2014 Silver Medallions / Humanitarian Dinner
Since 1946, MCCJ has awarded the coveted Silver Medallion to outstanding leaders who have exhibited extraordinary humanitarian efforts in the community that mirror MCCJ’s mission of creating an inclusive community. Each year’s dinner is an opportunity to come together and celebrate Miami’s diversity, in appreciation of those who have helped to build a more welcoming, inclusive, just and cooperative society. Calvin Hughes from WPLG Local 10 will host the 2014 Humanitarian Award Dinner along with chairs George Feldenkreis and Marita Srebnick and honorary chairs Thelma Gibson, Dorothy & Aaron Podhurst and Jackie & Robert Traurig. The MCCJ Board Chair is Georgina A. Angones. The event will take place on March 1 at The Four Seasons Hotel. For info, sponsorship levels and tickets, call 305-755-6096.
The 2014 Silver Medallion Honorees:
Dr. Nelson Adams
Dr. Adams is chairman of the board of the St. John Community Development Corporation, which focuses on the revitalization of the Overtown Community. He is chairman of the Department of Ob-Gyn at Jackson North Medical Center and clinical professor at the College of Medicine at FIU. Dr. Adams is a past president of both the Dade County Medical Association and the National Medical Association and is the founder and president of Access Health Solutions. He is the recipient of many awards and honors including an Honorary Doctor of Law from Barry University, the Lifetime Achievement award from J.W. Bridges Medical Society, the Claude Pepper Community Builders Award and the Boy Scouts of America’s Whitney Young Service Award, to name a few.
Martin Fine
Martin Fine’s 45-year commitment to the promotion of low income housing began in 1956 with his membership and chairmanship of The City of Miami Housing Authority. He served as president of the Florida Association of Housing Authorities in 1964 and was responsible for the proposal and implementation of the legislation for the Documentary Stamp Program in the Florida Legislature, which provides approximately $12 million annually for financing to low income families to become first-time homeowners in Dade County. He’s had extensive experience in working with the City of Miami and Metropolitan Dade County Zoning Departments in all phases of zoning and land use matters. He is the author of several publications including Reflections On the Vision, which deals with the future growth of Downtown Miami. The Silver Medallion will be awarded to Martin Fine posthumously.
Dr. Barth Green
A diplomat of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons and of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Green served 37 years in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps where he reached the rank of Lt. Colonel. He is a world-renowned specialist in the surgical management of complex spine and spinal cord injuries and disorders and a co-founder of “The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis,” the largest and most productive spinal cord injury and paralysis research center in the world. Dr. Green also co-founded Shake-A-Leg Miami and cofounded Project Medishare for Haiti in 1994 to help improve the health status of Haiti’s citizens through an integrated, bottoms-up community approach to development.
Penny Shaffer
Penny Shaffer is market president at Florida Blue, formerly known as BlueCross BlueShield of Florida. Throughout her career, Dr. Shaffer has been active in community and professional organizations. She is currently vice chair of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Executive Committee of the Beacon Council, Secretary of the Dade Community Foundation, on the Governor’s Council of Broward Alliance, chair of the Board of the Miami-Dade College Foundation and secretary of the board for The Foundation for New Education Initiatives of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She is also a board member of The Commonwealth Institute, United Way of Miami-Dade and the American Red Cross. In addition, she’s a member of the University of Miami Dean’s Advisory Board for the School of Business as well as the International Women’s Forum and the Orange Bowl Committee.
Clergy Medallion Award:
Archbishop Thomas Wenski
Archbishop Wenski served three years as associate pastor of Corpus Christi Church, a mainly Hispanic parish in Miami. In 1979, after briefly ministering in Haiti, he was assigned to the newly established Haitian Apostolate of the Archdiocese. He was associate director and then director of the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center in Miami from that time to his appointment as a Bishop in 1997. Besides his duties in the Archdiocese of Miami, where he served on numerous boards including Catholic Hospice, Catholic Charities, Catholic Charities Legal Services, and St. Thomas University, and later as Coadjutor Bishop and Ordinary of Orlando, he also served as chair of CLINIC (Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.) He also served on a number of community and civic organizations, including Miami-Dade County’s Homeless Trust, the Coordinating Council of Broward and in 2001, Governor Bush appointed him to the Florida Council on Homelessness as well as the Governor’s Task Force on Haiti in 2004.
