A veteran marathoner and triathlete, Jenna Wright Greenman has been the driving force behind the Escape to Belle Isle event, teaming with her husband, Milt Greenman, to help raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit. Valerie Newman, of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, also has been “heavily involved” in organizing the event, according to Wright Greenman, calling her the “ultimate team player who would give you the shirt off her back.”
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
There was a decidedly legal flavor to the 17th annual Escape to Belle Isle event July 19 at the aforementioned state park in the Detroit River.
The event – which featured four runs ranging in distance from 400 yards to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) – was founded in 2009 by two attorneys, Jenna Wright Greenman and Milt Greenman, a wife-and-husband team with a single-minded purpose of providing funding support for Ronald McDonald House of Detroit.
Wright Greenman has a history of involvement with the nonprofit organization, which provides convenient lodging for families of children undergoing medical treatment in Metro Detroit. For six years, Wright Greenman served as president of its board of directors, helping spearhead fund-raising efforts while also heightening awareness in the Detroit community of the Ronald McDonald House.
“We started this event all on our own 17 years ago, and have kept it going,” said Wright Greenman, a medical malpractice defense attorney for the Kitch law firm in Detroit. “Kitch, my firm, and my husband’s firm, Sam Bernstein Law, are both involved in sponsoring and with volunteers and racers. So, it is definitely a legal community news event.”
In an era marked by polarization, it is particularly noteworthy that the Escape to Belle Isle event has played a unifying role since its inception, bringing together attorneys from both sides of the plaintiff-defense divide, such as in the Greenman household.
“My husband and I are on opposite sides of the legal fence, but we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader,” Wright Greenman proclaimed. “People see us as the James Carville-Mary Matalin of med-mal, but it works.”
The couple, who fittingly met at the Wayne County Courthouse, have been married for 17 years, and renew their wedding vows each anniversary, dispelling any notion that legal opposites don’t attract.
Upward of 500 participants were on hand for the 2025 event, enjoying a smorgasbord of runs that included 2-mile, 5-km, and 10-km races in addition to a 400-yard fun run for kids ages 2-12.
“From the beginning of the event back in 2009, we have strived to make it accessible, making it stroller and pet friendly,” Wright Greenman emphasized.
“Every dollar raised helps Ronald McDonald House Charities Detroit provide a comfortable place for families to stay close to their children and their medical teams,” Wright Greenman said of the July 19 fund-raising event that helped relieve “financial and geographical burdens for the families of children receiving care” in Metro Detroit.
“For a sick child, there’s nothing better than the comfort of having mom and dad at their side,” Wright Greenman added. “It’s great to help a place where you can see the results in real time.”
Legal News
There was a decidedly legal flavor to the 17th annual Escape to Belle Isle event July 19 at the aforementioned state park in the Detroit River.
The event – which featured four runs ranging in distance from 400 yards to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) – was founded in 2009 by two attorneys, Jenna Wright Greenman and Milt Greenman, a wife-and-husband team with a single-minded purpose of providing funding support for Ronald McDonald House of Detroit.
Wright Greenman has a history of involvement with the nonprofit organization, which provides convenient lodging for families of children undergoing medical treatment in Metro Detroit. For six years, Wright Greenman served as president of its board of directors, helping spearhead fund-raising efforts while also heightening awareness in the Detroit community of the Ronald McDonald House.
“We started this event all on our own 17 years ago, and have kept it going,” said Wright Greenman, a medical malpractice defense attorney for the Kitch law firm in Detroit. “Kitch, my firm, and my husband’s firm, Sam Bernstein Law, are both involved in sponsoring and with volunteers and racers. So, it is definitely a legal community news event.”
In an era marked by polarization, it is particularly noteworthy that the Escape to Belle Isle event has played a unifying role since its inception, bringing together attorneys from both sides of the plaintiff-defense divide, such as in the Greenman household.
“My husband and I are on opposite sides of the legal fence, but we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader,” Wright Greenman proclaimed. “People see us as the James Carville-Mary Matalin of med-mal, but it works.”
The couple, who fittingly met at the Wayne County Courthouse, have been married for 17 years, and renew their wedding vows each anniversary, dispelling any notion that legal opposites don’t attract.
Upward of 500 participants were on hand for the 2025 event, enjoying a smorgasbord of runs that included 2-mile, 5-km, and 10-km races in addition to a 400-yard fun run for kids ages 2-12.
“From the beginning of the event back in 2009, we have strived to make it accessible, making it stroller and pet friendly,” Wright Greenman emphasized.
“Every dollar raised helps Ronald McDonald House Charities Detroit provide a comfortable place for families to stay close to their children and their medical teams,” Wright Greenman said of the July 19 fund-raising event that helped relieve “financial and geographical burdens for the families of children receiving care” in Metro Detroit.
“For a sick child, there’s nothing better than the comfort of having mom and dad at their side,” Wright Greenman added. “It’s great to help a place where you can see the results in real time.”
A lion look-alike made a special appearance at a past Escape to Belle Isle event, posing for photos with race participants.
Photo by James Rivard
Photo by James Rivard
Up to the task: Young boy takes race – and his lot in life in stride
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
Four-year-old Ziggy Gower, a preschooler from Clinton Township, was among a throng of participants in the 400-yard fun run at the Escape to Belle Isle event July 19 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit.
His participation in the 17th annual family-friendly event founded by attorneys Jenna Write Greenman and her husband Milt would seem otherwise normal except for a noteworthy detail.
Ziggy is suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (A.L.L.), an aggressive form of cancer that he was diagnosed with in February after experiencing a peculiar ringing in his ears that was even audible to others.
