The Roast of Ed Deeb

(BIO) (HIGHLIGHTS OF ED DEEB'S 45 YEARS AS ASSN LEADER)

BIO

Edward Deeb is Chairman and founder of the Michigan Food & Beverage Association (MFBA, and of the Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA), and chairman emeritus of the Eastern Market Merchants Association.

Mr. Deeb has over 50 years experience as an association executive, and industry leader, and is the chief spokesman, working with government, the news media and the general public. He is considered “The Dean” of association executives.

MFBA is comprised of over 3,400 food and beverage stores, restaurants and various suppliers to them as wholesalers, brokers and processors throughout Michigan. Mr. Deeb chairs the entire operation for the membership, including editing publications; community, governmental and public relations, group insurance plans, educational seminars, training, expositions, consumer workshops and other services and reports to the Board of Directors. . MBPA currently has over 21,000 business members, who employ 160,000 persons.

Mr. Deeb has been the chief trouble-shooter for the food industry, and spearheads the crisis intervention program if any problems should develop between merchants and residents. As co-founder and chairman, he annually volunteers his time to coordinate Metro Detroit Youth Day on behalf of his industry and more than 320 organizations dealing with youth, and over 210 corporations, which draws more than 35,000 youngsters to Belle Isle each July. President Bush and the Points of Light Foundation awarded Mr. Deeb and the Youth Day event the Point of Light Award. The event also received the Governor’s Award for Physical Fitness as the top youth event in Michigan.

Mr. Deeb is involved with numerous organizations in Michigan, as well as the general community. He serves on the boards and active with United Way for SE Michigan, Salvation Army ( past Chairman Advisory Board),Boys and Girls Clubs of SE Michigan, Boy Scouts, Detroit Police Cadets, American Red Cross, Dean’s Advisory Council, U-M, Dearborn, Detroit Athletic Club, and is listed in Who’s Who of America.

Mr. Deeb is also chairman emeritus of Eastern Market area merchants, was founder and past president of Friends of Eastern Market, and co-founder and board member of Eastern Market Corporation He has been a driving force to help revitalize the area to attract additional businesses and shoppers to the area.

He has received numerous awards and honors for his involvement to help improve the quality of life for all, especially in community and business relations, and for inspiring young people. He has received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Detroit College of Business, and Davenport University. In 1998 he was recipient of the MSU Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 1997 Deeb was inducted into the International Institute Hall of Fame. In 2002, he was named Michiganian of the Year by the Detroit News. In 2003, he was recipient of the Heart of Gold award from United Way, and was inducted into the Macomb County Foundation Hall of Fame. In 2004, he received the Distinguished Warriors award from The Detroit Urban League, The Salvation Army’s “Others” award for distinguished community service, the George Romney Award for Lifetime Achievement in Volunteerism, and the “Closing the Gap” award from New Detroit, Inc. in 2005, Peacemaker of the Year award from Wayne State University in 2007, and The Blue Angel Award, from Blue Cross-Blue Shield, to list some of the honors bestowed upon him. In 2008, Mr. Deeb was the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. In 2010 he was the recipient of the Neal Shine Award for Exemplary Regional Leadership by the Detroit Free Press and the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition. In 2012 he was the recipient of the Director’s Community Leadership Award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A graduate of Michigan State University (Journalism and Advertising), Deeb is a veteran of the U.S.

Air Force and Air Force Reserves. A resident of Bloomfield Hills (formerly of Grosse Pointe Shores), he and his wife have two grown children and five grandchildren. A native Detroiter, he is a graduate of Eastern High School.

HIGHLIGHTS OF ED DEEB'S 45 YEARS AS ASSN LEADER

In 1965 Deeb coordinated an effort to bring more police protection for the grocers who were being targeted for robberies and killings.

Following the 1967 Detroit riots, Deeb met with leaders from New Detroit, Inc., the Detroit Urban League and the NAACP to form a coalition to bring better relations between Arabic and Chaldean store owners and citizens.

Two years later, Deeb and Walter Douglas of New Detroit formed an on-going task force to deal with any problem which arose in the City.

In 1971-73 Deeb was elected executive secretary of the National Association of Independent Food Retailers, and coordinated the wage-price freeze for Michigan’s food industry imposed by President Nixon.

In 1972 Deeb was instrumental in helping start the Michigan State Lottery. In the beginning, the lottery sold tickets for 50 cents and numbers were drawn once a week. Commissioner Gus Harrison asked Deeb to draw the very first lottery numbers, which were 991. Later of course the instant tickets were made available. Today the Lottery has total ticket sales of $37 billion.

In 1976 Deeb co-chaired the industry’s effort to oppose the returnable container law with Peter Stroh of Stroh Brewery and Mort Feigenson of Faygo Beverages. They did not want to bring unclean containers into food stores. The law was approved in 1977 and took effect in 1979. Instead, they wanted to establish curb-side recycling and recycling centers.

In 1979 Deeb mediated the national grape boycott in the Detroit area. He met with Caesar Chavez and indicated it would be an illegal secondary
boycott if area retailers complied with the effort.

In 1981 Deeb co-founded Metro Detroit Youth Day with Tom Fox and Jerry Blocker following altercations between retailers and youth on Detroit’s west side. Purpose was to show Youngsters that business people and the total community respected them and wanted to have an annual event in their honor. In 2010 more than 35,000 youngsters attended the event, and 60 college scholarships were given to graduating high school seniors. More than 800 college scholarships have been given to date.

Deeb was able to meet with every president of the United States since he began his job in 1962 except Lyndon Johnson and Barack Obama. In 1991 President George Herbert Walker Bush presented Deeb and the Youth Day event with the Point of Light Award, Number 477.

In 1984, Deeb was asked by businesses and farmers at Eastern Market to establish the Eastern Market Merchants Associations because they had no voice at city hall. Deeb volunteered his time for 25 years as chairman of the association, and coordinated the various events at the market. Deeb and EMMA were the driving force to keep Eastern Market going and be competitive since the city only provided funds for maintenance of the sheds and employee wages.

Since 1995 Deeb strongly encouraged the City Council and the Mayor’s office to permit historic Eastern Market to be managed by a non-profit 501-C-3 organization as is done with the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Historical Museum. Deeb along with a coalition of others interested in the Market were thrilled when Mayor Kilpatrick and the City Council approved plans to have the Market run by a non-profit management group. It took
effect Aug. 1, 2006. Deeb was one of the founding board members.

Mr. Deeb is considered the “Champion of small business”. He began in the association management field in 1962 and in his 50 years he has assisted and coached thousands of small businesses and people interested in starting their own business. The associations, Michigan Business and Professional Association and Michigan Food and Beverage Association, today have more than 20,000 members who employ 160,000 persons. He has assisted and guided more than 10,000 small businesses who have requested help over the years. Small businesses today comprise more than 80% of all the brand new jobs that are created today.

Mr. Deeb was founder of the Alumni Association of the College of Communication Arts & Sciences at Michigan State University, and served as its first president. The College named a state-of-the-art conference room after Deeb in 2002, and also dedicated the re-vamped lobby after him.

Mr. Deeb was the founder of Project Hunger in collaboration with the food industry, The Salvation Army, and Forgotten Harvest to help eliminate hunger in Michigan.