Twice each year, Gift for Life selects individuals who have had a significant, positive impact on the gift and home industries, then recognizes them with prestigious awards reflecting their unique contributions. It’s a pretty exclusive club, including industry luminaries, visionaries, and creatives that raise the bar high with their generosity of heart and kindness of spirit.
This year’s first honorees will be celebrated at our annual winter fundraiser, Party for Life in New York on Sunday, January 29, 2012. The big evening is looming close, so we thought it might be nice to remind you who, exactly, these fan-tab-u-lous folks are that have us so impressed. Here’s the first of our four 2012 Winter Honorees:
John C. Portman, Jr.
Legend for Life Award
The Legend for Life Award is being presented for the first time in celebration of Gift for Life’s 20th Anniversary, recognizing Mr. Portman’s five-plus decades of entrepreneurship and service to several industries, including gift, home, and apparel.
In 1957 he founded Atlanta Merchandise Mart (now AmericasMart)—the largest trade mart/trade show complex of its kind in the world. Across its sprawling 7.0 million-square-foot facilities, AmericasMart’s specialty product takes center stage as the chief attraction for the more than 548,000 attendees who each year participate in its 15 annual markets. Its product mix and essential service standards regularly bring retailers from every U.S. state and more than 80 countries worldwide.
By stimulating trade and tourism, Portman was the catalyst who established Atlanta as one of the nation’s premier convention cities. Three major downtown hotels Portman designed and developed—the Hyatt Regency, Westin Peachtree Plaza, and Marriott Marquis—anchor the convention district.
Following up on his initial success, Portman began an unmatched record of commercial and hospitality development and design in downtown Atlanta and then across the United States in cities including San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York City. During this period, he was noted for his innovative atrium hotel form used in projects including the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles and the Renaissance Center in Detroit. He is perhaps best known for his urban mixed-use complexes, large-scale developments that integrate open spaces and public art into the function of the space.
In 1982, sensing global opportunities, Portman expanded his vision of thoughtful design into Asia. First in Singapore, then in Malaysia and China, he created signature projects that have graced the skylines of some of the most important cities in the world.
He has served as a board member of the Atlanta College of Art, and is Trustee Emeritus of the Atlanta Arts Alliance. He has also served as a Director of the Atlanta High Museum of Art. The Georgia Institute of Technology (his alma mater) presented him their highest honor, the Exceptional Achievement Award, in 1986.
Please join us in honoring Mr. Portman and our other industry leaders by attending Party for Life or by donating in their honor. Either way, your dollars will have a positive impact, supporting the work done by DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS)—one of the country’s largest supporters of direct care for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventive education for those at risk.
It’s nearly here…Party for Life, our annual blow out fund raiser! Since Central Park (home to the Boathouse, where we’ll be kicking up our heels) is closed to traffic on weekends, here’s our handy dandy cheat sheet to getting to the big event:
