APRIL 2024

FEATURE
A Man of the People
Frank Jonna honored at Chamber dinner
BY SARAH KITTLE
People tend to get emotional
when talking about Frank
Jonna, the Chaldean American
Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Businessperson
of the Year. Frank, who
will be honored at their 21st Annual
Awards Dinner on April 26, has the
reputation of a man who listens to
people and makes them feel valued.
Frank was born in Iraq, coming to
the United States when he was just 5
months old and settling with his family
on the edge of the Boston Edison District.
There, he and his six brothers and one
sister grew up within walking distance of
Mother of God Church, Palmer Park, and
Blessed Sacrament School. It was a great
time and place to grow up Chaldean,
with many families on the block.
Sports were a common theme in
his family, and Frank and his siblings
and friends broke the local park rule of
“No Ball Playing,” on many occasions
and with many kinds of balls, much to
his parents’ dismay. “We played any
sports we could find the equipment
to use,” says Frank. “We even scoured
the alleys to uncover anything we
could put wheels on.”
Frank’s brother John was a gifted
student who paved the way for his
brothers to follow his path at Catholic
Central High School, setting Frank on a
course which would guide him his entire
life. “I immediately embraced the spirit
of Catholic Central,” recalls Frank. “It
was a life-changing experience.”
Jonna Construction
His brother Jimmy founded Jonna
Construction, creating a family legacy
that lives on in the firm Frank runs today.
Jimmy was a tireless worker, says
Frank, and a great communicator and
innovator. “He was clearly the most
intellectual,” states Frank, “and was
able to treat a bank president the same
way he treated a laborer on the job.”
When you treat people with respect,
people notice. Jimmy was the
“captain of customer service,” a model
that Frank has taken to heart. Eddie,
another brother, was “the prime guy I
learned retail from,” says Frank. Eddie
also served as a great example of
good customer service. Countless customers
speak about the Jonna family’s
exemplary service, one that builds a
relationship of trust and loyalty. They
feel known and heard when in the
Jonna Construction offices.
Jimmy was the CACC’s 2005 Businessperson
of the Year. A photo of
him at the podium, arms raised
in a victory salute, hangs just inside
the entrance to the CACC
office in Farmington Hills. It is
the first in a line of black and
white photos detailing the
long and successful history
of the Chaldean business
community that grace the
walls of those offices.
Frank’s photo will join
his brother’s there,
spanning two decades
of success for Jonna
Construction.
The Jonna Family
has a rich history
in retail, food and
beverages. Union
Pacific grocery store
stood in what is currently
Brush Park.
Jimmy took over the supermarket
and opened an expanded
12,000 square foot store called Big Dipper
in 1957. Frank’s brother Manuel
was partner. All the family members
were involved in the operation of the
store. Frank’s brother Eddie was “a
forward thinker” who owned several
food and beverage operations. His skill
in sales gave him the confidence to
launch Trade Winds, a specialty food
store in the Palmer Park area. Out of
this grew a chain of six Merchants Fine
Wine stores which were ultimately sold
to Whole Foods.
Relationships
“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Frank
for a long time,” says Robert Riney, president
and CEO of Henry Ford Health. “I
first met him when he was a trustee on
the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Board.
And, you know, you instantly know after
spending just a little time with somebody
that they are a ‘What you see is
what you get’ kind of guy.
“He is a really effective listener,”
adds Riney. “He has a good sense
of humor, and he really cares about
people. And so, all his questions as a
trustee were always about how we’re
going to enhance our relationship
with the community.”
“Frank is one of the leaders that
joined in this movement to create an
economic transformation of New Center
in Midtown in Detroit, one of the
early adopters,” shares Riney. “You
know, there’s a lot of people excited
now, but you always appreciate those
early adopters who are willing to take
some risk when you’re not sure how it’s
going to, you know, exactly pan out.”
Rich Homberg, president and CEO
of Detroit Public Television, shares,
“In the late nineties, we were looking
to build a building for WWJ; we knew
nothing about building buildings, and
we came across a company called Jonna.
And as Frank built our building, he
guided me through something I’d never
done before. And I know sometimes
you finish a building, you never want
to talk to the contractor again. In this
case, we were friends by the end of it.
“There are a few people I know
who, they’re just people that give you
energy in life,” says Homberg. “And
Frank is one of those people – great
smile, positive vibe. When the blackout
happened in 2003, our generator
at WWJ started to run out of fuel and
I started calling people for help. Frank
26 CHALDEAN NEWS APRIL 2024