Bridge ambassadors: Moroun's family leads image redo

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Last week, Matty Moroun announced he was putting new windows and a roof in the hulking Michigan Central Depot, criticized as a symbol of urban decay along Michigan Avenue. It's all part of an effort to put a human face on the powerful family often simply labeled "reclusive."

"We have never seen ourselves as reclusive, but simply as private," Nora Moroun recently told The News in a sit-down interview. "Basically, we are appearing more in public at the request of the media. I enjoy some of it, but it can be difficult because we're not always looked upon in a positive manner.

It comes down to the bridge

Nora Moroun began fighting back against public perception last April when she stunned reporters in Detroit with an emotional defense of her husband and his operation of the bridge following a press conference led by then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm touting the need for a new, publicly owned international crossing.
That project is in direct conflict with a plan by Matty Moroun to build his own new bridge, which would twin the 82-year-old Ambassador.

His Detroit International Bridge Co. has waged a highly critical attack against plans by the Canadian and U.S. governments — along with the Michigan Department of Transportation — to build a new $5.2 billion bridge connecting southwest Detroit and Canada.

"They want to destroy our family business and [[have) government take it over," Nora Moroun said. "My husband is battling two countries and two governments: Is this the end of the American dream?"

PR efforts may fall short

Peter Samuel, publisher of the Frederick, Md.-based Toll Road News, said it's a toss-up whether the increased exposure will help improve the Moroun image.

"Moroun certainly has an image as a capitalistic ogre … who uses his considerable financial resources to buy political support," said Samuel, whose publication provides news on toll roads and bridges. "I guess it is a good idea from their point of view … it helps them a bit to show more of a face in this era of TV and video."

Source: http://detnews.com/article/20110329/METRO/103290369/Bridge-ambassadors--Moroun’s-family-leads-image-redo#ixzz1I0XMMLqn