Encyclopedia Of Detroit

In 1966, Florine Mark established the first Weight Watchers franchise in Michigan, holding the initial meeting in a school auditorium. More than 50 years later, Mark is the largest franchise holder of Weight Watchers International, operating Weight Watchers meetings throughout Michigan and Ontario.

Mark was born in Detroit, and later in life after five children, sought help at Weight Watchers for her own weight problem. She lost 50 pounds at the New York City chapter, which motivated her to open her own franchise in Michigan. She eventually expanded to 13 states, Canada and Mexico.

After achieving a membership of over 10,000 and employing 4,200 people in her franchises, in 2003 Weight Watchers International acquired a majority of them throughout the Midwest, the East Coast, and Mexico. Her remaining franchises in Michigan and Ontario are held under the company name WW Group.

Mark’s business acumen has led to her affiliation with a number of local and national institutions. She has served on the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and served a three-year term as chairperson for the Detroit Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She has also received numerous awards throughout her career, including the 2003 “Entrepreneurial Visionary Award” from the Women’s Business Center in Washington, D.C. Crain’s Detroit Business included her in its list of the “100 most Influential Women in Detroit,” and in 2018 she received the William Davidson Lifetime Achievement Award for her involvement in and commitment to community service.

She is well-known locally for her “Ask Florine” segment on television’s WDIV local news, and for a WNIC-FM radio program “Remarkable Women.”