The Detroit Economic Club, headquartered at 211 West Fort Street in downtown Detroit, Michigan, was formed in 1934 as a platform for the discussion and debate of important business, government and social issues. It is known internationally as a top speaking forum for prominent business, academic, and government officials, who address members and their guests at the Club's 35-meeting season. With more than 3,500 members, the DEC is a forum for vital issues. The DEC claims to have hosted every sitting U.S. President since Richard Nixon and is ranked among the top speaking platforms in the world. The DEC is one of the most valued podiums for CEO's in the world and one of the top five executive speaking forums in America.
History
The Detroit Economic Club was founded in 1934 by Allen Crow. The objective of the Club was and still is: to promote an interest in, and to enlighten its members on important governmental, economic and societal issues. The growth in the Club was rapid in the first year, with 275 men joining. Specifically "men" because women were not admitted until 1973. That was the year after Michigan ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. Within five years of the inception, the Club's membership had grown to 1,100 and post World War II the membership was approaching 2,000. The logo of the Club is an Aladdin's Lamp, which Crow selected it because it was the Greek symbol for enlightenment. That is what the Club is all about. Born out of the Depression, the Club tends to succeed, even when the economy is not. Founder, Allen Crow, had a big idea: "Maybe if you gathered a lot of smart people in one room, on a regular basis, they could figure the way out."
Operation
The main activity of the Club is usually is in the form of a breakfast or lunch/business meeting setting. The Club presents, on average, 35 meetings per year. Where the speaker take the podium/stage and address whatever their topic is at that time. Speakers usually speak for about 20–30 minutes and there is reserved times for networking and questions. Traditionally, the club would meet on Mondays. The history goes back before commercial air travel and the meetings were scheduled by Allen Crow on Monday's so that the speakers could travel to Detroit by train over the weekend and this would conserve their weekly business time. Originally, annual dues were $5.00 and tickets were $1.50. Over the years the dues have naturally increased to keep pace with inflation and growth. Now the Club has five categories of memberships ranging from Young Leader dues at $75.00 to Gold Membership at $500.00. The Club's meeting place was and still are some of the same venues from the early stages of the Club such as: the Book Cadillac Hotel, and later a number of the Club's meetings took place at Cobo Hall, and is still a principal location.
Speakers
How The Club obtain speakers, is often asked. In early days, they did pay, but this costly practice was eliminated. Now, the speakers come because they welcome the opportunity to address the Club's prestigious forum, and for the extensive outreach they know their message will receive. In addition to the newspaper coverage that the speakers receive, a number of radio stations use to broadcast the meetings and was carried to about 400,000 Metro-Detroit area homes. Now, there is still the newspaper and radio coverage, but by technology advancing the way that it has, the Club sometimes have a live-stream for viewers at home or members on the road. The Club has always pushed to obtain some of the region's most prominent and well spoken leaders around the globe. To be fair, The Club has hosted a meeting with every President of the United States since former President Nixon. The first woman speaker at the DEC was Catherine Curtis on November 1, 1937 and she spoke on "The Housewife as Capitalist." The first Black speaker was Lester Granger, President of the National Urban League on January 19, 1948. In addition to those groundbreaking speakers, there has been a number of international level leaders as well to grace the Club with their wisdom and words of enlightenment such as: Soviet Ambassador to the U.S. Antoly Dobrynin, Bruno Kreisky when he was the Australian Chancellor, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the U.S. Jose Ramon Cabanas Rodriguez, and countless others.
Presidents (DEC Presidents)
The President of the Club, historically was the chief operating officer as well as the president. Nowadays, those titles and tasks are handled by two separate individuals with the same goal in mind. Since the first President and Founder, Allen B. Crow, there has been nine other fantastic Leaders of this great Club. Lester Skene Bork, Walker Lee Cisler, Russel A. Swaney, Theodore H. Mecke, Jr., Wesley R. Johnson, Gerald E. Warren, William R. Halling, and Elizabeth "Beth" Chappell, who served the Club for 15 years, which is the second longest term after the Founder, Allen B. Crow. The current President and CEO of the Club is Steve Grigorian, who has served since 2017.
Young Leaders Program
The Young Leader Program has been growing steadily over the years since its launch in 2007. The Young Leader members are made up of over 1,200 young professionals in out of the Metro-Detroit area. All YL members are under the age of 40 years, which is the only requirement to join the Young Leaders program. Not only do are the YL members allowed to regular DEC meetings, but also have their very own Young Leader Series meetings of their own. In addition to hosting an annual Young Leader Conference. The Young Leader program is continuously growing with more young professionals who are invested into the economic and political future of the great City of Detroit.
Career Readiness Academy (CRA)
The Detroit Economic Club’s Career Readiness Academy is a 6-month program that brings high school and Young Leader members together for monthly meetings that aim to teach skills that will help the students effectively navigate their high school journey to find greater success in the working world. The same team of YLs and students meet each month which not only provides the opportunity for more personalized attention but also forges important mentor-mentee relationships. The monthly sessions are broke up into 6 groups, specifically to educate these students on career exploration, economic realities, college, and a number of other amazing tools that they will need as they work their way into the career path of their liking.
National Summit
In June 2009, the DEC assembled some of America’s top business, government and academic leaders, among others, in debate and dialogue on four issues of vital importance to America’s future in a global economy - Technology, Energy, Environment, and Manufacturing. The goal of The National Summit was to bring attention to actions that would improve America’s ability to compete in the 21st century.
