AUGUST 9 - 22, 2011
Museum announces last call for Founders’ contributions BY STEPHANIE ROJAS
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or a limited time, friends and residents of the City of Coral Gables have the opportunity to support the area’s newest cultural landmark, the Coral Gables Museum. The museum currently is accepting contributions for its Founder and Cornerstone Founders’ partnerships, with donation levels starting at $1,000. The names of the Founders will be displayed in perpetuity on etched glass in the museum’s lobby. The final deadline for Founders’ contributions is Sept. 15. “The museum strives to foster appreciation for the history and cultural landscape of Coral Gables,” said Arva Moore Parks, acting director of the Coral Gables Museum. “The generous support provided by our donors allows us to bring that vision to life and help others understand the value of intelligent and thoughtful planning.” The Coral Gables Museum celebrates the civic arts of architecture, city planning, landscape architecture, historic and environmental preservation and history — the elements that define Coral Gables. It is a true public/private partnership between the City of Coral Gables and the Coral Gables Museum Corp., a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. The museum will open its first major exhibitions in October. For details on Coral Gables Museum, visit <www.coralgablesmuseum.org/> or call 305603-8067.
ALL TYPES OF COVERAGE FROM OVER 100 TRUSTED, COMPETITIVE, INSURERS
305.238.1000
Savings & Service Since 1950
Hopkins/Cooper Scholarships go to 4 Coral Gables students
GABLES GREAT Carlos Ruiz combines professional excellence with community service BY GLORIA BURNS
Pictured (l-r) are Coral Gables Commissioner Ralph Cabrera; former Commissioner Jim Barker; Commissioner Maria Anderson; students Markell A. Sams, David Chambers, Tamesha D. Braithwait and Bria Dewberry; Mayor Jim Cason, and Commissioner Frank Quesada. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
BY MARIA ROSA HIGGINS FALLON
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our students — Markell A. Sams, David Chambers, Tamesha D. Braithwaite and Bria Dewberry — are recipients of the 2011-12 Donald R. Hopkins/William A. Cooper Scholarship. Each student will receive $1,500 toward his or her college education. The City of Coral Gables awards this scholarship ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 annually based on financial need, academic performance, career goals, and residency. Priority consideration is given to Coral Gables students living in the Golden
Gate/McFarlane Homestead subdivision. Established in 1990, the scholarship is co-named in honor of Dr. Donald R. Hopkins, born in Coral Gables and current vice president of Health Programs for Atlanta-based Carter Center, an organization that helps eradicate and control infectious diseases, and the late long-time Coral Gables resident William Cooper. Mr. Cooper was a founder and former president of the Lola B. Walker Homeowners Association of Coral Gables, which represents the historically black neighborhoods in Coral Gables. He was very active in his church and was an advocate for community safety and improvements.
Carlos Ruiz has a long history of professional excellence combined with community service. His story starts in Pinar de Rio, Cuba, where he was born and spent his early childhood before traveling to the United States in 1961, first as a tourist and then remaining as a refugee. A product of South Florida schools, Ruiz attended Coral Way Elementary, Shenandoah Junior High and then graduated from Miami Senior High in 1968. After earning his Associate of Arts in PreArchitecture at MiamiD a d e Community College, he went on to the CARLOS RUIZ University of Miami where he graduated in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. In 1972, on vacation in Puerto Rico, he met the love of his life, wife Cathy, another remarkable
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RUIZ, page 4