Motor City Expat Lily Tomlin Comes Home For Detroit Homecoming

DETROIT, MI — ComedianLily Tomlin, who grew up in a working class family in Detroit, will be given a key to the city during the Sept. 13-15 Detroit Homecoming IV, the first event to be held at Michigan Central Train Station in more than 30 years. Tomlin, 77, a graduate of Cass Technical High School, was one of the original cast members of the 1970s television classic “Rowan & Martin’ Laugh-In” and went on to become of a star on television, film and Broadway. The Emmy-nominated actor has earned critical acclaim for her current role in the Netflix Series “Grace and Frankie.”

Detroit Homecoming brings some of the region’s most successful “expats” — everyone from entertainers to CEOs — back to the Motor City so they can reconnect and reinvest in their hometown and share ideas and perspectives on how to continue Detroit’s rebirth. Since the inaugural Homecoming event in 2014, Detroit expats have committed to investing more than $300 million in city projects and businesses, according to a news release.

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An example is Hall of Fame gymnast Wendy Hilliard, who took part in the first Detroit Homecoming. As a result, she said in a news release, she opened Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation on Detroit’s northwest side. It’s operating out of the Joe Dumars Fieldhouse as Hilliard looks for a permanent site in that same area of the city.

“My Detroit Homecoming experience brought together the enthusiasm and resources I needed to make my dream of a gymnastics center a reality,” Hilliard said, according to the news release.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in the news release that connections like those Hilliard made are helping to revitalize Detroit.

“This event continues to attract some of Detroit's most accomplished alumni who haven't forgotten their roots,” Duggan said. “They are passionate about our city and are investing time, intellectual capital and millions of dollars to help revitalize Detroit.”

The theme of this year's Detroit Homecoming, Connections, will highlight the critical synergies necessary to bring a city back to world class status.

At the suggestion of past expats, Homecoming IV will focus on Detroit's neighborhoods and include immersions in three Detroit areas: Brightmoor, Livernois/6 Mile and the area around Central High School where Detroit's civil unrest began in 1967.

Another morning will include a product showcase where 15 entrepreneurs will highlight their concepts to the attendees at The Factory in Corktown, a new development by Expat Robbie Buhl. The group will also pay tribute to artist Charles McGee with a new video from expat Mike Ellison and experience a progressive dinner on the QLine that includes a stop at the new Little Caesars Arena and entertainment at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Mary Kramer, director of Detroit Homecoming, said organizers weren’t sure what to expect with the first event in 2014 because the city was still going through bankruptcy.

“It is so energizing to think about all the new things we have to share this year,” Krmer said. “Our goal continues to be to have the expats fall in love with their hometown all over again and find ways to re-engage and reinvest.”

Detroit Homecoming founder Jim Hayes said the event was “a simple idea that turned out to be of great value for Detroit.”

“At the outset we had no idea we were building a template for other cities, as well,” he said. “This year Flint and Erie, Pennsylvania, are hosting homecomings following our model. Other cities like Baltimore continue to contact us for advice. I suspect more cities will eventually host homecomings. It can be a powerful economic development tool."

In addition to Hilliard's gymnastics center, other expat initiatives include Will Leather Goods, The Platform, technology incubators and angel investments in startup businesses across the city. Individual expats have also made private investments in projects such as Orleans Landing, DuCharme Place and the Foundation Hotel,

Detroit Homecoming and its nonprofit fiduciary partner, the Downtown Detroit Partnership, have received support from the following sponsors and partners: Ford Foundation, William Davidson Foundation, Kresge Foundation,Urban Science, DTE Energy Foundation, General Motors, Meridian, Quicken Loans/Bedrock/Jack Entertainment, Atlas Industries, CBI, CBRE, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Detroit Pistons, Display Group, Henry Ford Health System, Honigman, Huntington, Ilitch Holdings, Infused PR & Events, Michigan State University, Octane Design, Robar PR, Rosetti, Rush Trucking, University of Detroit Mercy, University of Michigan, Wayne State University and WXYZ.

For more, go to the Detroit Homecoming website.

Actor Lily Tomlin accepts the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' onstage during The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. 26592_009 (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images for TNT)