Taken from Observer & Eccentric, Sunday, June 12, 2005
By Sue Buck, Staff Writer

The Broe Therapy Choir, a unique a Capella choir, from Farmington Hills, will perform at a prestigious luncheon Wednesday, June 22, in Detroit before former President Jimmy Carter, his wife, Rosalynn, and representatives of the Carter Foundation.

The choir is made up of men and women recovering from traumatic brain injury, mental illness and substance abuse problems.

About 2,000 volunteers will be with the Carters as part of Habitat for Humanity’s mission to build 80 houses in five days in the vicinity of the former Detroit Tigers stadium, said Len McCulloch, Broe choir director and the director of psychological services for Broe Rehabilitation Services, Inc.

The business has brain injury specialists with offices at 33634 W. Eight Mile Road in Farmington Hills.

The choir is on a continual tour of hope and education and is making rounds across the state.

“For five years, we have been putting on over 100 free shows for schools, hospitals and other rehabilitation centers,’ McCulloch said.

This year, the choir performed at Farmington High School for the third time during prom season which McCulloch refers to as “Project Protection.” “We emphasize deterrence of destructive decisions, especially drinking and driving and violence, McCulloch said.

During a recent choir performance at Farmington High School, McCulloch honored Estralee Michaelson, Executive Director of the Farmington/Farmington Hills Call to Action Coalition, which is dedicated to breaking the silence on substance abuse.

The choir has been featured in 30 newspapers, has had four PBS specials and recorded five CDs. McCulloch also writes a column for the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers. The choir performances have tremendous value, McCulloch said.

Broe is devoted to promoting community awareness and education and is not about judgment and blame.

Because memories are best retained if strong emotions are attached to them, the choir provides a perfect avenue which benefits the vocalists as well as the audience, McCulloch said. “It will leave you with a legacy you will remember,” he added. McCulloch is fond of stating that the choir performances are a way to “ask the brain to exercise.”

Every 21 seconds one person in the United States sustains a traumatic brain injury. McCulloch said. The incidents often occur suddenly but require a long recovery period. The choir performances are part of the recovery period for some and feature “music and talks.” Some of the performers share their life stories.

“Tim, a member of the choir, said he was injured when he fell on top of a semi-trailer when he was putting a roof on. He fell onto a steel table first and then bounced off of that onto the ground. The back of his head hit the cement from 13 feet, McCulloch said. Since then, Tim said that he has had seizures, memory loss and outbursts. Besides exercising the brain, performing in the choir “makes you feel good too, “Tim said.

“Cheryl,” who once was a secretary for a top legal firm in the state, now can’t comprehend what she reads. That’s because of a car accident where she was hit full force by a pickup driver who was distracted because he was on a cell phone. Cheryl’s car was knocked into the intersection. “I have lost memory”, she said.

For more information about Broe or the choir, call (248) 474-BROE.