OPAL Award winners inspire us to seek the American Dream
January 30, 2011 · 0 Comments
Thumb through the program from last Saturday night’s OPAL (Outstanding People and Leaders) Awards ceremony and you’ll find one page devoted to each awardee.
Those pages offer a thumbnail sketch of each person’s achievements. But you can imagine the many, many things that could not be included for space reasons.
These are all exceptional people who inspire us all to seek the American Dream. Most came from middle class homes and families, but as they grew, they developed a burning desire to seek more.
Douglas Heizer
While I don’t want to single out any one particular recipient, I feel very much in common with Marta Batmasian. She immigrated to the United States from Turkey; I came to the U.S. from Brazil. We both worked hard to build successful businesses.
After touching American soil, Marta devoted herself to education, business, politics and community service. She earned bachelors, masters and PhD degrees, and she and her husband created Investments Limited, one of the largest commercial real estate firms in South Florida.
From the viewpoint of another immigrant, I commend Marta for her amazing accomplishments. Not only has she become a notable business woman, but she is also a community activist and philanthropist. During her 27 years in Boca Raton, she has been a member of 37 different boards and commissions. She continues to serve as a leader of many groups.
It may have been a coincidence, but President Obama, in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, emphasized the need to recognize the good that immigrants have done, and not just force them out of the country because they may be undocumented. Imagine what we would have lost if Marta Batmasian were told by the government to return to her native land.
If you look at all the OPAL recipients, you can see how each has contributed. Jerry Fedele has spent more than 24 years in the healthcare field. He is credited with saving a major academic hospital and three community hospital affiliates from what would have been the largest healthcare bankruptcy in US history. But more important to our area, he has stopped the financial losses at Boca Raton Regional Hospital and pulled the institution back from the brink of fiscal disaster. Boca depends on this hospital, and the community, as a whole, supports it. It may be appropriate to note that among his many other accomplishments, Jerry was valedictorian of his class at Duquesne University School of Law.
Emily Lilly, our wonderful community resources and affairs specialist for Boca Raton, has proven her worth by talking the talk and walking the walk. A former teacher from upstate New York, she has brought her expertise and experience to Boca – and the city is better off for it. If you’ve ever been to an event in Boca, you’ll find Emily there – having already taken care of all the arrangements.
We can’t say enough about Flossy Keesely, who is a living legend at age 97. She has dedicated her life to fine arts and philanthropy, and can be counted on to be first in line to aid various community agencies. She has her own non-profit organization, Flossy’s Dream, and been a major supporter of the Rotary Club’s Future Stars competition and assists the Rehabilitation Center for the Handicapped and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Dr. David Robbe, an educational institution at Boca Raton High School, has taken students where few high schoolers have gone before – from Ground Zero in New York to the USS Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor. He has a history of working with brain-injured and autistic children, and when he isn’t volunteering for community causes, he is a Bobcat athletic coach.
Jim and Arlene Sclafani have truly realized the American Dream by establishing the Multi Image Group audio visual company. From a small firm started in 1979, MIG has grown to 95 employees.
We congratulate all of you and thank you for your generosity and caring. Your awards are truly deserved.
