Celebrating Women’s History Month

To Powerful Women

For 31 years my mother, Denise, served as CEO of two faith-based senior living companies in Michigan, with the last 27 years (until retirement in 2019) spent leading and innovating at Evangelical Homes of Michigan in metro Detroit. Her leadership, faith, love for people and dedication to her family is, in my eyes, unmatched. She spent many Christmas Eves and Thanksgivings serving meals to the overnight staff at several of the company’s southeast Michigan communities, walking the halls of these facilities to put a smile on the residents’ faces and thank her staff for their service. This is what she considered her “day job.” All the while being a mother of twins – making it home most evenings to make dinner, and to ensure I actually did my homework (my sister was not her concern :).

While words couldn’t possibly express how proud and inspired I am by my mother, even more remarkable to me is the “fight” and dedication she must have had to ascend to an executive leadership role at a time when women CEOs and leaders were – and, in my view, continue to be – too few. As a father of two – and especially for my daughter, Penelope – I can only hope that they too are inspired by everything that their grandma accomplished thus far in her life (as an amazing mother) and career. But above all else, the endless passion, hard work and love that she infused into the world through her job and her family. Women are powerful – and quite often the unsung heroes of the world – and we can all benefit from the way they shape our lives, our communities and our companies.