Deering Estate Foundation honors 2020 Champion Partners

The Deering Estate Foundation honored its 2020 Champion Partners of the Year at its Annual Meeting on January 27, 2020, via Zoom. A collective energy recognizing all that had been accomplished and an optimism for what can still be achieved was felt by all dedicated community leaders, collaborating partners, and Estate volunteers and staff who joined the virtual meeting. This virtual gathering also featured the presentation of the inaugural Charles Deering Preservation Award.

In presenting the 2020 Champion Partner Awards, Deering Estate Foundation President Becky Matkov, Executive Director Nina Zanella, and Deering Estate Director Jennifer Tisthammer emphasized the importance of cooperative efforts and community engagement in preserving and enhancing the Deering Estate and fulfilling its mission.

Celebrating and receiving their awards were:

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden – 2020 Champion Preservation Partner of the Year
The 2020 Champion Preservation Partner of the Year award was presented to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Conservation Program for their over 40 years of partnership with the Deering Estate. Some of their long-term conservation projects have been conducting rare plant mapping, reintroductions and monitoring on the effects of the Cutler Slough Rehydration Project. We are happy and excited to continue this long-term partnership in conservation and preservation of the rare and common native plants located within our protected natural areas.

Representative Vance Aloupis – 2020 Champion Preservation Partner of the Year
Vance Aloupis, Florida State Representative for District 115, was awarded the 2020 Champion Preservation Partner of the Year. Representative Aloupis is the CEO of the Children’s Movement, and a great friend of the Deering Estate. Since he has been in office, he has advocated tirelessly for the Estate, and the Foundation, particularly in supporting grant funding for the restoration and preservation of the Institute of Conservation Research and Learning.

Changing Seas – 2020 Champion Programming Partner of the Year
Changing Seas was awarded the 2020 Champion Programming Partner of the Year. Changing Seas has been showing their free Speaking Sustainably Film and lecture series at the Deering Estate to engage the community with critical environmental issues of the twenty-first century and to inspire action. They continue to grow audiences and bring awareness to these environmental issues that are a key part of the Deering Estate’s mission of preserving and protecting the natural ecosystems, native plants and wildlife through wise stewardship and best conservation management practices.

Cattoria Montessori School – 2020 Champion Educational Partner of the Year
Cattoria Montessori was awarded the 2020 Champion Educational Partner of the Year. Cattoria Montessori was one of the first schools to take part in our NESTT (Nurturing Environmental Stewards of Today and Tomorrow) program that brings science textbooks to life and subjects that spark interest and engage students for tomorrow’s STEM careers. They have allowed us to continue to try new educational experiences and grow this program to what is today. With the pandemic they were the first school to reach out to us to continue their program.

CHI of South Florida and Col. Brodes Hartley – 2020 Champion Partner of the Year
CHI of South Florida and Col. Brodes Hartley, President and CEO, were awarded the 2020 Champion Partner of the Year. Community Health of South Florida, Inc. is a nonprofit health care organization that provides affordable quality primary and behavioral health care services to the residents of rapidly growing South Florida.

When Col. Brodes Hartley, a graduate of Florida A& M, with a Masters in Hospital Administration from Baylor and a distinguished 26 years’ service in the U.S. Army, became President and CEO of Community Health of South Florida in 1984, he made a commitment to support the organization’s mission and its motto, “Patient Care Comes First.” Under his leadership, CHI has continued to provide affordable, compassionate, quality healthcare services to the uninsured and underinsured residents of south Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

In his 37 years as President and CEO of Community Health, Col. Hartley has expanded CHI to 11 health centers stretching from Marathon and Homestead to West Kendall and South Miami, adding mobile vans and more than 35 school-based programs. The Brodes Hartley Teaching Health Center trains Primary Care clinicians to serve the community. CHI today employs more than 600 physicians, dentists, nurses, support staff and administrators and is planning a new Children’s Crisis Center in Homestead to treat children with emergency care and with issues of abuse and depression.

In this pandemic year, Community Health of South Florida, Inc. became the first facility to offer drive-through COVID-19 testing in Miami-Dade and Monroe County. The non-profit organization mobilized its team and provided many communities invaluable health resources when they were most needed.

