Matthew Moroun
Matthew Moroun (CTV News photo)
The story of the Matty Moroun family could be taught in Public Relations 101.
The image has sucked for a long time.
For years, the family did nothing with the eyesore it owned, the Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown. It was often used as a backdrop for out-of-town TV reporters talking about the hopelessness of the city. Then there was the ugly battle over building a second bridge, which only tarnished the family image more.
But Matty Mouron's son Matthew, who has taken over the day-to-day operations, tells John Gallagher of the Detroit Free Press, that he needs to do better to upgrade the image and cooperate more with people.
"I think on the merits we’ve always had a good direction, but maybe we need to — not maybe — we need to communicate it better, and frankly, we need to do it where we’re working with others a bit more," he says. "It's a lot easier to accomplish your goals if you're working with others in a positive way."
His father apparently didn't buy into a softer approach, Gallagher writes:
Moroun tangled with everyone, earning a reputation as the most litigious business leader of his time. In 2012 he even spent a night in Wayne County Jail for contempt for refusing a judge’s order to follow the state’s direction regarding truck traffic coming off the Ambassador Bridge in southwest Detroit.
His neglect of the Michigan Central Station, purchased in the mid-’90s, became notorious.
