Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Marks 30 Year Tradition of Honoring Exceptional Business Leaders with Sand in My Shoes Award

MIAMI, Jan. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, in its 104 year history, has honored accomplished leaders in the South Florida business community for the past 30 years.  Some of the names, stalwarts in the community, include Hank Meyer, who was known as bringing President John Kennedy and Arthur Godfrey to Miami thereby launching the great tourism business for Miami; Alvah Chapman Jr., owner of Knight Ridder and founder of "We Will Rebuild" following devastating Hurricane Andrew; to last year's honoree, Modesto Maidique who literally built FIU into a  prestigious academic university with both law and medical schools. This year's honoree is no less remarkable, marking the 30th year of Sand in My Shoes, Peter J. Dolara, American Airlines Senior Vice President.  The award will be presented at a dinner on February 10, 2011 at Jungle Island in Miami.

From division headquarters in Miami, Dolara heads a region that is the largest operating unit in the American Airlines system.  Under Dolara's leadership, the Miami hub has become the largest international gateway in American's network, with more than 9,000 employees and daily nonstop service to virtually every major business and vacation market throughout Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean. He is responsible for all aspects of American's operations in the Caribbean and Latin America, including airport operations, sales activities, customer service, cargo sales and services and scheduling activities.

Some of the award winners include:  Adolfo Henriques; Sherwood M. Weiser; Jayne & Leonard Abess; Armando Codina; Sue & Leonard Miller; Edward T. Foote II; Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin; Robert H. Traurig; Congressmen Dante Fascell and William Lehman; M. Anthony Burns; Martin Fine; R. Ray Goode; Charles I . Babcock, Jr.; and Harry Hood Bassett.

For additional information about Sand in My Shoes, contact the Chamber at 305-350-7700 or visit www.miamichamber.com.

About the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business in South Florida, representing more than 400,000 employees of member companies.   For more than a century, the Chamber has been widely recognized and respected for its extraordinary record of economic development and community improvement.  The Chamber is nationally recognized as one of the Top 10 Executive Speaking Forums in America.

SOURCE Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce