Detroit Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr. to Speak at Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce Winter Leadership Luncheon at Skyline Club

(SOUTHFIELD, MI)...The Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce announced today that Detroit's new Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr., will lead the Winter Leadership Luncheon Series as its first speaker next month. The invitation-only event, taking place at the Skyline Club located on the 28th floor of the prestigious Town Center and overlooking the city's landscape, is made possible by UBS/Peninsula Wealth Management Group. Many of the region's top business and civic leaders will gather to hear the Mayor's address. Past speakers at Chamber functions have included U.S. Ambassador Sam Zakhem, U.S. Senators John E. Sununu and Carl Levin, U.S. Representatives Mike Rogers, Candice Miller, Thaddeus McCotter, and Charles Boustany, Governor John H. Sununu, NASCAR Legend Bobby Rahal, Actress/Director Nadine Labaki, Cardinal Adam Maida, Ford CEO Jacques Nasser, General Motors Chief Economist G. Mustafa Mohatarem, MSNBC News Analyst Raghida Dergham, FOX-2 News Business Editor Murray Feldman, Windsor, Canada Mayor Eddie Francis, Supreme Court Chief Justice Clifford W. Taylor, Attorney General Mike Cox, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, Wayne County Executive Robert A. Ficano, Fmr. Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, GOP National Committeeman Keith Butler, U.S. Army General Mark A. Montjar, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Kaddo, Al Hurra Television Chief Pentagon Correspondent Joe Tabet, and Texas Councilman Hamid Kantara, among others. In 2009, the Chamber will expand the series to include Media, CEO and Newsmaker programs.

About the Mayor: Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. became the City of Detroit’s 61st mayor on September 19, 2008. A native of Detroit, Mayor Cockrel was a former journalist, Wayne County commissioner and community activist. Most recently, he served as President of the Detroit City Council. Mayor Cockrel made history as the youngest person ever elected to City Council in 1997. He was re-elected in 2001 and was elevated to the position of President Pro Tem. Cockrel was elected to his third term in November 2005 and became President as a result of receiving the most votes of any council member. Mayor Cockrel has a rich family history in Detroit. He is the son of the late attorney, community activist, and Detroit City Councilman, Kenneth V. Cockrel and Carol Cockrel, a former Detroit Public School teacher. A cum laude graduate of Wayne State University with a bachelor of arts in print journalism, Mayor Cockrel is a former reporter for the Detroit Free Press, the Grand Rapids Press and the Cincinnati Inquirer. He is a graduate of the inaugural class of the Michigan Political Leadership Program at Michigan State University, as well as the Program for State and Local Government Officials at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.