Tampa, FL – You might say it’s the “Academy Award” for community leaders - the H.L. Culbreath Jr. Profile in Leadership Award. Presented during the Tampa Bay Chamber’s Annual Meeting each December, the award recognizes a person whose leadership has made a positive impact in the Tampa Bay community. This coming December, the group of 26 local luminaries will grow by one. That’s when 81-year-old H. Lee Moffitt, last year’s winner, will reveal the 2023 winner and present the award in front of a crowd of more than 700 guests.
Before that can happen, must come the nominees. Now thru November 2, the community is encouraged to nominate men and women from across the Tampa Bay region.
At this time last year, the Chief of Staff at Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute was writing the nomination that would win! It’s an experience she highly recommends, even to busy professionals who may think they don’t have enough time to nominate someone this year. “It’s something you will never regret,” said Merritt Martin.
Sitting down to write H. Lee Moffitt’s application last fall, she called it “a little daunting” at first, but that changed quickly. “I found it easy once I started writing about Lee,” said Martin, referring to the former Speaker of the Florida House who spearheaded the creation of the only National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center based in Florida. “I enjoyed learning more about him as I did research. I am very happy I took the time to do the application,” said Martin. “The honorees have done so much for our community.” Award recipients date back to 1997. No one industry has the upper hand, with winners coming from healthcare, aviation and finance – just to name a few.
Asked what it felt like to find out her nominee had been chosen; she described a rollercoaster of emotions. “I was elated! I have watched this amazing honor be awarded for years and always thought of Lee as being the perfect recipient,” said Martin. “The day of the award was incredibly exciting but also a little stressful! Lee is not an easy person to keep a secret from.” Part of this award’s tradition is surprising the winner during the Chamber’s end-of-the-year signature event. “It was incredibly rewarding to watch his face as they began listing off ‘clues’ to who they were honoring. Honestly, he didn’t think it was him until he heard the world ‘cancer.’” The cancer survivor had been advocating for a cancer research institute in the Sunshine State since 1978 after losing two friends to cancer.
The moment on December 7, 2022, when he realized he was the winner is one his nominator will never forget. “My favorite moment was when he realized his wife and daughter had been there the whole time waiting to surprise him,” said Martin. “I was fully aware of the prestige of this award and how much it would mean to Speaker Moffitt, our staff and grateful cancer patients.”
The Culbreath Profile in Leadership Award has been presented, without interruption, since 1997. Decades later, even a global pandemic and nationwide shutdowns did not stop the community from nominating residents for the award. In 2020, Ed Narain was selected after co-creating the Saturday-to-Go program to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, plus his more than 25 years of civic service and leadership in Tampa Bay.
Click here to nominate.
See event details for the 138th Annual Meeting & Award Ceremony
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