Claire and Dan Marino Among New Shark Circle Members Honored at Event
FORT LAUDERDALE/DAVIE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University (NSU) will proudly bestow the 2022 President’s Award for Excellence in Community Service to recently retired Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry at its 23rd Annual Celebration of Excellence Gala.
“Bertha Henry has distinguished herself as the consummate professional helping lead Broward County since 2008,” said Dr. George Hanbury, NSU’s President and CEO. “The Excellence in Community Service Award was created to honor just that – excellence in community service – which is something Bertha Henry does best.”
Bertha Henry now joins an impressive list of Celebration of Excellence honorees that includes The Miniaci Family, Winifred and Joseph C. Amaturo, Mike Jackson, David Horvitz & Francie Bishop Good, Lorraine Thomas, Rick and Rita Case and Dr. Guy Harvey, just to name a few.
The Celebration of Excellence Gala, which is nearly sold out, takes place at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 2, 2022, in the Rick Case Arena in NSU’s Don Taft University Center on NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus, SW 75th Ave., Davie. The reception begins at 6 p.m., with the dinner program immediately following.
For the event, NSU will be adhering to its COVID-19 protocols. With the easing of restrictions, face masks are optional for those attending the event. We also encourage all students, faculty and guests to be fully vaccinated – and if someone isn’t feeling well, they should stay home.
NSU’s Celebration of Excellence also recognizes those whose cumulative giving to the university has reached $1 million or more. Each of these benefactors is welcomed into the NSU Fellows Society “Shark Circle” and receives a limited-edition maquette replica of the mako shark statue located in front of the Don Taft University Center. This year, the donors NSU welcomes into the Shark Circle are:
- Joseph and Winifred Amaturo;
The Amaturos have been philanthropic supporters of Nova Southeastern University since the late 1980’s. They have been married for decades, having first met in New York City while launching their careers in the world of advertising and media, not long after Joe returned from serving in the Navy during World War II, and earning an MBA from Harvard.
Now retired, Joe Amaturo owned and managed 22 radio and television stations around the country, including South Florida-based JOY 107 FM, and served as chairman of the MUVICO Theaters.
In 1994, he was inducted into NSU’s H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, and in 2014, NSU honored Joe and Wini with the President’s Award for Excellence in Community Service.
Their support for NSU primarily benefits the Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship and NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale.
In 2015, Joe and Wini established the Jeanne Pohlman Endowed Scholarship in memory of their good friend and wife of Dr. Randy Pohlman, former dean of the Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship. And in 2016, they helped launch the Museum on the Move program at NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, providing a gift to bring hundreds of 6th grade students from local Catholic schools to the museum on specially curated field trips.
- Claire and Dan Marino;
You may know Dan Marino primarily for his illustrious football career, including many seasons as an elite quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. But did you know that Dan and his wife Claire Marino have been supporters of Nova Southeastern University since 1991? Married since 1985, several of their six children attended the Mailman Segal Institute and NSU University School.
When their son Michael was diagnosed with autism, they realized many families struggled to find services for their children. Founding the Dan Marino Foundation in 1992, they committed to serve the autism community and have provided over $91 million to assist children, teens, and adults with autism reach their full potentials.
At NSU, their philanthropy has supported the Baudhuin School Parent Training Program, the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, and NSU University School. Even the scoreboard in the Upper School gym is named in recognition of a generous gift the Marino’s made during the USchool capital campaign.
- Bob and Sandra Moss
Bob and Sandra Moss, who have been married for more than 50 years and have resided in Broward County for over 30 years, have been have longtime supporters of Nova Southeastern University. They have two sons, Chad and Scott, daughter-in-law Katherine, and three grandchildren, Sarah, Wyatt, and Anna Claire.
In 2004, Bob Moss founded Moss & Associates, a privately held construction firm that has completed many noteworthy projects, including NSU’s Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center and the Tampa Bay Regional Campus. NSU recognized Bob’s success by inducting him into the H. Wayne Huizenga Entrepreneur and Business Hall of Fame in 2018.
Sandra is a long-time philanthropist, having served on numerous boards, including the board of the Moss Foundation, Sheridan House Family Ministries, Lees-McRae College, and the High Country Charitable Foundation, which she helped establish. She was nurtured by benevolent grandparents who helped her recognize the importance of raising children in a flourishing, faith-filled environment. She says, “helping children grow, develop, and learn to maximize their greatest potential are the best gifts a mother can give.”
Bob and Sandra recently made a generous gift to NSU to create the Moss Family Endowed Scholarship Fund to support scholarships for students at the NSU Tampa Bay Regional Campus. NSU was pleased to recognize this donation this past November with a ceremony unveiling the Moss Family Café at the Tampa Bay Regional Campus.
