Detroit Economic Club

The Detroit Economic Club, headquartered at 211 West Fort Street in downtown Detroit, Michigan, was formed in 1934 as a platform for the discussion and debate of important business, government and social issues. It is known internationally as a top speaking forum for prominent business, academic, and government officials, who address members and their guests at the Club's 35 meetings a season. With more than 3,200 members, the DEC is a forum for vital issues. The DEC claims to have hosted every sitting U.S. President since Richard Nixon and be ranked among the top speaking platforms in the world. The DEC claims to be one of the most valued podiums for CEO's in the world and one of the top five executive speaking forums in America.

The Detroit Economic Club was founded in 1934 by Allen Crow. The objective of the Club was and still is, to promote an interest in, and to enlighten its membership on, important governmental, economic and societal issues. The growth in the Club was rapid in the first year, with 275 men joining. Specifically "men" because women were not admitted until 1973, the year after Michigan ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. Within five years of the inception, the Club's membership had grown to 1,100 and post World War II the membership was approaching 2,000. The logo of the Club is an Aladdin's lamp, which Allen Crow, the founder, selected it because it was the Greek symbol for enlightenment. That is what the Club is all about. Born out of the Depression, The Club tends to succeed, even when the economy is not. Founder, Allen Crow, had a big idea: "Maybe if you gathered a lot of smart people in one room, on a regular basis, they could figure the way out of (The Great Depression)."

The main activity of the Club usually is in the form of a luncheon, dinner or business meeting setting. The Club presents, on average, 35 speakers per year. Where the speaker(s) take the podium/stage and address whatever their topic is at that time. Speakers usually speak for about 20-30 minutes and save space for networking and questions at the end. Traditionally, the club would meet on Monday's. You might wonder why the Club met on a Monday. The history goes back before commercial air travel and the meetings were scheduled by Allen Crow on Monday's so that the speakers could travel to Detroit by train over the weekend and this would conserve their business time. Originally, annual dues were $5.00 and tickets were $1.50. Over the years the dues have naturally increased to keep pace with inflation and growth. Now the Club has five categories of memberships ranging from Young Leader dues at $75.00 to Gold Membership at $500.00. The Club's meeting place was and still are some of the same venues from the early stages of the Club such as: the Book Cadillac Hotel (now the Westin Book Cadillac), and later a number of the Club's meetings took place at Cobo Hall, and is still a principal location.

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