DBusiness Daily Update: Our Town Art Show in Birmingham Celebrates Michigan Creativity, 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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Man in front of painting
Lawrence Saenz Jr. attends last year’s Our Town Art Show. // Photo by Patrick Gloria

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.

Our Town Art Show in Birmingham Celebrates Michigan Creativity

The Community House in downtown Birmingham will present the 39th annual Our Town Art Show & Sale, embracing both in-person and online experiences for art enthusiasts, March 21-29.

The juried, all-media art show serves as a platform for Michigan artists to exhibit and sell their diverse creations, spanning paintings, pastels, sculptures, glassworks, fiber works, photography, jewelry, and mixed media.

Sixty-five percent of the art sales proceeds directly support the region’s artists, while the remaining 35 percent contribute to funding The Community House’s outreach programs for adults and children.

The Opening Night VIP Party on March 21 starts the event and allows guests an exclusive preview and the chance to acquire pieces before the public. The show will be open March 22-23, free of charge. The entire collection of juried artworks will be available for online purchase from through March 29.

For more information, visit here.

Detroit Pistons to Host Private Black Excellence Event at The Henry Ford

The Detroit Pistons and the NBA Retired Players Association: Detroit Legends Chapter will host its annual private Black Excellence dinner at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation starting at 6 p.m. on Friday.

The event will include the full Detroit Pistons team, coaches, executives, sponsors, and charitable foundation partners, as well as NBA legends Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman, George Gervin, Spencer Haywood, Rick Mahorn, Jalen Rose, and others.

The dinner, emceed by Coleman and Bing will celebrate Black Excellence and honor the late Sam Washington, creator of basketball leagues at St. Cecilia’s gym, and George “The Iceman” Gervin, member of the NBA 50th All-Time Team and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

During the program, Jalen Rose will interview Gervin about The Saint and his career. Detroit-based duo Florella Strings and the winner of the Earl Lloyd Scholarship from the 2024 Detroit Pistons Black History Month Scholarship Competition, King Bethel of Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, will perform during the dinner.

A portion of the proceeds from the dinner will benefit Ceciliaville in honor of the late Earl Cureton, who passed away earlier this month. Cureton served on the board of Ceciliaville and championed the restoration of The Saint.

New Real Estate App Available for Michigan Home Buyers

Tomo, the Connecticut-based mortgage startup founded by Zillow alumni, has launched a new real estate portal, Tomo Real Estate, designed to give homebuyers — including those in Michigan — a strategic advantage.

Tomo Real Estate’s unique home search experience offers home buyers insider intel, transforming the way they approach negotiations and ultimately helping them land their dream homes.

The new portal augments Tomo’s core business — purchase mortgages, offered through Tomo Mortgage. The company has spent the last three years building mortgage tech that shortens closing times and provides a better customer experience.

“Tomo’s beginnings as a mortgage company set us apart in the real estate industry,” says Greg Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Tomo. “We recognized that the mortgage process was the catastrophe of the real estate transaction, and tackled that first. Now, we’re channeling that motivation into the real estate search.”

Tomo Real Estate will be available in key markets covering 50 percent of real estate listings in the U.S., including Michigan.

To better meet the needs of the next generation of home buyers, Tomo Real Estate has built an AI-first platform that uses OpenAI to power free-text search capabilities. Unique to Tomo Real Estate, home buyers can simply describe their ideal home just as they would in a conversation with a friend or real estate agent and the platform delivers accurate results, making the home-search process more intuitive and efficient.

Additionally, Tomo Real Estate is pioneering the use of computer vision to index photos, extracting more than 200 attributes that go beyond standard property descriptions, including features like water views, fenced backyard, and natural light.

Home buyers will also have access to information such as home equity data and owner names. Equity data is a game-changer, allowing buyers to gauge negotiation strategies based on a seller’s financial situation. Owner names will be displayed based on public record data, serving as a resource to better understand an owner’s motivations for selling.

For more information, visit tomo.com.

Driverless Tech Leader RRAI Rebrands as Forterra

Maryland-based Robotic Research Autonomous Industries (RRAI), which has a Detroit freight facility, has changed its name to Forterra, solidifying its focus on ground-based autonomy innovation in the defense and commercial sectors.

“Since our founding over 20 years ago, we have been focused on the deployment of groundbreaking autonomy systems,” says Josh Araujo, CEO of Forterra. “Our rebrand to Forterra represents who we are today, while reflecting our history and the mission that drives us. We exist to empower people and their missions — regardless of the environment.”

Forterra’s focus on defense vehicles and private-road, on-property, and industrial-use commercial trucks is unique, the company says. By avoiding the regulatory risks faced by robotaxi and on-highway driverless trucking firms, Forterra expects a quicker trajectory to profitable growth than its competitors.

“Forterra’s approach, with defense as our priority, puts our AutoDrive autonomy platform front and center in handling the hardest conditions,” Araujo says. “We are confident in the DoD’s focus in this area and our business model sets us apart from our competitors which gives us the financial stability to innovate and grow.”

Wag N’ Wash of Ann Arbor Hosts Weekend-long Neighbor Appreciation Event

Wag N’ Wash, an Ann Arbor specialty retailer focused on the wellbeing of pets, is hosting a weekend-long Neighbor Appreciation Event at its flagship location (353 N Maple Road) Feb. 24-25.

The event details are as follows:

  • All Weekend: 20 percent off all in-store and online purchases; for online purchases, use code 892D7 (restrictions apply).
  • Noon-2 p.m. both days: Huron Valley Humane Society will be bringing in adoptable cats and dogs. Neighbors can interact with the animals in hopes of them finding forever homes.
  • Saturday, 3-6 p.m.: Cascades Humane Society will be bringing in adoptable cats and dogs. Neighbors are invited to create connections with the animals in hopes of them finding their new family.
  • Sunday, noon-2 p.m.: GEM Greyhounds of Eastern Michigan will be in-store with some adoptable retired racers. Learn how to care for the dogs and play with some pups looking for their forever homes.

