The Arab American community’s annual fundraiser for Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano was held Thursday, Sep.16 at the Byblos Banquet Center in Dearborn. A crowd of 500 people from different organizations attended to honor Ficano, with all of the funds going to his campaign in hopes of being re-elected in November.

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano (left) presents a community service award to Michigan Civil Rights Commissioner and American Arab Political Action Committee Extrenal Vice President Nabih Ayad. PHOTO: Nafeh AbuNab/American Elite Studios

“It’s humbling that I work with such a great administration. I’m fortunate that many of them are Arab American, starting with Azzam Elder, my deputy. The diversity of the county is very important, it’s something you feel humble about,” Ficano said.       

Several public officials were present, including Wayne County commissioners Diane Webb and Gary Woronchak, Dearborn Heights city councilman Tom Berry, Dearborn Heights mayor Daniel Paletko, Deborah Dingell, wife of U.S. Congressman John Dingell of Michigan, Michigan State Senator Martha Scott, state Rep. Rashida Tlaib, and others.                               

“He is someone who truly believes in our community. We have a lot of people from the Arab American community who work for the county. We are well represented. Our community showed a lot of support for him, and he was loyal and showed appreciation by supporting a lot of people from the Arab American community,” said Wassim Mahfouz, Ficano’s assistant. 

Ficano presented Michigan Civil Rights Commissioner and American Arab Political Action Committee External Vice President Nabih Ayad and Brian Mosallam, the financial advisor and chairman of the Dearborn Public Schools Education Foundation,  with awards for their commitment to serving the community.

“Tonight we are here to celebrate a dear friend of the community, Mr. Robert Ficano. We hold this event because we really believe in this individual. He has a passion for diversity and a passion to really include the entire community in what he does. He is a strong believer of diversity, and a strong believer of helping individuals that help you. After 9/11, when this community was truly not so popular, this individual stood behind us. This gentleman stood up for us, and that is why we are here to celebrate him tonight,” Ayad said.