs and again ramping up conventional powertrain production while rising costs are squeezing suppliers.
In this year’s study, the WRI scores show Toyota, Honda, and General Motors finishing 1-2-3, followed by Nissan, Ford, and Stellantis in last place. Toyota jumped 30 points to 368 that puts the automaker alone in the upper good-very good category and is its highest score in the WRI since 2007 when it topped out at 415.
Nissan also gained 30 points. Honda gained 13 points and scored 344. Ford dropped 22 points year-over-year putting the company in fifth place or two places and 70 points lower since 2016. Stellantis gained seven points but remains in last place at 152. Between Toyota and Stellantis is a gap of 216 points.
The Working Relations Index measures the total commercial relationship, which is a function of perceived trust, timely communication, mutual profit opportunity, assistance, and a reduction in friction in dealings with automakers.
For more information, visit plantemoran.com.
Caring Transitions Welcomes Realtor as New Franchisee in Metro Detroit
Caring Transitions, a provider of senior relocation, downsizing, and estate sale services, announces the opening of a new franchise in metro Detroit, led by real estate professional Dane Ramsden.
With more than 20 years of experience as a real estate agent in the metro Detroit area, Ramsden’s decision to open a Caring Transitions franchise stems from a commitment to serving the often-overlooked needs of older adults in the community. Recognizing the emotional and logistical challenges seniors face when transitioning from their lifelong homes, he sought a way to bridge this gap more effectively.
“I started to realize that, maybe a quarter of the time, a senior wasn’t selling their home by choice,” says Ramsden. “They were doing it, unfortunately, against their own will because their family needed them to move to a safer living space. As a realtor, my job was to sell the home for as much money as we could. I meant well, but I realized that I was inadequate in understanding the seniors’ needs and challenges.”
Caring Transitions specializes in downsizing, right-sizing, estate sales, and online auctions and move management solutions for seniors.
For more information, visit here.
Song Foundation to Sponsor ‘Critical’ Conversation at Mackinac Policy Conference
The Song Foundation will sponsor a “critical” conversation during the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities in diversifying Michigan’s economy.
The panel, “Making Michigan a High-Growth, High-Wage State,” will take place on Thursday, May 30, from 12:15 p.m.-1:15 p.m. in the Lilac Room, Esther Williams Swimming Pool House.
The panel features Michigan’s Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Victor Hwang, founder and CEO of Right to Start. The session will be moderated by Nancy Kaffer, Detroit Free Press editorial page editor.
The panel aims to address Michigan’s economic trajectory, once a global leader in creating the middle class but now facing challenges in personal income growth. Michigan currently ranks 39th in personal income, trailing neighboring states including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The discussion will dive into the reasons behind this decline and explore strategies to regain Michigan’s competitive advantage in building high-growth and high-wage businesses.
The 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference theme, “Bridging the Future Together,” shares the importance of collaboration. Michigan’s prosperity relies on leaders engaging with mutual respect and building bridges to move forward regardless of differences. This panel channels the spirit of collaboration and aims to inspire actionable solutions for Michigan’s future.
Additionally, the Song Foundation will host an evening film night dedicated to uplifting the stories of Michigan founders and a fireside chat between Dug Song and Sen. Mallory McMorrow on the vital importance of innovation for the state’s future. The film, “Sure as the Wind,” the story of JustAir co-founded by Darren Riley, will be viewed Tuesday, May 28 at 8-9 p.m. in The Lilac Room, Esther Williams Swimming Pool House.
Wayne State University Receives Grants to Study Gun Violence, PTSD
The Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education in California announced 10 recipients of spring 2024 funding totaling $2.25 million. One of the awards went to Wayne State University in Detroit.
The awards include people most impacted by gun violence in research and interventions, providing the insight and expertise needed to scale effective solutions to this public health crisis.
Since the center’s inception in 2022, it has awarded a total of nearly $7 million to a diverse group of researchers, community-based organizations, and national organizations to advance evidence for preventive and clinical interventions that reduce the incidence and effects of community gun violence and firearm suicide.
Wayne State researchers also received a three-year grant of $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to study advanced wireless augmented reality-enhanced exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder..
The project will be led by Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences Dr. Arash Javanbakht, who directs the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC), and invented the technology.
Javanbakht, a clinical psychiatrist whose work focuses on anxiety, trauma and PTSD, often helps civilians, refugees, and first responders with mental health disorders.
Augmented reality is an interactive human-computer technology that enables mixing virtually created objects with reality. Instead of creating a completely synthetic environment, as with virtual reality, AR adds objects to the real world.
The purpose is to provide therapists with a variety of feared objects and situations at their command to use for exposure therapy and help contextualize safety learning in as many real-life environments as possible. The patient’s AR headset wirelessly connects to the therapist’s computer, where the therapist can see a three-dimensional map
Felician Sisters in Livonia Announce Developer for Senior Living Community
The Felician Sisters of North America and Felician Services announced MHT Housing Inc. has been selected as the developer that will repurpose the western portion of the historic Blessed Virgin Mary convent in Livonia for affordable and market-rate senior living housing.
MHT Housing Inc. is a nonprofit developer of high-quality affordable housing based in Bingham Farms. Floor plans have been developed by MHT for approximately 77 one- and two-bedroom units, as well as carports and a community space for activities. While an official groundbreaking is pending, the opening of new senior housing is anticipated in 2027.
The eastern portion of the convent will continue to be the home of the Felician Sisters who reside and serve in the Livonia area.
