Hailey Zureich, Future Mayor of Ferndale?
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Ferndale 115 News, April 1, 2012 ed)
Hailey Zureich calls herself the “The Future Mayor of Ferndale.” This is a title she worked hard to achieve and one that she plans on keeping.
“Being a real Mayor isn’t quite my bag,” she said. “At some point I’d have to stop, but you can always be the Future Mayor of Ferndale. I like to keep looking to the future and keep things positive.”
Although currently she has no political aspirations, The Future Mayor of Ferndale, does have an agenda. “I love Ferndale and I want everyone to know how great a place it is.” The 25 year old calls this city her hometown.
“My friend Derek Elliot would rag on me about how much I talk about Ferndale when we were out and about. I was always telling people to visit Treat Dreams, come out to Go Comedy, hit up the Ferndale Career Center- or any of the other places unique to Ferndale. He’d always chime in with a ‘Information brought to you by the Future Mayor of Ferndale’- and I sort of ran with it.”
Zureich and Ferndale met each other when her sister started to visit Affirmations. She was a native to Clinton Township at the time, and came to support her sister. “It was very different growing up in the suburbs to come out to such a collective, and unique community. I liked the idea of being able to walk to the grocery store, or cupcake station.
When beginning her career path, the Ferndale Career Center paved the way for her jouney into community engagement. “The FCC is one of the reasons I became so invested in this city. I worked in the employment services helping people find work, and it was really rewarding. Pam Bellavar, who manages the center pushed her staff to connect to the community- so I did. I can never thank her enough for that.”
You might also recognize Zureich from seeing her on stage. One of her passions is improvisational comedy, and she’s part of the family at Go! Comedy at 261 9 Mile. “I think everybody should do improv. The principles it teaches work in other areas of life. The relationships you build with people on stage will be like none you will ever have again. It’s nice to just fully trust someone to have your back.”
Playing weekly on Sundays at Go’s Marvin night, Zureich is a proud member of “The Party.” She also plays in other groups, including her one-woman show “Comet” (yes, Hailey’s Comet it you didn’t catch it).
Enjoying the privilege to work and play in this city Zureich is deeply rooted in this community having aspirations to be a home owner, and may even run for office. Or perhaps she will continue to rap for it, she has in her video available on Youtube.
“Feel free to high five, or capitalize on a free hug from your friendly neighborhood Future Mayor of Ferndale.”