DBusiness Daily Update: Detroit Lions, Comerica Bank ‘Double the Impact’ of My Cause My Cleats Campaign, and More

Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies.
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The Detroit Lions and Comerica Bank are collaborating as part of the annual My Cause My Cleats campaign to raise funds for FARM. // Photo courtesy of Comerica Bank

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

Detroit Lions, Comerica Bank ‘Double the Impact’ of My Cause My Cleats Campaign

The Detroit Lions and Comerica Bank are collaborating as part of the annual My Cause My Cleats campaign, encouraging the community to “Double the Impact” by donating to FARM (Family Assistance for Renaissance Men), a nonprofit organization focused on the rehabilitation and reuniting of fathers with their children.

The community can support the My Cause My Cleats endeavor by making a donation to FARM via farm-mi.org and by selecting the green DONATE option.

For the first $100,000 donated to the campaign, the Detroit Lions Foundation will match each of those dollars contributed through Dec. 10. To contribute to the collaboration, Comerica Bank is donating the $10,000 FARM, a 2023 Detroit Lions Inspire Change social justice initiative grantee and community partner of Comerica Bank.

“As the Detroit Lions players showcase and highlight their special charitable causes on the field, My Cause My Cleats allows us to recognize and appreciate the impact those nonprofit organizations have in transforming our communities,” says Steve Davis, Michigan market president of Comerica Bank. “As we strive to help support those in need, we can strengthen our efforts through dedicated teamwork and partnerships that deliver critical resources. We appreciate this commitment made by the Lions organization in supporting the ongoing efforts to serve others and inspire change.”

Located in Detroit, FARM provides a wide range of mentoring, father child relationship building, education and skills training, legal assistance, child support help, housing assistance to help men reunite with and make a difference within their children’s lives. FARM strengthens families by teaching men the principles of fatherhood and become a greater asset to their children, caregivers, communities, and society.

BTI Consulting Ranks Detroit’s Warner Law Firm Among National Litigation Leaders

Warner Norcross + Judd LLP has been named one of the leading litigation firms in the U.S. by BTI Consulting.

Warner was named a litigation leader in four categories as part of BTI Consulting’s 2023 survey of top legal decision makers at companies with $1 billion or more in revenue. The firm, which has nine offices across Michigan, was one of 235 law firms across the country noted by clients without prompting.

Warner is recognized as a Litigation Standout in three categories of all U.S. law firms:

  • Product liability litigation, which places the firm in the top 10 percent.
  • Employment litigation, earning Warner a spot in the top 12 percent.
  • Commercial litigation, which ranks the firm in the top 14 percent.

Warner also earned a spot as Litigation Noteworthy in Complex Commercial Litigation, placing the firm in the top 15 percent of all U.S. law firms. Warner is the only Michigan law firm recognized in each of these four categories.

“We are honored to be recognized by our clients and peers as one of the nation’s leading litigation firms,” says Amanda M. Fielder, partner and chair of the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. “Litigation has been a cornerstone of our firm since Warner was founded nearly a century ago. We’re proud of our partnership with clients, which allows us to be fierce advocates on their behalf and, working together, achieve innovative solutions and positive results.”

With one of the largest litigation practice groups in Michigan, Warner attorneys are highly skilled litigators with experience at every level of state and federal courts. Warner represents some of the nation’s best-known companies, as well as startups, second-stage growth companies, nonprofits, and multinational corporations.

Warner attorneys cover nearly two-dozen subspecialties, including class action, patent litigation, and supply chain. The firm’s eDiscovery Center utilizes a range of high-tech tools and talented tech-forward team members to manage complex discovery matters.

Jackson Enhances Suite of Digital Tools with Launch of Tax Deferral Calculator

Jackson National Life Insurance Co. in Lansing, the main operating subsidiary of Jackson Financial Inc., has launched a proprietary tax deferral calculator available to financial professionals and their clients on Jackson.com.

The new tool complements Jackson’s suite of online financial planning tools, including its Social Security and retirement expense and income calculators. The tax deferral calculator was developed in partnership with FinMason Inc., a financial technology, investment data, and analytics firm, to help financial professionals fully illustrate the benefit of tax-deferred growth across key financial planning lifecycle stages, including accumulation, distribution and legacy.

Jackson’s new tax deferral calculator enables users to compare the accumulation values and after-tax withdrawals of an investment taxed annually versus deferring the tax until withdrawals occur, as is common with tax-deferred annuities. Additionally, the tool allows users to illustrate scenarios for individuals, couples and trusts based on their unique tax needs.

One of the key features of the new tool is its ability to customize the components of the tax deferral journey in various life stages in a digestible, easy-to-understand plan that can help illustrate potential impacts on a client’s portfolio.

For more information, visit here.