- Jerry Taylor & Nancy Bryant Foundation
The Jerry Taylor & Nancy Bryant Foundation founded in 1999, primarily focuses on education and the arts.
Now retired, Jerry Taylor is the former CEO of MCI Communications Corporation, and his wife Nancy Bryant is a former executive director of The Society of Industrial Office Realtors. Their support of Nova Southeastern University primarily benefits NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. They first began supporting the museum in 2010, when Jerry and Nancy became members at the Benefactors Circle level.
They were the first donors to support the launch of the museum’s field trip program “Museum on the Move,” which brings thousands of public-school students to the Museum each year for free tours of exhibitions, talks with artists, and art workshops. Moreover, their support during the COVID-19 pandemic made it possible for museum educators to produce live, virtual Museum on the Move tours, Museum exhibitions, art workshops, and talks with artists, and to launch the museum’s teen program.
They subsequently endowed the position of the Bryant-Taylor Curator, responsible for artistic and educational development, bringing together the planning of exhibits and educational curriculum for the Museum.
- Florida Blue and the Florida Blue Foundation
Florida Blue and its philanthropic affiliate, the Florida Blue Foundation, have been strong supporters of Nova Southeastern University since the early 1990’s.
For many years, Florida Blue sponsored “A Day for Children,” which provides quality health care assessments and community services to children at NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus.
In 2003, Florida Blue provided a generous gift to NSU to create the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund, which has provided more than $75,000 in scholarships to more than 30 nursing students since its inception.
Scholarships were also awarded to the initial class of NSU M.D. students through the Florida Blue Foundation Scholarship Fund in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine. In 2019, NSU received a grant from the Florida Blue Foundation to launch “Empowering Parents for Student Success,” an initiative by the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine to reduce mental health inequities among Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese communities in Broward County.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida Blue reached out to NSU with a special donation to support COVID-19 research being conducted in the College of Dental Medicine. In 2020, NSU received a transformational grant from the Florida Blue Foundation toward preventing the use and abuse of opioids and other dangerous drugs by youth in Florida. And most recently, the Florida Blue Foundation awarded another grant in mental well-being to support the College of Psychology and a state-wide training program in the school systems for suicide prevention.
Together, Florida Blue and the Florida Blue Foundation are true partners with NSU in creating a healthier community here and around the world.
ABOUT BERTHA HENRY, the 2022 President’s Award for Excellence in Community Service Honoree
Bertha Henry, 2022 President’s Award for Excellence in Community Service Honoree
Bertha Henry was named County Administrator in October 2008 after serving as Interim County Administrator for a year. She officially retired from the position on February 28, 2022.
As County Administrator, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of Broward County with a population of over 1.9 million residents, and a $5.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2022. Ms. Henry directed the functions of County Government which fall under the auspices of the Board of County Commissioners. Broward County has a workforce of approximately 6,600 employees, and she oversaw the operations of more than 60 agencies, including the airport, seaport, and Convention & Visitors Bureau.
A native of Miami, Florida, Ms. Henry has a distinguished career in public service with more than 44 years of experience in public administration. She began her career with the City of Miami in the Office of Management & Budget. She also worked in Montgomery County (Dayton), Ohio before coming to Broward County in 1996 as Assistant to the County Administrator. In 1998, she accepted a position as Assistant City Manager of Finance and Administration for the City of Miami, assisting with the city’s financial recovery. She returned to Broward County in July 2000, serving as the Deputy County Administrator, and took the helm in 2008.
Ms. Henry was awarded the 2017 International City/County Management Association Career Excellence Award in Memory of Mark E. Keane and was also named and honored as one of the Governing Magazine’s Public Officials of the Year: these among her other numerous awards and recognitions for her professional and volunteer endeavors.
Be sure to sign up for NSU’s RSS feed so you don’t miss any of our news releases, guest editorials and other announcements. Please sign up HERE.
###
About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): At NSU, students don’t just get an education, they get the competitive edge they need for real careers, real contributions and real life. A dynamic, private research university, NSU is providing high-quality educational and research programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree levels. Established in 1964, the university includes 15 colleges, the 215,000-square-foot Center for Collaborative Research, the private JK-12 grade University School, the world-class NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, and the Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center, one of Florida’s largest public libraries. NSU students learn at our campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, and online globally. With nearly 200,000 alumni across the globe, the reach of the NSU community is worldwide. Classified as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 59 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification and is also the largest private institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information.
MEDIA CONTACT
Joe Donzelli, APR | Office of Media Relations
Nova Southeastern University
jdonzelli@nova.edu | www.nova.edu | @NSU_Joe
