By Dan Nilsen
It would be interesting to know how many people Patrick McInnis has influenced, sheltered, helped, fed, financed, taught, coached and turned lives around in his life.
But who’s counting?
It’s just a way of life for McInnis, whose philosophy is to give back for everything he’s received.
Pat McInnis is just a Flint guy who grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood that provided a good influence on him. His parents were a World War II soldier and a war bride from Italy who also kept him on the right path.
“We didn’t have a lot, but we lived in a neighborhood where, basically, your neighbors were your family, too,” he said. “Doors were open and they were always happy to see you. And so it was this family unit that went beyond just your family.
“They all worked at GM, so they all had this grit about them. They were about work ethic. You go to work, you show up on time. If they ask you to do extra, you do extra. You stand out when you work, make sure you’re the hardest worker. You’re willing to do all the things other people won’t do.”
His own work ethic carried over into sports, where he played football, basketball and baseball at Powers Catholic High. On the gridiron, McInnis was a running back who also returned kickoffs and made tackles on defense. He was a First-Team All-Big Nine Conference running back and First-Team All-Stater as a senior in 1983, when Powers was 9-0 and ranked No. 2 in The Associated Press poll in Class B but lost to East Grand Rapids 24-8 in the regionals.
McInnis at first played college football at Ferris State, but then transferred to Eastern Michigan as a walk-on and eventually got a scholarship. But his life’s work was not playing football.
After college, McInnis joined Rock Financial in 1993 as a loan officer, then moved up to branch manager, then to regional branch manager and in April 1999 was promoted to vice president of Rock Financial, which consisted of 32 branches covering seven states. Also in April 1999, McInnis became president of Rock Home Loans at Michigan National Bank, which was a joint venture between Rock Financial and Michigan National Bank.
In February 2002 through 2009, McInnis took on the role as president of Quicken Loans & Rock Financial. In 2009 he became CEO of Fathead.
McInnis was part of the group of investors that purchased Quicken Loans back from Intuit in 2002, and he was also a minority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He received the “40 under 40” Award by Crain’s Detroit Business Magazine, which is given to the top 40 businessmen under the age of 40 in the Detroit Metropolitan Area.
Under his leadership, Fathead and Quicken Loans were consistently named to Forbes Magazine’s “Top Places to Work.” In 2013, Fathead was named to the “Internet 100” list. Additionally, he had been featured on ESPN and Forbes Magazine focused on business principles and leadership.
It was during this rise to success that McInnis began giving back, and the Flint community was and still is one of his greatest areas of focus.
All of this is the reason that Patrick McInnis is being inducted Into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame as the Distinguished Service Award winner in the Class of 2025.
From 2004-2007, through the Rock Financial Kids Tech Program, McInnis donated desktop computers and training resources to children in the Flint Public Schools system. This helped fill a void in technology and technical training, especially at the high school level.
In 2007 he sat on the board of FABE (Flint Athletes for a Better Education), which consisted of athletes and himself. FABE supplied the Flint schools with desperately needed school supplies ranging from computers to pens.
When the Guy Houston Stadium track at Northwestern High School was condemned for safety issues, there were no tracks left in the city to hold a meet. FABE stepped in and McInnis led the fund-raising drive (donating a majority of the money himself) for the $350,000 needed to renovate the track at Northwestern.
It wasn’t always his money that was donated. He had a persuasive way of getting others to pitch in.
“I would go to our vendors and say, ‘Hey, we’re making you a lot of money. I’m asking you to please participate in these charities and help.’ A lot of it was school supplies. Office Max, for the city of Flint, donated all types of school supplies for a few years. They were great about participating.”
In 2009, McInnis coordinated with the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS leagues — in conjunction with Fathead — to donate trading cards and Fatheads to all the children in the Flint Public Schools system for Christmas.
“It wasn’t a situation where I had to strong-arm them. They would see that what I was doing was from the heart. It was genuine. I just want them to help.”
For 10 years (2007-2017) McInnis sat on the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint. He sponsored the Rock-Shock Teen Learning Center and Gym renovation, again raising $100,000 in donations, much of it from him.
From 2008-2024, when the Community Hero Award was created, the Boys & Girls Club of Flint named the award after Patrick McInnis, and he personally awards it to outstanding individuals who have made great contributions to best serve the youth of Flint. Among those receiving the award were Tom Izzo, Chris Chelios, Congressmen Dale Kildee and Dan Kildee, Jim Abbott and Dr. Nita Kulkami, who discovered the Flint Water issue.
Outside of Flint, McInnis gave speeches, mentored students and athletes and donated to colleges, including Eastern Michigan, Saginaw Valley State, Miami of Ohio, Grand Valley State and the Dicky V Foundation.
From 2012-2018, McInnis paid full tuition and expenses for 4-6 students per year from the Boys & Girls Club to attend Powers on a four-year scholarship.
A special case close to his heart is the St. Luke’s Catholic Parish and its “New Life Center.” The faith-based charity helps formerly incarcerated individuals, battered women and struggling families from Flint with donations of food, clothing and shelter. The food pantry, sponsored by Patrick, is named for his oldest brother, the late Father Gary McInnis.
Started in 2014, it’s still going to this day.
“As people helped me, I wanted to help them as well,’ said McInnis. “Not only monetarily, because a lot of the people that were helping me didn’t have a lot. So it was more influential and it was more about your character.
“And so I figured, hey, I’m having success. I can give back of my time and my experience as well. But I also can give the financial piece that can potentially allow primarily kids of Flint that I’ve helped, a better opportunity.
“So that was always a goal of mine. To whom much is given, much is expected. And Flint and the people of Flint that I was associated with gave so much to me, and it was important for me to give back.”
