2012 Silver Medallions / Humanitarian Dinner
There are some people who make every moment count for the good of our community. They become the national chair of 100 Black Men of America, Inc. and work with Big Brothers Big Sisters, they assume leadership roles in United Way, Educational Excellence Council, Community Partnership for the Homeless and the American Red Cross, or they are supporters of the arts, philanthropists and ‘roll up your sleeve’ volunteers. These areas of community involvement represent just a fraction of the organizations that have been enriched by the leadership of the following nine people being honored with the prestigious MCCJ 2012 Silver Medallion award. The medallions, which have been presented every year since 1946, are given to those individuals whose lives reflect MCCJ’s mission – to promote understanding and respect for all faiths, cultures and races. For information on MCCJ or on the Humanitarian Dinner, visit www.miamiccj.org or call 305-755-6096.
2012 Silver Medallion Honorees
Trish and Daniel Bell
Since moving to Miami in 1977, Trish and Dan Bell have exemplified community activism and philanthropy through their wide-ranging involvement with numerous charitable organizations. They currently serve as Co-Chairs of the Miami Science Museum where they are instrumental in the development of the new Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum Of Science complex. They also sit on the Board of Trustees of the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home where they personally funded a home, and they are founding members of the Advisory Committee of South Florida Urban Ministries, which Trish chairs. Trish serves on the Steering Committee of the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle, Society of Women Leaders. The Bell’s philanthropy also includes involvement in the CHARLEE Home for Children, Kristi House, Informed Families, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, YMCA of Greater Miami, Camillus House, Barry University, Baptist Hospital Foundation, Jackson Hospital Foundation, Fairchild Gardens, Vizcaya, Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami City Ballet and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Juan del Busto
A native of Havana, Cuba, Juan del Busto is Regional Executive of the Miami Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He is responsible for the Branch’s Board of Directors, provides regional input into the Atlanta Fed’s monetary policy process, leads community outreach and development activities and oversees Miami’s economic and financial education programs. In the Dade County Public School System, Juan is a member of the Educational Excellence Council, Vice Chairman of the Superintendent’s Business Advisory Council and a Dade Partner for Miami Coral Park Senior High School. He is a member of the Business Advisory Committee of Miami-Dade College, the Board of Directors of the Florida Council on Economic Education, Florida International University’s Masters in Finance Program Advisory Board and serves as Chairman of the South Florida Center for Financial Training (CFT).
Albert Dotson, Jr.
The first in his family to attend a four-year university, Al Dotson graduated from Dartmouth with majors in economics and history. Today, he is a prominent attorney with the firm Bilzin Sumberg, where he specializes in land use and zoning. But it is his leadership role in the non-profit world that has earned him a MCCJ Silver Medallion. He is Trustee of the United Way of Miami-Dade, Chairman of the Board of the Overtown Youth Center, National Chairman of 100 Black Men of America, past President of the Orange Bowl Committee and Co-Chair of the Super Bowl XLI Host Committee. He is active in the Miami Dade College Foundation where he is a past Board Chairman and the former Chair of the Investment Committee. In addition, Al is a member of the Board of the Alonzo Mourning Charities and president of the Miami Jewish Family and Children’s Services.
Patricia Meyer Papper
Born and raised in the city, Pat Papper has deep Miami roots. She is the daughter of WOMETCO Enterprises founder Sydney Meyer and widow of Emanuel M. Papper, former dean of the University of Miami Medical School. Pat has given back to her community through her avid support of cultural and humanitarian efforts. She was on the board of the Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. For over 40 years, she served as board member, executive committee member and president of the Miami Jewish Family and Children’s Services. Pat is the Past President and current Trustee of the Miami Art Museum, where she has been active since its inception as the Center for Fine Arts. Presently, she is Chairman of the Museum’s Acquisition Committee. She is a Trustee of the New World Symphony and a Founding Member of the Funding Arts Network, where she is now on the Advisory Council.
2012 MCCJ Clergy Medallion Honorees
Rabbi Herbert Baumgard
In what was rural South Dade (Pinecrest today), Rabbi Baumgard founded Temple Beth Am in 1956. It grew to be one of the largest Reform Jewish congregations in the United States. Rabbi Baumgard has a long history of social advocacy dating from his World War II U.S. Army service, where he drafted a paper on the need for racial justice. In 1965, as president of the Rabbinical Association, he helped lead an interracial march of over 2,500 through downtown Miami to protest the attack by police on marchers in Selma. His involvement in civil rights led him to serve on many boards including The National Urban League, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and Chairman of the Community Relations Board of Dade County, the Community Equal Opportunity Board, and the Theodore Gibson Fund. Rabbi Baumgard has also been a leader in community interfaith relations, and invited ministers of all faiths, including Archbishop McCarthy and Canon Theodore Gibson, to address his congregation, and for the choirs to participate in a joint interfaith, interracial program. He has been President of the Synagogue Council of America, President of the Greater Miami Rabbinical Association and President of the Southeastern Federation of Reform Synagogues.
Bishop Agustin Roman
In 1979, the Most Reverend Agustin A. Roman, the son of a poor farm worker in Cuba, became the first Cuban in 200 years to be appointed Bishop in the United States. From 1981 to 1997, Bishop Roman was Executive Director of the Ministry of Pastoral Service. In this capacity, he oversaw Hispanic movements, including ministry to Haitians, African-Americans and other cultural groups and ministry to families, youth, the sick, the handicapped, farm workers and prisoners. Currently, Bishop Roman serves as Executive Director of the Archdiocesan Ministry to Persons. In addition, he is Vicar General, Consulter and member of the Archbishop’s Executive Council. Bishop Roman also serves as director of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity, for whose construction he was responsible. In 1987, ABC News named him “Person of the Week,” for his prominent role in settling the Cuban prison riots in Atlanta and Oakdale, Louisiana.
Reverend Priscilla Felisky Whitehead
In 1989, after graduating from Harvard Divinity School, Reverend Whitehead relocated from Boston to The Church by the Sea (United Church of Christ) in Bal Harbour where she served as Associate Minister for over twenty-one years. Her passion for intercultural understanding stems from her background as a child of immigrants growing up in Michigan in a Russian-speaking home and church. Rev. Whitehead was a Founding Director and President of Americans for Immigrant Justice (founded as the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center); Advisory Trustee, President, and Board Member of Switchboard of Miami; Chairman of the Greater Miami Religious Leaders Coalition; Chairman of MCCJ’s Interfaith Clergy Dialogue; and Vice-President of the Christian Community Service Agency. Rev. Whitehead has served on numerous community boards including the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, PACT (People Acting for Community Together) and the South Florida Urban Ministries. She is a member of the ACLU’s Advisory Committee for the Florida Religious Freedom Project, and serves on the Steering Committee of the Miami-Dade Community Relations Board Intergroup Relations Project.
2012 MCCJ Public Service Medallion
Alberto M. Carvalho
On occasion, a public servant is found to be deserving of special recognition by MCCJ. Alberto M. Carvalho is the Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the fourth-largest school district in the United States, with over 400,000 students and 53,000 employees. He began his tenure in 2008, at a time when the district was facing formidable financial and political instability. Under his guidance, the school system’s business operations were restructured, high school graduation rates rose to record levels, the number of “F” schools decreased from thirteen to one and a majority of the schools received an “A” rating. As an influential spokesman for education reform, he has appeared on CNN, NBC, The New York Times, District Administration Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Nightly Business Report.
