Stuart Blumberg
A resident of our community for 80 years, Stuart Blumberg graduated from Miami Beach Senior High and the University of Florida. Mr. Blumberg began his career in the hotel industry in 1956 as a bellman at the Americana Hotel. During the next 54 years he rose through the ranks of the industry, culminating with founding the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association which he led for 20 years prior to his retirement. Throughout his career he made it a point to give back to the community. Mr. Blumberg was a Founder of the Academy of Travel and Tourism, now a nationwide program. He was one of the Founders of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Black Initiative. In addition, he served as Chairman of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board, taught for 12 years at the FIU School of Hospitality and served as National President of Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity. In 1991, he joined the initial board of the Performing Arts Center (now known as the Arsht Center) and served for 17 years in various volunteer capacities culminating in being designated Director Emeritus. Stuart Blumberg was an indispensable leader in overseeing the financing, architecture, construction and operation of the Center. In 2007, he received the Arts Hero Award. He served for 16 years as a member of the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council including as Vice Chairman. In this capacity, he was instrumental in strengthening the ties between tourism and the arts. Among his proudest achievements was having the pedestrian bridge connecting both halls of the Arsht Center dedicated to him and building a more than 7,000-piece replica of the Arsht out of LEGO blocks, now on display in the Knight Concert Hall. Not one to retire quietly, for the past 13 years he has served as Senior Advisor to the Underline project. He is also actively involved in the plan to restore the Miami Marine Stadium. He has been married 62 years to his wife Marlene and has a daughter Hillary.