Mackinac Island’s Inn at Stonecliffe Opens Reservations for 2024 Summer Season

The Inn at Stonecliffe on Mackinac Island, originally built in 1904 as a lakeside estate for the Chicago Cudahy family and currently undergoing a more than $30-million-dollar property-wide transformation, says reservations are available for booking on the hotel website for the summer 2024 season. The Inn at Stonecliffe’s first reservations begin in June 2024.

The reimagined luxury resort will have the newest accommodations and amenities on the island while remaining true to its more than 100-year history. The resort’s central mansion, as well as the summer house, will receive a freshly updated look including fully renovated guest rooms with brand new bathrooms and modern amenities including air conditioning.

New additions to the property include three private cottages with spacious accommodations and fully equipped kitchens ideal for families and groups.

An array of on-property offerings will be available to guests including a fine-dining restaurant, a more casual BBQ pavilion with a wood-fired pizza oven, and an upscale pub concept, as well as a new 3,000-square-foot event venue with flexible event space and a wellness center.

The resort will feature two pools and an expansive lakeside lawn with firepits and classic lawn games overlooking the Mackinac Bridge and the straits connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The on-property apple orchard will be restored, keeping the spot alive and thriving serving as a sanctuary for the island’s natural inhabitants including the addition of beehives, chicken coops, and a garden.

Owned by The Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, 100 percent of profits from The Inn at Stonecliffe go to serving those most in need in the local community and the world through grants, foster programs, mental health, shelters, and more.

Tom Gores Pledges $350K to Youth at SAY Detroit

Platinum Equity founder and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores has committed $350,000 to SAY Detroit, which includes $100,000 allocated for kids at the SAY Play Center to deploy at the facility.

Gores made the pledge during his yearly call to WJR-AM radio host and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom’s 12th annual SAY Detroit radiothon, an annual fundraiser for the nonprofit Albom founded in 2006 to address homelessness, health care access, and other charitable support to underserved communities.

“I’m proud to be part of this platform that is helping kids grow in so many different ways,” says Gores.

Albom announced that the commitment from Gores helped the radiothon raise more than $2 million this year, which is a record for the fundraiser. Since its first broadcast in 2012, the annual radiothons have raised more than $14.5 million. With this year’s pledge, Gores will have donated more than $1.8 million in connection with the radiothon since 2017.

Gores, who in the past several years has partnered with the SAY Play Center to create programs that teach children about philanthropy, entrepreneurship and media, challenged the kids this year to bring all the skills they’ve learned together.

He outlined a program in which kids will research different ideas for putting $100,000 to use at the SAY Play Center facility. They will develop an execution plan and then pitch their ideas for approval.

“The things we’ve done together the last few years involved giving and philanthropy, and business and entrepreneurship, and then creative storytelling,” says Gores. “Now I’d love for the kids to use all these skills that they’ve learned, and in a way that is both fun and educational, which is part of the mission at SAY Play that’s always impressed me.”

Gores said he likes creating programs that give kids real-world experience.

“Achieving a dream isn’t possible unless you have the ability to execute, and so we’ve done a lot of programs where the kids have to design it and execute,” Gores says. “I like empowering them.”

Gores added that he would like to incorporate whatever ideas the kids come up with into the $20 million community center he’s working with city officials to build in Rouge Park.

For more information or to donate to SAY Detroit charities, please visit saydetroit.org.

Sentinum Mines 71 Bitcoin with its Michigan Data Center

Sentinum Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of Ault Alliance Inc. in Las Vegas, reports it has mined 133 Bitcoin in the month of November, of which 71 were mined by its Michigan Data Center in Dowagiac, southwest of Kalamazoo.

Based on the current Bitcoin price of approximately $44,000, Sentinum mined approximately $5.84 million worth of Bitcoin in November 2023 and has a current Bitcoin mining operations annual run rate of approximately $70.1 million worth of Bitcoin.

“We are pleased with the recent gains in the price of Bitcoin and are excited to begin operations in January 2024 at the first of two 10 megawatt sites at Sentinum’s new data center in Montana,” says William B. Horne, CEO of Ault Alliance. “The increase in the price of Bitcoin coupled with the transitioning of our mining units back to our own data centers should significantly improve profitability while also growing topline revenue numbers.”

The company notes that all estimates and other projections are subject to the volatility in Bitcoin market price, the fluctuation in the mining difficulty level, the ability to build out, and provide the necessary power for miners, and other factors that may impact the results of Bitcoin mining production or operations.

For more information, visit ault.com.

Black Tech Saturdays to Host Holiday Showcase Dec. 16

Black Tech Saturdays is hosting a holiday showcase and celebration at Newlab @ Michigan Central (2050 15th St.) in Detroit Dec. 16.

