April 26 John Readon will join us at 11:45 am - 1 pm

Hospitality House/2075 E West Maple/Commerce Twp, MI 

to share news about the programs at Open Door Outreach Center in Waterford.  

Our meeting will be in person in the conference room and available via Zoom for those who wish to join virtually.  

Reminder:  We are a BYO lunch/beverage group

remember to pick up the meal of your choice (or pack a lunch from home) to bring with you.  

Here is the Zoom Link:

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81372117877?pwd=b2xPU2xGbkd5VFhaQ0JIVlJ6R3I2UT09.  The passcode is 525224

 

John was appointed Executive Director of Open Door Outreach Center in Waterford last hear, following five years of service on their Board of Directors.  John has a long history of service to community.  Upon retiring from the Detroit Fire Department as a lieutenant from the Detroit Fire Department after 25 years of distinguished service, he transitioned his part-time business his providing fire, hazardous material and safety training and consulting to a full time operation.
 
After losing his business due to the 2008 recession, he was employed in several safety related corporate positions and as a fire chief. Before being appointed Open Door’s executive director, he provided DNA collections for all of Southeast Michigan courts.
 
Civic minded he has served on local, state and federal emergency response related agencies and associations, often in leadership positions.
 
For the past five years he has served on the board of directors for Open Door, most recently as president, until appointed Open Door’s executive director one year ago.
 
He and his wife are active at their church and he strongly believes the Lord has steered and guided him into this position, where he can put his faith to work helping those most in need within the surrounding communities.

Mr. Brooks currently serves as the Chief Creative Officer of Building Momentum, developing the company’s creative vision and strategic partnerships. He leads teams which specialize in marketing, programming, immersive experiences, and community engagement. Prior to his role as Chief Creative Officer, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of Building Momentum. He is also a co-founder of the Alexandria Drive-In Movie Theater which was founded in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and raised over $190,000.00 for local charities.

Before joining Building Momentum, Mr. Brooks worked at the Kennedy Center producing arts education online content through the Center’s ARTSEDGE program. Thousands of classrooms across the country have used the learning materials and content he created.  

Under his leadership, Building Momentum has won a number of prestigious honors including, Best Veteran Owned Small Business in 2019, Best Business City-wide 2021 by the Alexandria Chamber, Finalist in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Dream Big Awards and he himself was chosen as one of Alexandria’s 40 Under 40 and now serves on the board.  

He is involved in a number of civic focused organizations including the Alumni Board of Christopher Newport University, the Board of Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, Board of Eisenhower Partnership and the Eisenhower West/ Landmark Van Dorn Implementation Advisory Group. He currently serves as the Vice President of the Christopher Newport University Alumni Society Board of Directors. He also is on the Advisory Council for the District Makers Collective and has been actively involved in the public school systems organizing field trips and working towards developing a training program for teachers in the Alexandria Public School System. Mr. Brooks is also currently the acting Executive Director of the nonprofit ATHENA Rapid Response Innovation Lab.