'Center City Starr Award' presented for enhancing Arizonans'
quality of life
"It is one thing to admire a city where the character of its urban
core has long been determined and the contours of its skyline and
substance of its neighborhoods offer the comfort of a clear
identity. It is quite another thing to share in the day to day
struggles that precipitate the metamorphosis from an ordinary city
to a great city." - Barry Starr
PHOENIX, Ariz. - March 30, 2012 - The Phoenix Community Alliance
(PCA) will honor Dr. Jeffrey Trent, President of the Translational
Genomics Research Institute (TGen), with its most prestigious
award.
Dr. Trent, Ph.D., F.A.C.M.G., will receive PCA's Center City Starr
Award for his work in improving the lives of countless Arizonans
through TGen's biomedical advances in studying diseases such as
Alzheimer's, diabetes and many types of cancer.
"The Phoenix Community Alliance is proud to have this opportunity
to honor Dr. Jeffery Trent," said PCA Chairman Mo Stein. "The
transformative nature and significance of the work and
accomplishments through Dr. Trent continue to touch and improve the
lives of hundreds of patients and, in doing so, advance the quality
of life here in the heart of our city and state, and, indeed, well
beyond our borders.
"It is breathtaking to envision the future in light of such great
progress," said Stein, Principal of HKS Inc., who in February took
the reins of the non-profit PCA, the private sector's prime mover
behind development of downtown and central Phoenix.
The Center City Starr Award is named for the late Phoenix City
Councilman and PCA President Barry Starr. It is presented annually
to individuals from the public and private sectors that have made
outstanding contributions to Phoenix's Central City.
A letter from Stein informed Dr. Trent that he was selected by past
Center City Starr Award recipients for his "quintessential
leadership role" at TGen, a non-profit biomedical research facility
established in 2002 as an essential element of the downtown Phoenix
Biomedical Campus. "They wish to recognize your outstanding work
that has enhanced the quality of life for the people of our
community."
The Center City Starr Award honors individuals who:
- Consistently lead and challenge the community to continued quality growth and development.
- Unfailingly support the commitment and efforts of business, government, educational, cultural, civic and religious organizations, neighborhood groups, property owners and individuals to revitalize Phoenix's Central City and surrounding neighborhoods.
- Tirelessly devote their time, talent and resources to the betterment of Phoenix's Central City.
Dr. Trent said he would be extremely honored to receive the Center
City Starr Award, especially since the selection is made by so many
of Arizona's most distinguished citizens who have received the
award in past years.
"It is with deep gratitude that I will accept this award on behalf
of everyone at TGen. It is a supreme compliment to all those at
TGen, and to all of our collaborators, who work tirelessly to help
improve the lives of patients with debilitating diseases and
conditions," Dr. Trent said. "We are proud to have the opportunity
to conduct most of this work at our TGen headquarters, right in the
heart of the downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus."
The award will be presented to Dr. Trent at a special reception
from 4-6 p.m. April 4 at Steele Indian School Park, Third Street
and Indian School Road. The other recipient that day will be Dr.
Eugene Giovannini, Ed.D., President of GateWay Community
College.
Past recipients of the Center City Starr Award are: * Robert L.
Matthews (1993), * Donald Bliss (1993), * Marvin Andrews (1994), *
Frank Fairbanks (1994), * Jerry Colangelo (1995), * Paul Johnson
(1995), * The Honorable Jane Dee Hull (1996), * Louis A. "Chip"
Weil (1996), * Ray Bladine (1996), Barry Starr (1997), Richard
Snell (1997), Kevin Keogh (1997), The Honorable Tom Smith (1998),
The Honorable Skip Rimsza (1998), William Shover (1998), Keith
Turley (1998), Sheryl Sculley (1999), Dan Cracchiolo Esq. (1999),
Martin Shultz (1999), Neil Irwin (2000), Bette De Graw (2000), The
Honorable Rick Romley (2000), Lattie Coor (2001), Ronald Bookbinder
(2001), The Honorable Ed Pastor (2002), Jerry Bisgrove (2002), Jack
Tevlin (2003), William Post (2003), The Honorable John Nelson
(2004), Richard Mallery Esq. (2004), Valerie Manning (2005), The
Honorable Phil Gordon (2005), James Bruner (2006), Mark Holleran
(2006), Steve Zabilski (2006), David Smith (2006), James Ballinger
(2007), Brian Kearney (2007), Judy Jolley Mohraz (2008), John
Murphy (2008), Richard Simonetta (2008), Cindy Gentry (2009), David
Krietor (2009), Kurt Schneider (2009), Michael M. Crow (2010),
Michael Ebert (2010), and Linda Hunt (2010).
* Previously called the Center City Champion Award.
About the Phoenix Community Alliance (PCA)
Formed in 1984, PCA has a well-established reputation as the
private sector, prime mover for Downtown Phoenix and the Central
City. PCA is setting the stage for Arizona's key metropolitan area
as a respected, urban-marketplace competitor at a regional,
national and global level. An influential organization with over
200 participating organizations, PCA has three pivotal goals for
the heart of Phoenix: Targeting urban density through quality land
development; attracting investment; and sharpening and
communicating Phoenix's competitive advantage. For more
information, visit: http://phoenixcommunityalliance.com.
Press contact:
Jo Marie McDonald
Vice President
602-254-7477, ext. 22
[email protected]