Metro Detroit player/referee asking for hockey community’s support as he applies for ‘Challenge Detroit’

By Michael Caples –

Kyle Kendziuk is on a mission to help Detroit, but he needs a little help from the hockey community.

Kendziuk, a longtime player and referee in the metro Detroit area, is one of 175 people from across the country applying to be part of Challenge Detroit, a collaborative effort between major companies across the Motor City.

Challenge Detroit brings in talented individuals to work with Detroit’s leading companies, but also to have them work with community programs, non-profits and start-ups to help with Motown’s revival.

The Challenge Detroit braintrust has left it up to a Facebook vote to decide who will get past the round of 175, and into the top 75 finalists. From there, all 75 applicants will go through a grueling two-day interview process, and 30 will be granted fellowships from there.

The 30 individuals chosen for the yearly Detroit Challenge group will live and work in Detroit, doing all that they can to help improve our biggest city.

Challenge Detroit was set up about three years ago,” said Kendziuk, who grew up in Rochester. “The idea is to bring in young minds, young leaders and really it’s a huge collaborative partnership between all those companies listed, I can’t even name them all off, but what they do is they go out and work – you have a fellowship or an internship, however you want to label it, a business position working with one of those companies, in whatever role. Not just development, but logistics, business, marketing, media, everything else that kind of falls under that.

“The idea, though, is that on the weekends people participate in community activities, group activities, and really it’s cleaning up the city, working with non-profits, working with start-ups, and really coming together with a collaborative braintrust, saying here’s a product, here’s an idea, here’s a business model – how do we expand on this, how does it grow, how do we brand it in a way that has the Detroit roots, made in Detroit and Michigan?”

Kendziuk is currently wrapping up his Masters of Science in Real Estate and Infrastructure from Johns Hopkins University’s Carey Business School in Baltimore. The 2013 Central Michigan University grad is anxious to return to Michigan after missing out on a year of serving as a referee for AAA games across the state.

But his real goal is to return to Michigan to help Detroit.

“It’s always been my dream,” Kendziuk said. “I grew up and I loved the architecture, I loved the building, I loved the skyline, and to see that negative connotation, that black mark on Detroit, it sucked. I fell in love with architecture and design and over the years, that’s kind of ballooned into more of a design or site project role, but it’s a great foundation because you bring together companies and government and non-profits and you work together at the grassroots level and you build up from there. To be able to bring Detroit, put it back on the map on a global empire of international investment and development, as a place that’s completely new – the ideas are a 1000 to one – it’s what I’ve always wanted to do, what I’ve always dreamed of doing, and fast-forward to today, it’s all lining up and it’s all coming together, and it’s just amazing.”

To vote for Kendziuk, visit the Challenge Detroit Facebook page.