DECEMBER 2015

impression and sometimes it sparks.
We kept knocking on the door.”
Determination paid off. “We have
learned a lot and have gotten kicked
in the teeth a ton but we have persevered,”
he said. “It has been gratifying
getting through it all.”
Kello led right into Sarafa’s observation
about business. “John touched
about three great points that apply
to every business: There is a need,
an idea that has to be executed, and
good people must be in place,” he
said. “That is what happened in the
bank. Mike George had a lifelong
dream over the years to have a bank
in the Chaldean community. Ultimately,
the idea to launch Bank of
Michigan was Martin Manna’s.”
At first, Sarafa thought it was a
“hair-brained” idea. However, “I knew
there was a need in the community for
a niche bank to service some of the
businesses we have in our community.”
BOM was opened but not without
its own struggles.
In the spring of 2010, the bank
regulatory arm — FDIC — stopped
by unexpectedly. Many of the banks
within the Capitol Bank Corp. family
were failing, and Sarafa was given
a letter that stated if the FDIC insurance
fund was in jeopardy because of
the other Capitol Bank Corp. banks,
all of the banks would be held accountable.
Ten banks were seized
and the rest figured out a plan. In
2012, BOM reached a deal to purchase
51 percent of the bank and
they raised the capitol to buy it.
“The silver lining in our story is
that we persevered through the recession;
we managed through difficult
loans and in 2012 we bought out Capitol
Bank Corp. and became the first independently
owned community bank
in the Chaldean community,” said
Sarafa. “We were able to be entrepreneurial,
as we are as a community, and
had many good years that followed.
This year put us on target to sell at a
very good price to Level One.”
He concluded by saying, “the
need, the idea, the people, the perseverance
through hard times and being
opportunistic is what makes for
a success.”
In 2004 Ammori was getting out
of restaurant business, which had
started out as a prosperous venture but
was later losing money. A proclaimed
retailer at heart, Ammori began looking
at other industries, and wireless
telecommunications had promise.
He and his partners did some
research and looked at various carriers,
then decided to do business
with T-Mobile.
“We put our life savings in the
business,” said Ammori. “When you
grow up in retail, you think all retail
is the same. In wireless it was very
different. This was a combination of
retail and sales and we had no idea.”
Within 18 months, they lost all
the money they invested. They were
on the verge of closing when an opportunity
came to purchase 12 locations.
They decided to go for it. As
Ammori said, “My partner Mark said,
‘we are either the dumbest people in
the world or the smartest.’”
T-Mobile was growing and they
were looking to partner with sophisticated
retailers. Ammori and his
team hit it off with the T-Mobile
leadership team. In 2008, the leadership
team tested out a business plan
never done before and gave Ammori’s
group 12 corporate locations in
the Columbus, Ohio market.
“The CEO said to us, ‘we don’t
usually trust dealers but we trust you
guys.’ So they gave us an opportunity
and it took off,” Ammori said.
Today they have 1,500 employees.
“I would say the two of the greatest
traits of a leader is trust and courage,”
said Ammori. “What really made us
successful is that T-Mobile trusted us,
our employees trusted us and we built
trust with our customers.”
Along with courage is knowing you
can’t please everyone. “I tell my kids
this all the time: ‘say what you mean
but don’t be mean,’” Ammori said.
Wireless Vision, which was once
living month-to-month barely paying
their rent, now plans to have 300
locations by 2016.
When Boji graduated from college
in 1993 with a construction management
degree, there wasn’t much going
on in development or the family grocery
business. He ventured into the
computer business in the Lansing area.
“I think what my father and I
have been able to do is take obstacles
and parlay them into opportunities,”
said Boji.
He too faced obstacles and has
always been poised for opportunities.
One came several years ago
in Lansing when his father, Louie
Boji, wanted to buy the former
Michigan National Tower building,
a Lansing landmark at 25 stories
high. Ron and his mother opposed
the idea but Louie was undeterred.
Boji, who had no experience in
building management, used what he
called his “Chaldean flair” and sales
experience to engage his new tenants.
“I was going to wow them,” he decided.
He walked around and introduced
himself to everyone. One of
those meetings would forever set the
tone for the Boji businesses.
“My dad always said, ‘never burn
a bridge because you never know if it
is the same bridge you need to cross,’”
he said. “That is politics 101.”
He met then-lobbyist Dennis
Muchmore on the tour of his family’s
new building. Today, Muchmore is
Gov. Rick Snyder’s chief of staff.
“Dennis explained to me that
day that we did not buy a building
that is just bricks and mortar. We
bought a landmark. He told me I had
two options: to manage the building
from the basement and do well for
my family or I could parlay this into
many other opportunities. I had no
idea what he meant at the time.”
Some 18 years later, Ron’s office
is on the 23rd floor of the building,
and the Boji family owns more than
FORUM continued on page 28
Clockwise from top left: Tom Naimi and Gene Dickow; George Kalabat and Dr. Shakib Halabu; the panelists share a laugh.
DECEMBER 2015 CHALDEAN NEWS 27