BIRMINGHAM – The annual GLIMASoutheast Holiday Party December 15th drew one hundred attendees again for an evening of holiday cheer, networking and charity. The beautiful Birmingham Community House hosted the event, which was sponsored by MotorCity Interactive, Crain?s Detroit Business and Automation Alley.
The normal sea of understated business attire was brightened by the presence of U.S. Marines in their dress blue uniforms from local Reserve units and from the Selfridge Air National Guard Base Marine detachment. The Marines collected donated toys and money for the Toys for Tots Foundation. GLIMA members and guests donated more than 50 new toys, as well as more than $200 in cash. In recognition, GLIMASoutheast received a plaque from the Marines honoring the organization?s support.
Toys for Tots was founded in 1947 by a Marine Major Bill Hendricks, who could not find a charity that would give a doll his wife had made for a needy child on Christmas Day. Over the years, the Marines have expanded the program and collected 2.1 million toys in Southeast Michigan alone.
?Southeast Michigan is consistently one of the top collection regions in the country, thanks to the generosity of people such as GLIMASoutheast members who give toys and financial donations to make the holidays happier times for needy children,? said Kirk Merametdjian of Toys for Tots Southeast Michigan and Troy-based Merian Financial Group.
?It?s events like this that show that GLIMA is as strong and relevant as ever,? said Jeff Stanislow, president and CEO of Novi-based event sponsor MotorCity Interactive and a past GLIMA president. ?The combination of GLIMA with Automation Alley has increased our diversity and our geographic reach while keeping our focus on the issues that matter to interactive professionals. It?s been a great night.?
Toy and donation givers participated in a drawing for a DVD player, Detroit Pistons tickets, a one-year GLIMA membership and books from Countinghouse Press, which included local author and GLIMASoutheast member Phil Rosette, who was on hand to autograph his new novel, ?The Freya Project.?
?I think a lot of the people here tonight are looking forward to a good year for the region?s technology community,? said Jason Brown, senior account executive for Detroit-based tech PR firm Airfoil Public Relations. ?There?s a lot more optimism about the year to come than there has been in a while, and the networking and deal-making going on reflects that.?