MHT Housing will begin necessary pre-development work soon, including environmental surveys, market studies, a capital needs assessment, design review, and site approval.
DAS Technology Expands Collaboration with GM to Advance Consumer Engagement
DAS Technology, a leading consumer engagement SaaS technology company in Arizona, is expanding its collaboration with General Motors Co. in Detroit and has joined the OEM’s equity mining program.
The equity mining capabilities of DAS Tech’s CDXP Complete platform include its ability to match customers with equity or nearing an equity position on their current vehicle and track engagement with its automated communications.
CDXP Complete is available to GM’s more than 4,000 U.S. dealerships. The technology enables identity resolution within consumer data between the CRM and DMS, integrates advanced vehicle analytics, and provides proprietary features that target the right communication to the right consumer at the right time.
Amway’s Commitment to Sustainability Demonstrated in New Impact Report
Strengthening communities, safeguarding the environment, and helping people live better, healthier lives are among the highlights of the work detailed in a new 2023 U.S. Impact Report published by Amway, a health and wellbeing company based in Ada Township, a suburb of Grand Rapids.
The 2023 U.S. Impact Report showcases Amway as a company powered by people who are passionate about giving back to the communities they belong to. As outlined in the report, a number of the more than 290,000 independent business owners (IBOs) who sell directly to consumers in their communities — and the over 3,300 U.S. employees who support them — are committed to Amway’s mission to benefit communities across the Americas and worldwide.
In 2023, Amway IBOs and employees logged more than 212,000 hours of volunteer time totaling nearly 9,000 days spent serving others. From its long-standing philanthropic commitments with organizations like Easterseals to causes personal to IBOs and employees, the Amway community has put collaboration and service at the center of its efforts in 2023.
Notably, after the deadly wildfires in Hawaii last August, the Amway community mobilized quickly contributing more than $155,000 to relief efforts, filling care packages and distributing them directly to those who resided in Lahaina. From national events to locally focused efforts, Amway IBOs and employees have invested in the betterment of the individuals and communities in which they live.
Corewell Health Children’s Receives $2.1M in Children’s Miracle Network Grants
Pediatric programs of Corewell Health Children’s received $2.1 million dollars in grants from Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH). These grants will be used to enhance pediatric programs at Corewell Health Children’s locations for spring/summer 2024. More than 60 programs received funding.
Since 1988, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has been a valued fundraising partner of the Corewell Health Foundation Southeast Michigan, raising donations of more than $83 million to help Corewell Health Children’s pioneer new health care solutions for children and provide access to the latest research and technology. More than 200,000 local children are impacted annually by this funding.
Corporate partners often reach out to their employees and customers through retail promotions, generating donations gathered one dollar at a time. Major CMNH corporate partners include: Speedway, Costco, Walmart and Sam’s Club, Rite Aid, Ace Hardware, RE/MAX, Panda Express, Dairy Queen, and Marriott International. In addition, sponsors of the annual Feldman Automotive Children’s Miracle Celebrity Invitational raised more than $1 million to support programs of Corewell Health’s Children’s/CMNH and The Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation in 2023.
For more information on Corewell Health Children’s, visit here.
Impact100 Metro Detroit Awards $221K in Grants to Five Local Nonprofits
Impact100 Metro Detroit awarded $221,000 in grants to local nonprofits at its recent Big Give event. The celebration was a showcase of community spirit, generosity, and commitment to making a positive impact in metro Detroit. To date, Impact100 has awarded nearly $2 million in high-impact grants.
The recipients of the 2024 Impact100 Metro Detroit high-impact grants are:
- First Step ($100,000)
- Mercy Education Project ($100,000)
Additionally, three $7,000 finalist grant awards were presented to Caleb’s Kids, Cross Roads of Michigan, and The Detroit Creativity Project.
These grants will enable the award recipients to amplify their impact, implement new programs, and reach more individuals in need. Each organization completed a rigorous review process, ensuring that every dollar granted will be used effectively to bring about meaningful change.
For more information about Impact100 Metro Detroit and how one can get involved, visit impact100metrodetroit.org.
Paige Crawford, Teen Ashley Shaw Headline The John Shippen Women’s Invitational
The stage is set for The John Shippen Women’s Invitational, as tournament organizer Intersport announced a 12-player field of top professional and amateur Black female golfers set to compete in the fourth annual event June 4-5 at Blythefield Country Club in Grand Rapids.
Notable players in the field for the 36-hole tournament include defending champion Paige Crawford and teen sensation Ashley Shaw, who both will be aiming to come out on top and earn exemptions in two LPGA Tour events, the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and the Dow Championship.
For the first time since its 2021 debut, The John Shippen National Invitational features prize purses for all three of its events this season: The John Shippen Cognizant Cup, Women’s Invitational, and Men’s Invitational. The top three finishers and ties in each event will be awarded a share of the purse. The winner of the Women’s Invitational will take home $13,200 from a $22,000 purse. Second place will earn $6,600, while $2,200 will go to the third-place finisher.
Crawford won the Cognizant Cup last year by two strokes, then parlayed that experience into a victory in the Women’s Invitational in June, securing exemptions into three LPGA events during the 2023 season. She advanced to the second stage of the LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying Tournament and earned full Epson Tour status this season.
Shaw, a 15-year-old Arizona native, won Cognizant Cup earlier this month. A high school freshman and the only amateur in the field, she shot a 1-over par 73 at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, N.J., to earn a spot in the LPGA Tour’s Cognizant Founders Cup.
