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Who is Sam Hussein? Arab businessman gifts Christmas tree worth $10,000 to Dearborn, Michigan
Sam Hussein, a businessman of Arab origin, reportedly bought a $10,000 Christmas tree for Dearborn, Michigan after city officials couldn't get one in time.
Sam Hussein, a businessman of Arab origin, along with Nicholas Huff of Huff's Tree Farm, gifted Dearborn, Michigan a Christmas tree worth $10,000. Through this philanthropic act, the duo managed to keep the tree lighting tradition of the Michigan city alive.
The tree lighting is reportedly a beloved holiday tradition in Dearborn Heights, but it almost fell apart this year when the tree they'd ordered got stuck overseas. The tree which the previous administration ordered had run into several delays. “We ordered a fake tree from China. We actually just got an update that it's on its way. It would be here by Thursday, but it would be too late for us to set this tree up and get it going,” the new mayor, Mo Baydoun, said.
Thus, Dearborn had two choices – scrap the event fully or find a way to pay for the replacement tree. Huff's Tree Farm jumped in along with Hussein. Nicholas Huff, who partly owns the tree farm, spoke to a local outlet about how officials had arrived looking for a large Christmas tree.
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“We were having a normal day selling Christmas trees and then two vehicles went through and they said 'hey, we're from the city of Dearborn Heights and we're looking for a large Christmas tree',” Huff told WXYZ. While his company paid for part of the $10,000 cost, Hussein footed the rest of the bill. The news of their generosity was shared widely online.
Who is Sam Hussein?
Hussein owns Metrotech Automotive Group on Michigan Avenue of east Dearborn. Among businesses who have contracts with his company are ‘FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security and state and county agencies like the Michigan State Police, State of Michigan vehicles, Wayne County Sheriff’s office’ among others.
Hussein, a Dearborn native, was in Detroit’s Corktown prior to his move, and his business had flourished there for 14 years, as per local publication, Arab American News.
He graduated from Fordson High School and grew up loving cars. However, where Hussein stood out was in his interest to fix and restore them, as per the publication. He'd built the business with his brother and ran it when he was in the University of Michigan-Dearborn, but tragedy soon struck.
“We had just opened our business and my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After going through that, I had to make a decision. That was right around the time we had landed our government contract and had become GSA certified,” he told Arab American News. After his father's demise, Hussein's family became his priority, prompting a move to Wayne State to pursue a master's in business and then use that to expand his own enterprise.
Soon, many were relying on Hussein's company to service their vehicles. “We built these relationships with daily drivers and these municipalities and government agencies, and we brought those relationships to the city of Dearborn,” he told the publication in 2022, adding, “As an Arab American, I am honored to bring my business here. This is where I was raised.” He was also a board member of the Wayne County Building Authority.
Speaking of the Christmas tree this year, Hussein said, “I thought it was the right thing to do given the circumstances. They had a tree-lighting ceremony set up for this Friday and they were really on a time crunch and this is our way of giving back." The tree lighting is now slated to take place on Friday, 6:30 pm, outside Dearborn Heights City Hall.
