ORIGINS
On July 31, 1963, an exploratory meeting was held in Detroit to discuss the formation of a beautification council for southeastern Michigan. At this exploratory meeting, fourteen (14) different municipalities were in attendance from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Interestingly, Windsor, Canada was also a part of this exploratory meeting, an on-going member during the 1960's and even hosted a BCSEM Quarterly meeting in March of 1965.
On November 22, 1963, forty-two (42) representatives from twenty-five (25) cities throughout Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties met at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in Detroit to formally create the Beautification Council of Southeastern Michigan (BCSEM) by electing officers and creating a set of by-laws. The luncheon cost was $2.95 per person. The format of quarterly meetings (with each member community taking it's turn hosting the meetings) was also begun at this time and continues to the present.
The cities involved were Berkley, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Ecorse, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Township, Harper Woods, Hazel Park, Highland Park, Inkster, Lathrup Village, Livonia, Mount Clemens, Plymouth, Roseville, St. Clair Shores, Southfield, Royal Oak, Taylor Township, Trenton, Warren, Detroit, and Windsor, Ontario.
Ironically, this was the date of the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.