Duane Perry, longtime resident of Grandmont #1, has stepped down after nearly 10 years serving on the GRDC board of directors. Duane’s contributions to the board were especially valuable as he has had years of experience as a draftsman and designer at several steel design firms in and around Detroit. In fact, Duane has been…
Grandmont Rosedale resident and Grand River WorkPlace member Ian Watts’ new position as GRDC’s Economic Development Manager is a great fit. Ian knows first-hand the benefits of running a small business out of a neighborhood co-working space as well as the importance of having a variety of tools, resources readily accessible that allow small businesses…
Gabrielle Taylor’s Roll Up Truck has been a staple of the Northwest Detroit Farmers’ Market since she first started operations three years ago. The bright red, white, and yellow truck with its signature egg-with-wheels logo stands out at the end of the Market’s row of tents, and for all the right reasons. The food is…
Frank Raben is one of the longest serving members of GRDC’s board of directors, which is kind of surprising considering that his early plans included working on his uncle’s ranch in Nebraska. Frank worked at the ranch for just one month putting in the spring crops before his future began to take its unexpected turn.…
It all started out as a bunch of friends getting together to make music. It was pretty relaxed, always fun, and a great way to try out lyrics, new sounds, new arrangements. In 2005, the band La Dispute played for audiences all over West Michigan where the 5 members were from, and began to develop…
Tess Tchou moved to Grandmont Rosedale in 1978 “without a clue about what kind of neighborhood we were moving into.” Tess and her husband Ray had been living in an apartment in Royal Oak, but the apartment didn’t allow babies, and Tess was pregnant with the first of two sons. Several years and two sons…
Years ago, when Asia Hamilton was in high school, she wanted to take a cosmetology class, but the class was full. She was disappointed and so, with little enthusiasm and the thought that the class would be easy, Asia reluctantly signed up for commercial photography. Once the class was over Asia knew what she wanted…
Sean VandenBrink and Dexter the cat, a Glastonbury Collective resident. In 2011, Sean VandenBrink was looking for a place to create a community of artists – a place where artists would have the space and equipment to pursue their artistic goals without the anxiety of meeting a high rent. GRDC had recently acquired a…
Joél Reyes-Klann, GRDC’s intern from the University of Michigan, is no stranger to community engagement. Since last June, Joél has spent much of his time assisting GRDC’s Community Engagement Manager Kitty Yarbrough with Vacant Property Task Force meetings, and soon he will also help out with this year’s Northwest Detroit Farmers’ Market season. Joél, a…
Yoga didn’t do much for Kerrie Trahan back in 2005 when she tried her first yoga class. She sort of stumbled upon the class as she was checking out what was offered at the Boll Family YMCA downtown. Her dad had signed the whole family up at the Y because, as Kerrie remembers, “he thought…