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Greater Miami Progress Foundation Becomes South Florida Progress Foundation

Thursday September 7, 5:54 pm ET

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2006--The Greater Miami Progress Foundation, founded in 1968 by members of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce to address the area's issues, has been renamed the South Florida Progress Foundation.

The Foundation was originally created by concerned members of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce to conduct projects, programs and studies deemed to be in the best interest of providing the best possible urban environment for citizens of Greater Miami. The Foundation has also addressed issues of regional nature, including assisting with the establishment of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority and the creation of the South Florida Consortium of Higher Education, an organization of local colleges and universities in the tri-county region.

"It is logical that the name reflect the Foundation's broader mission," said Chairman Art Noriega, Executive Director of the Miami Parking Authority said of the Foundation's name change. "You can expect to see the Foundation become much more aggressive in its work to support initiatives that address the needs of a growing metropolitan area like Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and up to Palm Beach - now well over six million residents - and all of the issues that go along with a burgeoning, cosmopolitan population like ours."

In addition to Mr. Noriega, the 2006-07 board includes Vice Chairman Larry Gautier, Limited Brands; Treasurer Jackeline Marques Fernandez, LaSalle Financial Group of MetLife; Luis Ajamil, Bermello Ajamil & Partners; Marta Armas, BankAtlantic; Chris Steilberg, Steilberg & Associates; and Ronda Vangates, an attorney with Miami-Dade Public Schools. The Executive Director of the Foundation is Cornelia Pereira, also a senior staff member of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. The board meets four times a year at its office at 1601 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami.

Other historic initiatives of the Foundation include Leadership Miami, Youth Leadership Miami, One Community One Goal, The Good Life Youth Mentor Program, the Jeanne Bellamy Endowment Scholarship Fund and the Haitian Business Scholarship Fund.

"For nearly four decades, the Foundation has taken on some of our community's most challenging issues. We intend to keep up this tradition and expand upon it," Noriega concluded.

Contact:

Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Miami

Cornelia Pereira, 305-577-5432

or

Lorraine Reigosa, 305-577-5420

Source: Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce