MARCH 2017

honored by the chamber
The Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce
has three award winners this year. The
awards are for Business Person of the Year,
Humanitarian of the Year, and a special tribute award
for work in aiding the Iraqi American Community.
This year’s Business Person of the Year awardwinner
is Victor Saroki. The Business Person of
the Year award spotlights individuals who are “good
corporate citizens.” They must be a distinguished
business community member or organizations who
has provided service to the Chaldean community
in areas that improve the Chaldean community’s
health and wellness, image and representative
voice in the United States and/or abroad.
Saroki was nominated by Michael Romayo
and Raad Kathawa. In their letter to the Chamber,
they noted that, “Mr. Saroki has done the
architectural and interior design work for the
Shenandoah Country Club, St. Thomas Chaldean
Catholic Church, the Chaldean Community
Foundation building, and is currently
working with Bishop Emeritus Ibrahim in the
design of the Bishop’s Library. Mr. Saroki is a
man of his word. He is trust-worthy, hard-working,
and client-centered. His dignified presence
and speech add credibility to any organization
to which he belongs. Mr. Saroki gives the Chaldean
Community a positive face to the greater
population in Southeast Michigan.”
Victor Saroki, FAIA, is the president of
Saroki Architecture, an award-winning architecture
and interiors firm in Birmingham,
Michigan, since 1983. He was admitted to the
College of Fellows of the American Institute
of Architects (AIA) in 2000 and with over 30
years in business, the firm has earned more than
60 design awards including the AIA Michigan
Firm of the Year in 2007.
A graduate of the College of Architecture & Design
at Lawrence Technological University, Saroki
received a Bachelor of Science in 1979, a Bachelor
of Architecture in 1980, and was conferred an Honorary
Doctorate of Architecture in 2008. Focusing
on the firm, he oversees all of the diverse work with
projects including retail, hospitality, mixed-use,
multiple residential, and custom residential.
Extending his expertise to the community, he has
served as a past board member with the America’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Birmingham Community
House, and the Birmingham YMCA. Saroki
currently serves on the Board of Trustees at LTU and
is past president of AIA Michigan and AIA Detroit.
He also serves on the Board of Directors for the
Chaldean Community Cultural Center.
Saroki and his wife, Michelle, started the firm
together in 1983, and Michelle still plays an active
role in marketing the firm. They currently live in
Birmingham and have two children: Alex is an associate
architect at the firm, and Adriana attends
the University of Michigan.
This year’s Humanitarian of the Year awardwinner
is St. John’s Providence Health System.
The nomination was submitted by Dr. Nahid
Elyas and the Chaldean American Association for
Health Professionals (CAAHP). The CAAHP’s
nomination was seconded by Saif Kasmikha from
Midwest Legal Partners, LLC.
The Humanitarian Award spotlights community
members or organizations that have also shown
exemplary service to the Chaldean community
in areas that improve the Chaldean community’s
health and wellness, image and representative
voice in the United States and/or abroad.
In the letters received, it was noted that, “St.
John Providence (SJP) is committed to delivering
compassionate, personalized care to all with special
Victor Saroki
Almanhal Al Safi
attention to persons living in poverty and those
most vulnerable. This philosophy of care underscores
their heritage as a faith-based health system
offering patients so much more than medicine.”
It was also noted that, “each year St. John
Providence provides an estimated $200 million in
uncompensated care to our community annually.
Through partnerships, coalitions, and program development
and support, St. John Providence has
created innovative programs to increase access to
healthcare services and empower individuals to
make informed health choices. The Chaldean
community has benefited greatly from programs
and efforts of St. John Providence to make our
community a healthier and better place.”
To ensure culturally competent care of the
Chaldean community, St. John Providence (SJP)
provides or sponsors numerous programs and services,
within the hospital setting, and in the Chaldean
community. This outreach includes the
sponsorship of two weekly radio programs that
highlight health topics using various Chaldean and
other highly quality SJP physicians and clinicians.
These shows have been instrumental in increasing
the community’s awareness and understanding
of practicing preventive health. In recent years,
SJP has made available in-patient services to the
Chaldean patients and their families that includes,
Middle Eastern food options on the menu, Arabic
TV channels in patient rooms, Arabic signage
throughout Oakland Hospital, and MARTI, which
is an electronic mobile translation services for the
patients with language limitations.
SJP has hosted an annual cultural diversity day
with employees to educate them on the Chaldean
culture. As the baby-friendly designated health
system, SJMOH established a mom-to-mom support
group and breast feeding classes for Chaldean
women. This project promotes breastfeeding
as an important element in the healthy development
of the baby and mother. St. John
Macomb Oakland Hospital has established a
prenatal and child birth education classes, specifically
aimed to pregnant women and mothers
in the Chaldean community. SJP has also provided
mental health services through Eastwood
Clinics, which are geared towards treatment of
recent immigrants who may have post and premigration
challenges.
St. John Providence has worked tirelessly to
help the Chaldean community both locally and
abroad. They have been the only health system
who has donated time, staff, services and money
to ensure local projects can be successfully implemented
to help the community. They donate
$75,000 of lab work yearly to support Project
Bismutha, which is a program that provides free
medical care to low income and indigent members
of the Chaldean community. They have
partnered with MERCI (Medical Emergency
Relief for Christian Iraqis) in providing medical services
and supplies to the displaced Iraqi Christians.
They work to promote education for both the Chaldean
layperson and Chaldean medical community.
St. John Providence has been the major sponsor
of the annual Chaldean American Association for
Health Professionals (CAAHP) CME conference
since its inception. The annual event educates clinicians
on innovations in health care, which has a
direct correlation with the provision of high quality
care. St. John Providence also sponsors community
teaching events to help patients communicate with
their medical providers, understand their condition,
medications and treatment, as well as refer patients
to resources within the community. They have
also partnered with CAAHP to sponsor an annual
health screening program at the local churches to
promote preventive care.
The third awardee recognized is Almanhal Al
Safi, the Consul General for Iraq in Detroit. He received
a special tribute from the Chamber for his
work in aiding the Iraqi American Community.
28 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2017