City of Hope honors Merino
Las Vegas -- City of Hope, the Duarte, Calif.-based cancer center dedicated to advancing medical science and caring for patients, honored Home Depot executive Bruce Merino with its 2009 Spirit of Life Award in a ceremony here yesterday.
Held on the eve of the International Builders' Show, the ceremony attracted more than 300 people in the hardware and home-building industry, including last year's honoree Alan Barry, who officially presented the award to Merino.
"This is a great tribute to see a lot of great friends, and old friends, and a lot of my business associates here," said Merino, who has been receiving treatment for diabetes at the City of Hope for about 10 years.
The Spirit of Life award is presented each year to a leader who has made a significant commitment to those in need and has made notable contributions to his or her community and profession. Merino, Home Depot’s senior vp-merchandising and president of Expo Design Center, also serves as chair of the Home Depot Foundation.
“The home improvement industry has quite a legacy with City of Hope," he said. "I have been in the industry for 37 years, and it’s an honor to be recognized along with the founders of Home Depot, Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank and Pat Farrah. I am a Type 2 diabetic patient at City of Hope and have benefited from their great care.”
According to Al Olsen, City of Hope’s senior director of development, the hardware/home-building industry has contributed more than $140 million over the last 25 years to City of Hope in support of advancements in medical research, research equipment and infrastructure.
“Home Depot has been a huge supporter of City of Hope for many years and has led the whole hardware industry to be a support for us,” said Olsen. “Home Depot founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank started a tradition of supporting City of Hope in the 1980s, and Bruce has continued that.”
When the Home Depot Foundation was created in 2000, City of Hope became one of its major causes, and Merino helped secure a grant for $1.65 million over five years that was used to renovate and build energy-efficient cottages where patients and their families can live while the patient is in treatment or recovery.