“It was really bizarre – the ringing he had in his ears,” said Ziggy’s mother, Kaitlyn Gower, a paralegal at the Sam Bernstein Law Firm. “He kept saying that ‘I have a bee in my head,’ which seemed really odd until I could hear it myself when I got really close to him. It was very strange.”
A few days later after her son began to look decidedly pale, Kaitlyn and her husband Mathew contacted their pediatrician, who after consulting with an ENT specialist told them to go for an MRI at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Troy.
“His hemoglobin level was 5.5, when it normally should be in the 12 to 13 range for kids,” said Kaitlyn, noting that hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen throughout the body.
After receiving two blood transfusions, Ziggy was transferred from the ER to a different floor at the hospital, one reserved for patients dealing with hematology oncology issues, otherwise known as blood disorders related to cancer.
“That’s when it really hit us,” Kaitlyn said of the seriousness of his condition. “By that time, he had loss nearly a third of his blood. He was in really bad shape and who knows what could have happened to him if we had waited another day or even hours to find out what was going on with him.”
Within days, Ziggy was undergoing chemotherapy treatment, a twice a week regimen that will be ramped up in August to five days a week for two consecutive weeks, according to his mom, who also has an infant son named Hendricks.
“It’s been tough on Ziggy, as he has experienced a lot of fatigue and has to undergo regular lumbar punctures,” Kaitlyn said. “He has a port in his chest for the transfusions, but he has remained upbeat throughout all this. He sees himself as a normal kid, even though these treatments are going to continue for three years until he’s in remission. There’s a very high success rate associated with this kind of treatment, so we’re very encouraged about that.”
And yet, Kaitlyn and her husband can’t gloss over the undeniable fact “that our son has cancer.”
The good news, however, is that Ziggy will not need a bone marrow transplant, nor will he have to undergo radiation treatment, according to his oncology team.
In fact, he has weathered his current chemo treatment well enough that doctors cleared him to take part in the fun run event at Belle Isle, a decision that seemed like a long shot just a few months ago.
“The fact that the event is a fund-raiser for the Ronald McDonald House made it all the more important for us to participate,” said Kaitlyn, who someday might be in a position where her family needs to avail itself of the lodging facilities provided by charitable organization. “We really believe in its mission.”
Legal News
Four-year-old Ziggy Gower, a preschooler from Clinton Township, was among a throng of participants in the 400-yard fun run at the Escape to Belle Isle event July 19 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit.
His participation in the 17th annual family-friendly event founded by attorneys Jenna Write Greenman and her husband Milt would seem otherwise normal except for a noteworthy detail.
Ziggy is suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (A.L.L.), an aggressive form of cancer that he was diagnosed with in February after experiencing a peculiar ringing in his ears that was even audible to others.
“It was really bizarre – the ringing he had in his ears,” said Ziggy’s mother, Kaitlyn Gower, a paralegal at the Sam Bernstein Law Firm. “He kept saying that ‘I have a bee in my head,’ which seemed really odd until I could hear it myself when I got really close to him. It was very strange.”
A few days later after her son began to look decidedly pale, Kaitlyn and her husband Mathew contacted their pediatrician, who after consulting with an ENT specialist told them to go for an MRI at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Troy.
“His hemoglobin level was 5.5, when it normally should be in the 12 to 13 range for kids,” said Kaitlyn, noting that hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen throughout the body.
After receiving two blood transfusions, Ziggy was transferred from the ER to a different floor at the hospital, one reserved for patients dealing with hematology oncology issues, otherwise known as blood disorders related to cancer.
“That’s when it really hit us,” Kaitlyn said of the seriousness of his condition. “By that time, he had loss nearly a third of his blood. He was in really bad shape and who knows what could have happened to him if we had waited another day or even hours to find out what was going on with him.”
Within days, Ziggy was undergoing chemotherapy treatment, a twice a week regimen that will be ramped up in August to five days a week for two consecutive weeks, according to his mom, who also has an infant son named Hendricks.
“It’s been tough on Ziggy, as he has experienced a lot of fatigue and has to undergo regular lumbar punctures,” Kaitlyn said. “He has a port in his chest for the transfusions, but he has remained upbeat throughout all this. He sees himself as a normal kid, even though these treatments are going to continue for three years until he’s in remission. There’s a very high success rate associated with this kind of treatment, so we’re very encouraged about that.”
And yet, Kaitlyn and her husband can’t gloss over the undeniable fact “that our son has cancer.”
The good news, however, is that Ziggy will not need a bone marrow transplant, nor will he have to undergo radiation treatment, according to his oncology team.
In fact, he has weathered his current chemo treatment well enough that doctors cleared him to take part in the fun run event at Belle Isle, a decision that seemed like a long shot just a few months ago.
“The fact that the event is a fund-raiser for the Ronald McDonald House made it all the more important for us to participate,” said Kaitlyn, who someday might be in a position where her family needs to avail itself of the lodging facilities provided by charitable organization. “We really believe in its mission.”
Ziggy Gower flashes a trademark smile in a keepsake photo with his mom Kaitlyn. The pair were among the more than 530 participants in the Escape to Belle Isle event on July 19 that raised approximately $20,000 for the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit.
Photo by James Rivard
Photo by James Rivard
Escape to Belle Isle founders and organizers Jenna Wright Greenman and Milt Greenman strike a happy pose with Ziggy, who completed the 400-yard fun run as he prepares himself for a punishing round of leukemia treatments in August.
Photo by James Rivard
Photo by James Rivard
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