"Where there is no vision the people perish."
Mr. H. Fitzgerald "Gerry" and Mrs. Marguerite Lenfest Presented the 2008 Philadelphia Award
PHILADELPHIA—Philanthropists and civic leaders Mr. H. Fitzgerald "Gerry" and Mrs. Marguerite Lenfest have been named the recipients of the 2008 Philadelphia Award. The prestigious Philadelphia Award will be presented to Mr. and Mrs. Lenfest on May 13, 2009 at The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The award was founded in 1921 by editor, author and philanthropist Edward W. Bok who believed that "the idea of service as a test of good citizenship should be kept constantly before the minds of the people of Philadelphia." He stated that the "prize is conferred by the Philadelphia Award Trustees each year upon the man or woman living in Philadelphia, its suburbs or vicinity, who during the preceding year shall have performed or brought to culmination an act or contributed a service calculated to advance the best and largest interest of the community of which Philadelphia is the center."
The Lenfests were selected as recipients by the Philadelphia Award Board of Trustees because of their deep impact upon various cultural and civic institutions and programs throughout 2008. Their leadership and generosity can be felt throughout the city, particularly within The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Kimmel Center, and The Curtis Institute of Music. The Lenfests are also combating Philadelphia's crime epidemic and played a significant role in the start of the city's ambitious criminal reentry program. Chairman of the Philadelphia Award Trustees Dr. Donald Parks shares that "We on the board are pleased to present the Award to the Lenfests, as they exemplify leadership, generosity, and humility--everything that Bok created the award for."
Both Mr. and Mrs. Lenfest serve in leadership positions at The Curtis Institute of Music--he as Chairman and she on the Board of Overseers. The Lenfests are currently encouraging Curtis Institute supporters to help preserve the school's traditions of excellence through a strategic matching gift in support of faculty development. The Lenfests also made Curtis' campus expansion a possibility by purchasing nearby property, and then issued an inspiring challenge to raise needed building funds.
The Lenfests have also been involved with the Philadelphia Museum of Art for nearly two decades, and Gerry has served as Chairman of the Board since 2001. Marguerite is a founding member of the Museum's Committee on Education. Their combined generosity, energy, and vision recently led the Lenfests to launch The Lenfest Challenge, an initiative to establish permanent funding for twenty-nine key Museum positions, by offering to match major endowment commitments made by fellow supporters. After the death of Anne d'Harnoncourt, the Museum's beloved Director, the Lenfests' leadership guided the saddened arts community to continually strengthen the Museum for Philadelphia's generations to come.
The Lenfests' interests lie in the betterment of Philadelphia and its future, and this is exemplified through their leadership in Mayor Nutter's public safety agenda. Mr. and Mrs. Lenfest realized that the crime that plagues Philadelphia was rooted in a sense of hopelessness and a lack of education. To break the cycle, the Lenfest Foundation provided support for Mayor Nutter's 1st Reentry Summit which brought together over 300 local and national stakeholders. The Foundation also suggested the development of the Philadelphia Reentry Partnership, which would help relieve the financial burden of reentry services on the City of Philadelphia by providing private matching funds from the philanthropic community. The Foundation is also supporting a proposal by a world-renowned criminologist who is developing a plan to reduce the city's prison population by 1,000 inmates, thus saving Philadelphia over $25 million dollars.
The Lenfests will be honored as the eighty-eighth recipients of the award on May 13, 2009 at 5:00 pm at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Donald B. Parks, M.D., Chair of the Philadelphia Award, will preside over the ceremony. Pew Charitable Trusts President and CEO Rebecca W. Rimel will deliver an address, and Dr. Parks will present the award to the Lenfests. Following the reception, attendees are invited for a private tour of the "Cezanne and Beyond" exhibit at the museum.
Mr. Lenfest is the former owner of Lenfest Communications, which was sold to the Comcast Corporation in 2000. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lenfest enjoy active membership on several boards throughout the Philadelphia region. Gerry and Marguerite reside in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania and have three children and four grandchildren.