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Presidential
'Point
Of
Light'
honoree,
Ed Deeb
discusses
how his
award
came
about
DETROIT
- One of
the late
President
George
H.W.
Bush’s
Point of
Light
recipients
was
local
business
and
community
leader,
Edward
(Ed)
Deeb.
During
the Iraq
War, in
addition
to a
military
advisory
board,
President
Bush
also
named
community
leaders
to be
part of
another
advisory
group.
Among
them was
the late
Salman
Sesi, a
Southfield
Chaldean-Iraqi
attorney,
who sat
on the
board.
At the
end of
that
meeting,
the
President
asked
them,”
If you
know any
good
community
leaders
who are
giving
back to
the
community
and
giving
back to
our
nation,
we want
to know
about
it.”
Before
he left
the
session,
Sesi
said “I
have the
perfect
individual
you
might
want to
honor.
President
Bush
replied,
“Who
would
that
be?”
“His
name is
Ed Deeb
who
heads
the
Michigan
Food and
Beverage
Association
which
has
4,000
members
and is
also the
founder
of
Michigan
Youth
Appreciation
Foundation
which
holds an
annual
event on
Belle
Isle to
inspire
the
youth to
do the
most
good.”
Deeb
received
a phone
call
from the
President’s
secretary
saying,
“I am
calling
for
President
Bush who
has
decided
to name
you as
one of
his
National
Point of
Light
recipients
later
this
year.”
She
said,
“He will
be
sending
you a
letter
on June
8th and
hopes
you and
your
wife
will be
able to
attend a
special
award
ceremony
to be
held at
Disney
World to
receive
a
special
medallion
in late
September,
1991.”
“The
President
said he
would be
hosting
a
weekend
ceremony
for all
the
Points
of Light
recipients
at
Disney
World in
Orlando
Florida.
We want
you and
your
wife to
join us
there.
There
will be
no
charge
and the
final
day will
be the
medallion
presentation
where
the
recipients
will
walk
across
the
stage
and
receive
the
Point of
Light
Award
and take
pictures
with
President
Bush.
It
happened
to be on
the same
day as
Barbara
Bush’s
birthday.
The
award he
received
is now
framed
and is
on the
wall of
the
Michigan
State
University
College
of
Communication
Arts and
Sciences
Alumni
Association
which
Deeb
co-founded
the CCAS
Alumni
Association
at MSU.
Two
weeks
after he
received
the
Point of
Light
Award,
President
Bush’s
secretary
called
Deeb
once
again
and told
him that
President
Bush
would
like to
meet him
and his
wife at
Metropolitan
Airport
to
receive
the
actual
award
and take
some
photographs.
Deeb and
five
others
who met
the
President,
received
their
awards
and were
able to
shake
Bush’s
hand
before
he left
for his
speech
at the
Detroit
Economic
Club.
The last
person
to greet
Bush
that day
was Deeb
and his
wife. He
said he
wanted
to talk
a little
more but
was in a
hurry
and did
not have
time.
So, Bush
called
his
Airman
First
Class
who was
guarding
the
stairs
of the
plane,
and
asked
him to
take Mr.
and Mrs.
Deeb on
a tour
of Air
Force
One. He
thought
they
would
enjoy
it. They
did.
Deeb
is an
active
spokesman
in the
business
community
in
Lansing,
and
Washington
and is
respected
by the
media
and
government
officials,
and is
the
founder
of
Michigan
Youth
Appreciation
Foundation
and
Metro
Detroit
Youth
Day
following
the
altercations
on
Livernois
Avenue
where
youngsters
were
going
into the
grocery
stores,
stealing
liquor
and wine
and
running
out of
the
store,
and the
grocers
running
after
them.
Sadly,
two
youngsters
and one
store
owner
were
shot and
killed.
That is
when
Deeb,
Jerry
Blocker
and Tom
Fox
decided
to do
something
to do
the most
good and
help
improve
our
communities
and
education
system.
“I have
always
tried to
inspire
people,
especially
youngsters
and the
business
community,
to give
something
back to
the
community
to make
it
better’,
said
Deeb.
For his
dedication,
the
Michigan
Dept. of
Natural
Resources
honored
Deeb by
naming a
street
after
him on
Belle
Isle for
the work
he has
done
with
Metro
Youth
Day.
Last
July
(2018),
some
39,000
youngsters
attended
the 36th
annual
Metro
Detroit
Youth
Day
event
held on
the
athletic
field of
Belle
Isle.
During
2019,
Youth
Day will
be held
July
10th,
again at
the
athletic
field on
Belle
Isle.
For
further
information,
please
contact
us at
(586)
393-8801.
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