It was a night.
A night to be inspired, challenged, energized, to laugh, and to remember what makes this city remarkable: the people and the minds within it.
On September 10, 2026, Ann Arbor City Lifestyle presented the inaugural Legends of Ann Arbor event, a fireside conversation and networking reception with three of Ann Arbor’s most influential leaders across business, sports and entrepreneurship.
Hosted at Sesi Lincoln, the oldest operating Lincoln dealership in the world, the event featured Jan Garfinkle, founder of Arboretum Ventures, now the largest venture capital firm in the state of Michigan; Carol “Hutch” Hutchins, the winningest softball coach in NCAA history and the winningest coach, male or female, in Michigan Athletics; and Sava Farah, the visionary behind some of the most iconic places to gather in our city, including The Dixboro Project, Sava’s, Aventura, and Orijin Bakery.
Each of these leaders, each of these women, could have owned that stage individually. Their stories, legacies and impact would have warranted that.
Instead, in a completely Ann Arbor way, they shared it.
They talked about taking risks before there was proof. Leading with integrity and gratitude. Betting on people. Pushing through uncertainty. And having the courage to build something that lasts.
The stories they shared made the evening feel like something more than an event. It felt like the kind of conversation you were lucky to be in the room for.
Jan Garfinkle spoke about building the opportunity she could not find.
Today, just 5.8 percent of venture capital firms are founded by women. When Garfinkle launched Arboretum Ventures in 2002, that number was not even being tracked. After repeatedly being passed over for the venture capital roles she wanted, she decided to build the firm herself.
Venture capitalists, Garfinkle joked, are sometimes known as “vulture capitalists.” But that is not the kind of firm she has built. Today, Arboretum invests in healthcare innovations designed to improve patients’ lives, work that has now impacted more than 16 million people.
Just as deliberately, Garfinkle has made integrity a cornerstone of how the firm operates. She spoke with pride about being known nationally for being as kind as they are effective, proving that decency, a little Midwestern nice and extraordinary results do not have to be at odds.
For Carol “Hutch” Hutchins, leadership has always been about more than winning.
As a student-athlete at Michigan State, where she captained both the softball and basketball teams, Hutchins was part of the fight for equal treatment for female athletes under Title IX. She never wanted to be treated as something different or less. She simply wanted to be treated as a colleague.
Hutchins went on to become head coach of the University of Michigan softball program at just 26 years old, stepping into a leadership role she acknowledged you never fully know you are ready for until you are actually in it.
But Hutchins talked about what really matters: how you choose to show up once you are in that position.
“One of the tenets of our program is that your duty is to leave the program better,” she said. “It’s not based on wins. Winning helps. But your duty every day is to show up…to make the world better.”
And just like that, Hutchins had connected the fight for women’s sports to leadership, duty and the responsibility to leave the world a little better than you found it.
And then there was Sava Farah, whose approach to entrepreneurship may be best summed up by the way she described the work itself: a pirate ship.
You never quite know what is coming next.
That reality came into sharp focus in 2020, as Farah was preparing to open The Dixboro Project, one of the most unique restaurant concepts in the country, just as the pandemic brought the hospitality industry to a near standstill. But uncertainty has never stopped Farah from seeing opportunity.
She spoke candidly about where she started and why she wants the young people working alongside her to understand just how much is possible.
“I like to demonstrate to my team that if someone like me could make it — didn’t go to college, didn’t come from anything, opened my first restaurant when I didn’t even have a laptop. I had a library card. I would close down the restaurant, walk to the library, research recipes, go back to the restaurant and try them out. This was 2007. We didn’t have iPhones!” she said.
There was something so incredible about hearing these stories in a room filled with entrepreneurs, executives, community leaders and people still shaping what comes next.
These legends’ paths were as different as the industries they helped shape, but the throughline was unmistakable: belief in themselves, resilience in crisis, grit, determination, integrity and the courage to build what did not yet exist.
And maybe that was what made the night feel so distinctly Ann Arbor: extraordinary people sharing extraordinary stories in a room that felt alive with possibility.
It was a night.
SUPPORTING LOCAL IN ACTION
Thoughtful attention was given to every guest interaction, with an intentional lens toward supporting local businesses throughout the evening.
The food was catered by Sava’s, and it could not have been more outstanding. From herb-crusted lamb lollipops to wild mushroom, parmesan and gruyère tartlets, Chef Rafael Cervantes, Sava’s General Manager Malcolm Richardson, and their team showed what excellence looks like.
The beer was graciously sponsored by Mothfire Brewing, the award-winning brewery and taproom that partners with Michigan farmers to source grains and hops for its beers.
Lighting and sound were provided by Complete Production Systems, now celebrating its 50th year in business. Confident, kind and unbelievably professional, they were among the most important behind-the-scenes partners in bringing the evening to life.
And even the smallest details told a local story.
As guests departed, they received a “Midnight Sky” chocolate bonbon from J. Patrice Studio, home to some of the most beautiful and delicious chocolates in Ann Arbor. The team customized each one in navy blue and antique gold to match the colors of the evening.
Guests also received a leather bookmark stamped with the Legends of Ann Arbor logo, created by Arbor Trading Post, a local PhD researcher turned leather craftsman.
Small pieces of the evening to take home. Tokens from a night worth remembering.
PULL QUOTE:
“One of the tenets of our program is that your duty is to leave the program better…It’s not based on wins. Winning helps. But duty every day is to show up…to make the world better.” — Carol “Hutch” Hutchins