DBusiness

Patti Kukula Detroit Public Safety Foundation Executive Director Patti Kukula will receive the Dr. Ossian H. Sweet Foundation’s 2026 Gladys Sweet Humanitarian of the Year Award on Sept. 12. Through Kukula’s leadership, the foundation has championed Detroit’s first responders, strengthened public safety, invested in young people, secured critical resources, and built partnerships that make the city of Detroit stronger. The public is invited to the 8th Annual Dr. Ossian H.

Scott Brittain UDig, a Virginia-based digital product company, is expanding into Detroit opening the firm’s fourth market, joining Richmond, Va., Nashville, Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga., and comes as UDig marks 25 years in business. Scott Brittain joins UDig to lead the market. He has spent 15 years in Detroit consulting, most recently as vice president of client growth at LaunchPad Lab, a Chicago-based product agency.

Benefit on the Bay 2026 The 33rd Annual Benefit on the Bay fundraiser for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit took place on Aug. 28 at MacRay Harbor in Harrison Township. Hosted by Fox 2 Detroit’s Jay Towers, the evening included a buffet dinner, appetizers, and a coney dog cart. Live entertainment featured the Capuchin Soup Kitchen Choir. The evening also included live and silent auctions, raffle baskets, a cash raffle, a wine and cigar pull, plus desserts provided by On the Rise Bakery Café.

Stellantis says the next-generation Jeep Cherokee will become the first U.S. vehicle assembled on the new STLA One platform. // Image courtesy of Stellantis Stellantis in Auburn Hills announced that the next-generation Jeep Cherokee will become the first U.S. vehicle assembled on the new STLA One platform.

New Eagle’s Raptor Innovation Summit 2026 is bringing together engineering leaders, OEMs, technology partners, and industry experts to examine the rapid growth of autonomy, electrification, and intelligent vehicle systems, and the engineering strategies required to move these technologies from concept to production. // Stock photo New Eagle, an Ann Arbor-based provider of embedded control systems for intelligent vehicles and machines, is convening the Raptor Innovation Summit 2026, on Sept.

Authentic Hospitality and No Home Hospitality Group have collaborated to open Ray’s bar in downtown Detroit. Located at 19 E. Grand River Ave., Ray’s is designed to be a space that reflects Detroit through warm materials that feel nostalgic and put people at ease, references inspired by the city and the state, notes of the great outdoors, and a layout that feels as though it has always belonged, shaped by designer and Detroit native Taavo Somer’s own childhood memories of the city.

Planet Fitness is opening new locations in Lincoln Park and St. Clair Shores this winter. // Photo courtesy of Planet Fitness EPIC Fitness Group, a Planet Fitness franchise division that operates 70 Planet Fitness locations across Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, says it plans to open clubs in Lincoln Park and St. Clair Shores this winter. Pre-sale memberships for The Lincoln Park club, a new development located at 2100 Southfield Road, will open on Nov. 2. The St. Clair Shores location, at 22332 E.

Bruce Barron U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Administrator Brad Zaun visited Barron Industries in Oxford recently to recognize the family-owned advanced manufacturer as the 2026 SBA Great Lakes Region Small Business Manufacturer of the Year and tour its expanding aerospace and defense manufacturing operations. Zaun presented the regional award to Barron Industries President and CEO Bruce Barron at the company’s Oxford manufacturing campus.

Todd Lackey Dearborn-based global architecture and engineering firm Ghafari Associates has hired structural engineering veteran Todd Lackey as vice president. Lackey brings more than 30 years of industry experience spanning structural steel fabrication, detailing, engineering, project delivery, client development, and leadership, with expertise in the automotive, industrial, and advanced manufacturing sectors.

David R. Stechow Plunkett Cooney in Bloomfield Hills has added David R. Stechow to its Construction Law Practice Group. Admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Michigan, Stechow focuses his practice on various areas of complex litigation, including construction law, product liability, and premises liability in residential, commercial, and industrial settings.