{"id":12141,"date":"2012-11-27T00:00:15","date_gmt":"2012-11-27T00:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/challengedetroit.org\/blog\/carolinegersch\/?p=5"},"modified":"2012-11-27T00:00:15","modified_gmt":"2012-11-27T00:00:15","slug":"the-inaugural-program-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/the-inaugural-program-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"The Inaugural Program Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It\u2019s raining in here,<\/em> I thought as I walked into the atrium of One Campus Martius.\u00a0 Truth be told, that\u2019s the second time I\u2019ve had that thought upon entering the Compuware building. \u00a0I\u2019d been there once before, only a few weeks prior, and should have remembered the giant glass waterfall that dominates the open space.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t, and a sense of childlike wonderment filled me again. \u00a0And like a child, I stood and stared. I thought about how many people had to work together to create such a magnificent piece of art. I later found out that what I was gazing at was the world\u2019s largest indoor hanging waterfall, measuring just over 14 stories tall. It\u2019s no wonder AIA Detroit\u2019s Urban Priorities Committee rated the building\u2019s entryway as one of the top ten interiors in Detroit. I asked myself, how did I fail to set foot in this remarkable space while living in Detroit these past few years? Alas, this isn\u2019t the first time I\u2019ve had this thought since beginning my fellowship with Challenge Detroit.\u00a0 To be sure, Challenge Detroit continues to introduce me to parts of my city I had no idea existed.\u00a0 Again and again, I realize that I don\u2019t know my city half as well as I thought I did.<\/p>\n

\"Picture<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fellows are recognized, including Caroline Gersch, center.<\/em><\/p>\n

Last Thursday, October 11, Challenge Detroit held its Inaugural Program Celebration on the top floor of the Compuware building.\u00a0 We were directed to gather in the \u201cArctic Room,\u201d a genuine misnomer since the atmosphere couldn\u2019t have been warmer; toward each other, our honored guests, and the city we love. \u00a0Program Fellows mingled with representatives of the 30 host companies, participating nonprofits and other supporters over cocktails and scrumptious hors D\u2019oeuvres. Not only did I have the privilege of interacting with both of my esteemed mentors, Edward Cherney of Tip Capital and Roy Sexton of Trott & Trott, in a social setting, but also had the opportunity to shake hands with a host of other influential entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

Amongst the many conversations, I heard expressions of gratitude conveyed on behalf of Challenge Detroit fellows to participating companies, nonprofits and donors.\u00a0 The room was abuzz with strangers, linked by their love and passion for Detroit, sharing stories, forming friendships, and hatching business partnerships. Tanya Heidelberg-Yopp of Compuware gave an enthusiastic welcome to the crowd.\u00a0 Appropriately, her energy seemed to match the magnitude of the building in which we sat.\u00a0 Next, we heard personal anecdotes from some of the Challenge Detroit fellows on what drew them to the city or, in the alternative, why they chose to stay in Detroit rather than move to nearby hotspots like Chicago or New York.\u00a0 Finally, Michael Finney, MEDC President and CEO addressed the crowd.\u00a0 Finney decided to speak \u201coff the cuff,\u201d though you wouldn\u2019t have known it from his poise and eloquence.\u00a0 Sharing his optimistic perspective on where he thinks Detroit is headed and what we can do to help the city thrive, his words and presence electrified the room.<\/p>\n

I felt\u00a0 incredibly inspired in the presence of so many bright and creative community leaders; individuals who deeply care for Detroit and its citizens, and helped turn Doyle Mosher\u2019s dream into a reality.\u00a0 What\u2019s more extraordinary is the philanthropic spirit embodied by each and every one of the participating host companies, nonprofits, and supporters who were so eager to give their time, energy, and capital.<\/p>\n

I am incredibly grateful to be a member of the inaugural group of Challenge Detroit fellows and feel saturated with good feeling for our mission. \u00a0As with the rain in the lobby, I am reveling in the downpour.<\/p>\n

Contributed by Caroline Gersch, Fellow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s raining in here, I thought as I walked into the atrium of One Campus Martius.\u00a0 Truth be told, that\u2019s the second time I\u2019ve had that thought upon entering the Compuware building. \u00a0I\u2019d been there once before, only a few weeks prior, and should have remembered the giant glass waterfall that dominates the open space.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12141\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}