The showcase takes place between 1-3 p.m. and an 18+ celebration is from 3-5 p.m.

The event will include a curated collection from Detroit artists highlighting the connection between innovation and tech. Live tech demos from Detroit startups and youth centered robotics and augmented reality demonstrations from Detroit-based youth presenters also will take place.

A holiday party takes place at 3 p.m. celebrating Black Tech Saturday’s successful first year of community building around equity in tech, generating wealth, and celebrating Black joy.

Participants can register for this free event here.

City of Pontiac Opens New Fishing Pier at Pontiac Oaks Park

The city of Pontiac and Oakland County Parks have opened of the new fishing pier at Pontiac Oaks Park (formally Hawthorne Park).

“We are very excited about our partnership with the Oakland County Parks Commission,” says Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel. “The new pier is a great amenity for our community and is already being used by residents to fish despite the cool temperatures. We encourage people to come out and enjoy the new and improved Pontiac Oaks Park.”

Oakland County Park’s $1.5 million investment to improve the park began with renovations of facilities and grounds, but reconstruction of the fishing pier is the largest to date. The new dock is approximately 1,500 square feet — more than double the size of the former pier, which measured about 700 square feet when it was installed in 2011. It also features a floating boardwalk that extends 100 feet over Creger Lake.

The new pier also has lower railings, giving visitors better opportunities to catch a variety of species like sunfish, bass, blue gill, and more. Other enhancements planned including restoring new shore and site lines and making an accessible kayak launch available.

Washtenaw Named No. 1 Community College in Michigan

Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor has been named the top community college in Michigan in two recent independent rankings.

Niche.com and Intelligent.com highlighted WCC as No. 1 in rankings that ordered the Best Community Colleges in Michigan. Additionally, WCC also has recently been ranked by BestColleges as offering the Best Accelerated Online Associate program in Michigan.

More than 20,000 students enroll at WCC annually, and the college offers among the lowest tuition in the state, $99 per credit for in-district students. WCC is the largest community college transfer school to the University of Michigan, with an emphasis on the liberal arts and programs that prepare students for high-demand, high-wage jobs in advanced manufacturing, business, nursing, mobility and automotive technologies and other STEM related professions.

Niche.com chose WCC among other colleges based on reviews of key statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and student reviews. The ranking includes public junior colleges, public technical schools, and all other public two-year colleges.

Colleges were graded and ranked based on factors such as academics, professors, student life, the campus, safety, diversity, student surveys and the financial value.

Intelligent.com also named WCC as the top institution in its list of Best Community Colleges, highlighting the school’s online affordability and strength of its online programs.

The ranking looked at academic quality, affordability, student resources and other factors.

REP4 National Convening Celebrates Student Architects of Higher Education Change

A national alliance dedicated to transforming higher education by empowering students to shape their educations is growing and ready to showcase a dynamic year that included meeting with elected officials and other leaders on Capitol Hill.

Leaders for REP4, which stands for Rapid Education Prototyping for Change, Learners, Community, Equity, will present a National Convening at 1 p.m. Dec. 13 that highlights the progress and continued momentum of the national alliance founded by Grand Valley State University and a diverse set of learner-focused colleges and universities across the country.

The National Convening also will include an opportunity to view student pitches and prototypes designed to strengthen and transform education.

“The solutions being created by REP4’s students demonstrate the benefits of giving learners the opportunity to be architects of their educational journey and our universities,” says Philomena V. Mantella, president of GVSU. “The confidence and skills that REP4 brings out in students will help us grow the changemakers and leaders of the future.”

Some other key moments in the National Convening presentation include REP4 leaders traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with Capitol Hill officials as part of the first Unified Day of Advocacy.

Meijer to Open Fairfax Market in Cleveland on Jan. 16

Residents of Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood and surrounding areas soon will have more convenient access to fresh, high-quality food at low prices once Fairfax Market, the new neighborhood market by Grand Rapids-based Meijer opens on Jan. 16, 2024.

Fairfax Market is the retailer’s first small-format neighborhood market outside of Michigan.

The new 40,000-square-foot market is part of a mixed-use neighborhood revitalization project being developed in partnership with the city of Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic, the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp., and Fairmount Properties.

Located in the Cleveland Innovation District, Fairfax Market will contribute to creating a healthier community by addressing food insecurity, supporting economic development, and providing a new grocery shopping destination for customers from Fairfax and other nearby neighborhoods, as well as those who work in the neighborhood.

Fairfax Market will feature a large assortment of products, including fresh meat and deli items, fresh produce, a bakery, and Meijer and national brand items. It also will carry more than 2,000 local products, including Cleveland Cold Brew Coffee, Micah’s Supreme Sauce, PUR Spices, Akron Honey, Lemon Waves, and beauty care products from Catlin Naturals.