“Every time we have the opportunity to celebrate our neighbors, it serves as a way of expressing our gratitude for being a part of our brand,” says Chris Rowland, CEO of Wag N’ Wash and Pet Supplies Plus. “We’re honored to have such a fantastic community behind us and encourage Ann Arbor-area residents to stop by, take advantage of the deals, and get to know some of the adoptable pets.”

For more information, visit wagnwash.com.

Troy’s OWL Services Supports Installation of First Fast-charging EV Station in Kentucky

OWL Services, the Troy-based sales, installation, program management, compliance, and service partner to industrial, commercial fleet, convenience fueling and retail and electrical vehicle charging customers, has broken ground for the first EV fast-charging site in Kentucky.

The project was funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program — a national program allocating $7.5 billion in grants to support the development of EV charging projects.

OWL Services, which has a national footprint and decades of experience in fueling equipment installation, leveraged its team of professionals to execute an electric mobility plan to support this project in Richmond. The company will help manage and deliver all requirements pertaining to power, engineering, site preparation, and permitting, ensuring a successful completion.

“As an increasing number of electric vehicles are added to the mix of vehicles on the road, we’re working with our partners to ensure that infrastructure is there to deliver on customers’ needs,” says Greg Ergenbright, CEO of OWL Services. “As the leading turnkey service company to EV charging and petroleum customers alike, we are excited to support the ongoing roll-out of the NEVI program and overall progress in vehicle electrification.”

For more information, visit owlservices.com.

General RV Center Donates $100K+ to Community Efforts in 2023

General RV Center in Wixom has donated more than $100,000 to organizations across the country in 2023.

The company had nearly 100 sponsorships across our nationwide network of stores. The RV dealer’s philanthropic philosophy focuses on four pillars: environment, people, community development, and diversity and inclusion. General RV’s philanthropic efforts support numerous charitable missions including free and accessible healthcare services, school programs, professional mentoring opportunities, recreation and community services, food banks and many more.

“We are proud to support so many amazing organizations,” saysChris Davis, presidenet of General RV. “We are focused on helping campers make memories in the great outdoors. We recognize it is our responsibility to support the communities where we live, work and play. Whether it is a monetary donation, product donation or when our employees volunteer — we are dedicated to serving our communities.”

Some examples of General RV’s 2023 charitable partners include the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, Muskegum Watershed Conservation District (Ohio), Penrickton Center for Blind Children (Michigan), Relay for Life, Mentoring Monday’s with Penn Live (Pennsylvania), the National Kidney Foundation (Michigan), and more.

Brightside Health Expands Medicare Access to Telemental in Michigan

Brightside Health, a San Francisco company supporting individuals with mild-to-severe clinical depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders, announced new and expanded payer partnerships to support traditional Medicare patients in Michigan.

These underserved populations will have access to all of Brightside Health’s life-saving mental health care services including psychiatry, therapy, and its Crisis Care program for individuals with elevated suicide risk.

“No mental health platform is complete without addressing the needs of Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries, and these partnerships will provide access to life-saving mental health care for millions more people,” says Brad Kittredge, co-founder and CEO of Brightside Health. “We are scaling quickly to ensure access to high-quality, measurably better mental health treatment. The momentum and interest continue to build, and we’re thrilled to partner with these esteemed organizations across the country and share their commitment to expand exceptional mental health care options.”

For more information, visit brightside.com.

Michigan Auto Law to Award $5,000 to Michigan High School Students With

Michigan Auto Law in Farmington Hills announces applications are being accepted for the 2024 Kelsey’s Law Distracted Driving Awareness Scholarship. Michigan Auto Law created the scholarship in honor of Kelsey Raffaele, who lost her life in a cell phone-related automobile crash in 2010 at the age of 17.

Michigan Auto Law hopes to inspire change and raise awareness, by encouraging Michigan high school juniors and seniors to submit a persuasive message about the dangers of distracted driving for young drivers. Applications for the 2024 scholarship are being accepted now through March 31, at MichiganAutoLaw.com.

Michigan Auto Law gives annual scholarships to students who show exemplary leaderships skills and has been awarding the Kelsey’s Law Scholarship since 2016 to young drivers who use their platform to raise awareness not only for young drivers, but to drivers all over Michigan.

Driving distractions are more than just using a cell phone and/or texting, but also eating and drinking, reading, using navigations systems, and even changing radio stations.

To be considered as a recipient of the 2024 Kelsey’s Law Distracted Driving Awareness Scholarship, Michigan students are invited to submit compelling videos, graphics, or tweets that resonate with their peers and influence safe driving behavior.

Entries will be judged based on their ability to persuade others to stop texting while driving, grab the attention of friends and family, deliver a clear and understandable message, and showcase personal creativity and ingenuity. The scholarship offers various award amounts, including $2,000 for the overall best submission, $1,500 for the best video submission, $1,000 for the best graphic submission, and $500 for the best tweet submission. Each student is limited to one type of submission.

The Kelsey’s Law Distracted Driving Awareness Scholarship is open to 11th and 12th grade students attending any public or private Michigan high school. The scholarship funds will be applied toward tuition at any university, college, or technical school in the United States. Applicants must be Michigan residents with a valid driver’s license. Finalists will be required to provide proof of enrollment, and if under 18 years old by April 15, a parental consent form must be signed.

For more information and to apply, visit here.