36th Biscayne Bay Gala
Ron Lowy named 2015 Citizen of the Year by Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club
Miami attorney Ron Lowy, who has spent his life dedicated to public service, equality, and justice, recently accepted the 2015 Michael Shores Citizen of the Year Award from the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club (biscaynebaykiwanis.org) at its highly successful 36th Biscayne Bay Gala.
The event, held at the Jungle Island Treetop Ballroom, attracted more than 300 people and raised more than $100,000 for the club’s many philanthropic activities. WPLG TV’s Emmy Award-winning Michael Putney was Master of Ceremonies.
Past recipients of this award include Dolphins founder Joe Robbie, coach Jimmy Johnson, broadcaster Ralph Renick, Miami Commissioner Athalie Range, U.S. Rep. William “Bill” Lehman, former Miami Herald publisher David Lawrence, Jr., Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson, Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Rodney Barreto, Miami Dolphins’ Nat Moore, Lauren Book, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Dr. Pedro Greer, Jr., U.S. Rep. Dante B. Fascell, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
In addition to the hundreds of dignitaries and community activities at the event, a special guest—United States Senator Chuck Grassley, head of the Senate Judiciary Committee and one of the most powerful members of Congress—flew in from Washington for the event.
“I am honored to be recognized by the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club and join such a distinctive list of recipients,” said Lowy, who was introduced by former Miami Herald Publisher David Lawrence, Jr., himself a past recipient of the prestigious award. “This is a great organization which serves the most deserving children of Miami’s inner city and has–for more than 65 years–positively impacted the lives of thousands of those children and their families.”
Lowy, of Lowy & Cook, P.A., has been involved in a wide variety of community service organizations, including the Miami Beach Jaycees (where he was named national Outstanding Chapter President in 1985), the Miami-Dade County Addiction Services Board (which assists the County Commission by making recommendations to improve treatment and services for suffering addicts), and Friends of the Miami-Dade Drug Court. Most recently, Lowy—who received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Miami—was appointed Chairman of the Board for the Plaza Health Network. The largest not-for-profit nursing home group in South Florida, PHN cares for almost 1,000 residents with an annual budget of over $100 million dollars.
Gold sponsors of the event included The South Florida Luxury Guide and Baron, Breslin & Sarmiento P.A. Silver sponsors included Diaz Reus, Tenzer, PLLC and Jones Walker. In addition, a donation of more than $30,000 from the Friends of the Miami Drug Court Foundation will assist the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis to expand their programs for the neediest, most challenged families of children in the Club’s partner schools.
For more information on the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club—including joining as an individual or corporation—contact Gaviria at (305) 814-2225 or Biscaynebaykiwanis@gmail.com.
