We are pleased to announce the 2013 Honorees:
‘’Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal (born March 6, 1972), nicknamed “Shaq”, is an American professional basketball player, rapper, actor, reserve police officer and doctoral student. He is widely perceived as one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA. Standing 7’1”, he is one of the largest players to ever play in the NBA. Throughout his 17 year career, O’Neal has used his size and strength to overpower opponents for points and rebounds.
Mr. O’Neal is one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA. During his 17 years in the league, Mr. O’Neal has established himself globally as one of the most popular and well recognized athletes of his era. He won three consecutive championships with the LA Lakers, and a fourth with the Miami Heat. He is a 15 time NBA All-Star, former league MVP, Rookie of the Year, 3 time NBA finals MVP, 2 time league scoring champion and is currently 5th all time in points scored. Mr. O’Neal received his BA degree from Louisiana State University, an MBA from University of Phoenix and his doctoral degree in Organization Learning and Leadership from Barry University in May of 2012. Mr. O’Neal retired a Boston Celtic.
Mr. O’Neal was born in Newark, New Jersey and has six children (Taahirah, Myles Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’arah). He currently maintains a residence in Windermere, Florida, a northwest Orlando suburb.
The combination of Mr. O’Neal’s basketball success, personal charisma, and high profile philanthropic activities has enabled him to create one of the most well-regarded and visible identities of any celebrity in recent times. Beyond his myriad corporate endorsements, Mr. O’Neal has created successful business ventures and created a robust social media platform that is nearly unparalleled.
An Academy Award® winning actor, talented Grammy Award® winning musical artist and comedian, Jamie Foxx is one of Hollywood’s rare elite multi-faceted performers.
Jamie Foxx first rose to fame as a comedian, from which he initiated a potent career trajectory of ambitious projects. After spending time in the comedy circuit, he joined Keenan Ivory Wayans, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans and Tommy Davidson in the landmark Fox sketch comedy series, In Living Color, creating some of the show’s funniest and most memorable moments. In 1996, he launched his own series, The Jamie Foxx Show, which was one of the top-rated shows on the WB Network during its five-year run. Foxx not only starred on the series, but was the co-creator and executive producer of the series, directing several episodes himself.
Foxx’s big-screen break came in 1999 when Oliver Stone cast him in Any Given Sunday, with Al Pacino. In 2005, Jamie’s portrayal of the legendary Ray Charles in the Taylor Hackford-directed biopic Ray garnered him an Academy Award® for Best Actor and proved to be one of his career’s defining performances. Foxx recently starred in Quentin Tarantino’s critically acclaimed, Django Unchained as the title character. Jamie is currently in production on Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for Sony Pictures, starring alongside Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. He next appears in Roland Emmerich’s White House Down for Sony Pictures, opposite Channing Tatum. He will also executive produce, write and direct a five-episode horror anthology series for SyFy this October. Additional film credits include: Michael Mann’s Ali, opposite Will Smith, Michael Mann’s Miami Vice opposite Colin Farrell, Sam Mendes’ Gulf War drama Jarhead, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Stealth, Bait, Booty Call, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, and The Great White Hype.
Jamie Foxx continues to expand his role as a producer. He is currently executive producing Apollo Live for BET. Foxx recently executive produced a new sketch comedy series starring Affion Crockett called In the Flow with Affion Crockett for 20th Century Fox Television. Jamie also produced Thunder Soul, a documentary following the astonishing alumni from Houston’s Kashmere High School Stage Band who return home after 35 years to play a tribute concert for the 92-year-old “Prof,” their beloved band leader who broke the color barrier and transformed the school’s jazz band.
In addition to his outstanding work in film, Foxx has also achieved a thriving career in music. In December 2010, he released his fourth album, Best Night of My Life, featuring Drake, Justin Timberlake, Rick Ross, T.I., and other artists. In January 2010, Foxx and T-Pain’s record breaking #1 song Blame It off of his previous album, Intuition, won “Best R&B performance by a duo/group with vocals” at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards®.
Joe Torre was named Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations on Feb. 26, 2011. In this capacity, he oversees areas that include Major League Operations, On-Field Operations, On-Field Discipline and Umpiring. He serves as the Office of the Commissioner’s primary liaison to the general managers and field managers of the 30 Major League clubs regarding all baseball and on-field matters.
In the fall of 2010, Torre concluded his third and final season as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom he led to the National League Championship Series in 2008 and 2009. Previously, he spent 12 seasons as manager of the New York Yankees (1996-2007), guiding them to the postseason every year, including six World Series appearances and four World Championships (1996, 1998-2000).
Torre is also Chairman of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, which he and his wife, Ali, launched in 2002. In 2010, Torre was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women. The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation’s mission is educating to end the cycle of domestic violence and save lives. Since its inception, the Foundation has educated thousands of students, parents, teachers and school faculty about the devastating effects of domestic violence.
In April 2011, Torre was honored at the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards, held in the Great Hall at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. The Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards are presented by The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. to celebrate exemplary Ellis Island/Port of New York immigrants or their descendants who have made a major contribution to the American experience. Past recipients at the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards have come from the worlds of politics, business, science, education, music, entertainment and sports, including Bob Hope, Dr. Madeleine K. Albright, Colin Powell, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Seinfeld and Martin Scorsese. Two other baseball figures, Hall of Famers Yogi Berra and Tommy Lasorda, are past honorees.
Torre was born on July 18, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York. He, Ali and their daughter, Andrea, live in Beverly Hills, California. His three adult children are Michael, Cristina and Lauren.
Jeff Glassman is Chief Executive Officer of Covington Capital Management in downtown Los Angeles. Covington manages in excess of 1.7 billion dollars in assets for individuals, families, trusts and foundations. Jeff is also counsel to the Rodriguez Horii Choi and Cafferata law firm.
Jeff’s sincere concern for the welfare of the community is manifest both through his personal generosity and through the time he commits to undertaking a variety of leadership roles in nonprofit organizations. He is blessed with a warm inviting personality, and not surprisingly, he is cherished and appreciated by family, friends and clients alike.
Active in the community, Jeff is Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Los Angeles Jewish Home and Chairman Emeritus of American Jewish University. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Wallis Foundation, the Los Angeles Police Foundation, Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission, Art Center College of Design and IFES. Jeff formally served on the Board of Regents of Loyola Marymount University and is a member (formerly co-chair) of the Advisory Board of the UCLA School of Public Affairs. Jeff graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science and received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. Jeff resides in Westwood with his wife Cecilia and has four children, Brooke, Alexis, Arielle and Jonathan.