By Diana Brement,
JTNews Columnist
A UW graduate is rubbing shoulders and leashes with some of Hollywood’s most popular stars and their pets.
Jacob Fenton, originally from Portland, graduated from the University of Washington in 2001 with a business degree. While attending the U, he served as undergraduate president of Hillel and chair of the Senior Student Body Council.
Now living in Los Angeles and working for United Talent Agencies, he’s an active volunteer for Much Love Animal Rescue (www.muchlove.org) and recently received their Golden Heart Award. This is given annually to an animal advocate for helping abused and neglected animals. Jacob’s friend and client Tori Spelling presented the award at the organization’s “Bow Wow Howlywood” fundraiser in August where Jacob shared the stage with Priscilla Presley and other Hollywood luminaries.
Jacob has been involved with the no-kill shelter since moving to California almost nine years ago. His family, owners and operators of the Elmer’s Restaurant chain for many years, has a long history of community activism in the Northwest.
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George Cox, president of the Seattle-based non-profit Alexander Hamilton Friends Association, has been invited to serve on the 2010 National Selection Committee of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. The foundation, established in 1986 by Coca-Cola bottlers and The Coca-Cola Company, provides college scholarships for outstanding young people across the country.
George says he is excited and honored to have been chosen, “but it is less of a personal recognition than it is a reflection of the work we have done these past five years at Hamilton Friends.”
Hamilton Friends recognizes high school juniors around the country who exhibit the characteristics of the young Alexander Hamilton — economically challenged high achievers with proven public service records — by enrolling them as Hamilton Scholars in its Hamilton Leaders Academy. The academy is a mentoring program that helps students develop strong character traits and leadership skills, gain an appreciation for America’s heritage, become financially literate and successfully transition to college and beyond (www.hamiltonfriends.org).
J. Mark Davis, president of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, says several Coca-Cola scholarship winners have been Hamilton scholars and it did not go unnoticed.
“That’s what brought Hamilton Friends to our attention,” said Davis. “They are obviously doing something right.”
The foundation awards 450 scholarships annually. Slightly more than half are for $20,000 ($5,000 per year renewable up to four years). The remainder are for $10,000, also on a renewable basis. This represents a commitment of $7 million over a four-year period.
When he’s not involved in the Hamilton organization (which he founded), George works at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and says, “I’m still on the board of Temple Beth Am and I’m still married to Puddin [his wife, also known as Carolyn].”
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Gary S. Kaplan, M.D., chairman and CEO of Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center, was recognized twice by his peers with important awards this month. First, he was given the Harry J. Harwick Lifetime Achievement Award during the Medical Group Management Association’s annual conference. Presented to one individual each year, the award recognizes contributions to health-care administration, delivery and education.
A few days later, Gary accepted the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award from the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission (a hospital accreditation group).
He was quick to share the honors with the people with whom he works. The awards “really reflect the work of a fabulous team effort at Virginia Mason committed to breaking new ground in quality and patient safety and creating the perfect patient experience,” he said. It is “all about a commitment to leadership [of a] team, and commitment to finding the very best ways to…create an environment where people can do their very best work.”
As a member of Health CEOs for Health Reform, Gary is part of a coalition of health-care leaders dedicated to creating a more sustainable health system. He was part of a select group invited to the White House earlier this year to discuss health-care reform and share the achievements of his VMMC team.
Gary is married to Wendy, a member of the board of the Seattle chapter of the American Jewish Committee.