With his friendly face and charismatic personality, Martin J “Hoot” McInerney could be everybody's grandfather. He is known throughout the metro Detroit area as a successful car dealer and philanthropist, supporting numerous charities on a local, national and international level. His dedication to helping others has made a significant difference in the lives of many people.
Hoot was born and raised in Detroit. He began his career in the auto industry as a young boy working for an auto dealership on the east side of Detroit. He was paid fifty cents a week to keep the coal furnace stoked over cold weekends. Hoot also “hung out” at the dealership, running back and forth between the dealership's one radio and the workers, announcing the ball scores. In 1963, Chrysler offered Hoot his first dealership because the company saw his drive and ambition. Fifty years later, Hoot has become a successful businessman, owning seven dealerships in the metro Detroit area.
The list of charities Hoot supports is extensive. He established the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Men of Mercy in 1974, which started out raising $21,000 and now raises nearly $1,000,000 annually. He is on of the founders of the J.P. McCarthy Foundation in honor of his late and renowned radio personality friend who was diagnosed with and succumbed to myelodysplastic syndrome, and the Millie Schembechler Memorial Golf Benefit. He also provides leadership and support for these charities.
I feel blessed and fortunate to be able to give during my lifetime, “said the former IS Marine. “I have such respect for those who care for the suffering and the dying.”
Hoot is an annual supporter of the Capuchin Monastery and Police Athletic League Golf Tournament. He is also a generous donor to several Catholic churches and schools including St. Hugo's, St. Martin DePorres, St. John Berchmans, St. Julianas, St. Scholasticas, Brother Rice, the Ava Maria Fund, the Archdiocese of Detroit, Catholic churches and schools in Honduras, Nicaragua, the Sisters of Mary in Omaha, Nebraska and the Cardinals Club.
In addition, Hoot supports, Focus: Hope, cancer research, Operation Read, the Old Newsboy's Goodfellow Fund of Detroit, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the Purple Rose Theater, Children's Hospital, the Irish American Partnership, Special Olympics, Friends of Golf, St. John's Men's Guild, Good Sports Foundation, Angel's Place, Rose Hill, the Janice Charach Epstein Museum, the National Football Fund, Junior Achievement and Stewards of Tomorrow.
In 1983, Hoot received the March of Dimes Humanitarian Award. In 1999, he was honored with the George Romney Award for Lifetime Achievement in Volunteerism, in 2003, he was awarded with the Goodfellow of the Year Award and in 2005 on the 30 th anniversary of Men of Mercy's Celebrity Night, he was honored as one of the “Original Man of Mercy” by St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.
