Contributors: October 2013

Stephanie Vozza, Sheryl James, Justin Maconochie, Craig LaRotonda, Ryan Patrick Hooper
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Stephanie Vozza

Stephanie Vozza’s love of home design started in the ’70s when her parents were house flippers in Illinois. “This was long before the days of HGTV,” she says. The renovation of the Johnston family’s Ferndale home (page 140) is the first piece Vozza has written for Hour Detroit, and she loved hearing the stories behind the couple’s design choices. “When you first walk in you think, ‘Oh, this is a nice house,’ but after you spend time looking around and talking to Chris and Krista you realize it’s much more than that. It’s a very loved home whose owners are personally invested in every detail.”

Sheryl James

Sheryl James was born in Detroit long enough ago that she remembers not only Hudson’s and Bob-Lo, but also the building of the Renaissance Center. She has been in the center often, but never to the 39th floor, until she interviewed Dan Akerson, CEO and Chairman of GM, in his executive office (page 157). He is charged with possibly the most challenging job in Detroit, and beyond. James, a veteran journalist who has worked for several newspapers, including the Detroit Free Press, says, “I was vividly aware that Akerson’s success or failure in leading GM into profitability will affect both the old Detroit I knew and the one taking shape today.”

Justin Maconochie

After graduating from CCS, Justin Maconochie moved from Hamtramck to Ferndale. “It’s hard to believe we have lived in Ferndale for 17 years already,” he says. “It’s the creative people and the small-town feel that have kept us here so long.” A regular contributor to Hour Detroit, DBusiness, and Detroit Home magazines, the nationally recognized freelancer photographed our décor story (page 140). “Even after hundreds of assignments under my belt, I have to admit I had some butterflies in anticipation of photographing in my hometown.”

Craig LaRotonda

Craig LaRotonda is an illustrator and fine artist living in Buffalo N.Y., where he owns and operates Revelation Studios. His distinct illustrations, such as the one for our story on the Harwell brothers (page 152), have appeared in the New York Times, The Progressive, Harvard Business Review, and American Lawyer. His work has also appeared in motion pictures, including the Academy Award-winning film Traffic in 2001. He has received awards from the Society of Illustrators, Print Magazine, and Communication Arts.

Ryan Patrick Hooper

After visiting a mental health and substance abuse clinic in northwest Detroit, Ryan Patrick Hooper realized a common ailment most patients shared — Type 2 Diabetes (see page 130). But no two cases looked alike. The complications caused by the disease were vast. “It’s one of the most complicated subjects I’ve covered,” says Hooper, a freelance journalist and regular Hour Detroit contributor. “It’s silent, deadly, and both cause and treatment can be tricky. Here’s to hopefully shining a light and starting a conversation about the disease throughout the state.”