Long-time resident selected to serve on Wixom's DDA

The Wixom Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has appointed long-time resident Jon Gray to the DDA board and tapped him as a liaison to the business community in an effort to build up the downtown area.

Gray’s experience as a general training manager in the restaurant industry for 31 years earned him the seat on the 10-member DDA board, the governing body making decisions on how to build up the downtown area. He will be working alongside businesses so they network with one another to put Wixom businesses first, a priority goal of the DDA.

“We’re trying to get the businesses to work more closely together,” Gray said. “We want them to deal with Wixom businesses first, to build up businesses and revenue in the city.”

The DDA is in the midst of transition and has adopted a plan that will ultimately grow the downtown area, according to Assistant City Manager Tony Nowicki.

“The new focus is to coordinate and develop more events with businesses, and to draw them together collectively as a unit to work toward strengthening the downtown,” he said.

Gray said his first mission is to round up restaurants and those businesses in the food industry — his forte — and then reach out to the broader business community.

Gray is expected to call upon businesses individually to begin the marketing campaign.

“He will be bringing in restaurant leaders for brain storming to strengthen the retail sector,” Nowicki said.