With these services successfully in place in Coconut Grove, Florida City, Marathon, Homestead, and Key West, CHI then extended its commitment to the community by venturing into homeless communities and partnering with the Homeless Trust to provide critical COVID-19 testing services to this vulnerable group, giving out masks and educating them on the dangers of the virus. Even as these timely emergency response services were deployed, CHI’s South Florida health centers remained open, active, and fully operational, most recently providing COVID vaccinations.

FIU Teach – 2020 Champion Partner of the Year
FIU Teach was awarded the 2020 Champion Partner of the Year award. FIU Teach is a secondary STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teacher preparation initiative that is helping to produce qualified math and science teachers. Through our partnership with FIU, FIU Teach has been an advocate of our internships. Over 20 students from this program have come to the Estate for an internship, with more than half eventually being hired as camp counselors and recreation leaders. Without them our education programs would not have been able to reach 20,000+ students a year.

Miami Short Film Festival – 2020 Community Partner of the Year
The Miami Short Film Festival was awarded the 2020 Community Partner of the Year and has been a programming partner with Deering Estate for more than a decade. In 2019, the Deering Estate launched the bi-monthly Focus On series, a screening of curated short films inside the Deering Estate Theater. Through our joint marketing efforts, the Focus On series is frequently featured in local media outlets, including two articles in the Miami Herald and on various cultural calendars and community listings. We have also partnered on collateral events including a master class workshop with local filmmaker Memo Sauceda; as well as a memorable virtual Q&A with award-winning actor Ed Asner on Facebook Live in July 2020. The Miami short Film Festival has been one of our most prominent cultural partners and true pioneer in working with Deering Estate staff to pivot our programs throughout the pandemic crisis. The Focus On series transitioned from an online streaming event to safe and socially distanced outdoor theatrical experiences. When most theaters and museums were closed, we co-hosted two sold out outdoor screenings at the Deering Estate, including the opening night gala for the 2020 iteration of the Miami short Film Festival that brought international filmmakers and audiences from all over Miami-Dade and Broward counties. According to post-event surveys, almost 75% of the guests that attend our Miami short Film Festival events are new visitors to the Deering Estate, and through this partnership we have been able to expand our audience and brand name as center for art and film.

Maria McDonald – 2020 Volunteer of the Year
Maria McDonald was awarded the 2020 Volunteer of the year. For over a decade now, Maria has been a volunteer and advocate for the Deering Estate and the Deering Estate Foundation. With the 100 Ladies of Deering, Maria played a pivotal role in securing furnishings and incorporating design for the Stone House and Richmond Cottage, in acquiring artwork (do not even think about outbidding her in an online art auction), and in immersing herself into the historical study of family collections donated to the Deering Estate Foundation. Her commitment to the Deering Estate Foundation and the Deering Estate has taken her to Palau de Maricel, Charles Deering’s residence in Sitges, Spain, and Chicago where Charles Deering’s legacy lives on at Northwestern University and the Art Institute of Chicago. Maria just completed her term as President of the 100 Ladies of Deering, a philanthropic circle of the Deering Estate Foundation. During this tenure, the 100 Ladies of Deering took on and completed the On This Land, the Charles Deering Story, award-winning film project. And most recently, the restoration and installation of the Flight Into Egypt stained glass panels on display in the Stone House. And Maria’s work continues. So, if you see Maria at the top of a 17-foot ladder decorating a holiday tree in the ballroom on the estate, offering her suggestions for a soon to be published Deering Look Book, or chairing the ever-popular Chef Demo Tent at the Deering Seafood Festival, give her an elbow touch or fist pump and thank her for her volunteerism!

Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida – 2020 Volunteer of the Year
Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida was awarded the 2020 Volunteer of the Year. Girl Scouts is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. They believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader). Through our partnership with the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida we have been able to expand our scout program reach to provide badge and volunteer programs both virtually and in person. These programs serve to inspire girls while embracing nature throughout the experience. Building up girls’ confidence and leadership, especially in the outdoors and STEM fields, is something we are so thankful for in having the Girl Scouts of Tropical South Florida as our partner.

Miami Dade County Communications and Customer Experience Department – 2020 Marketing and Engagement Partner
The 2020 Marketing and Engagement Partner award is presented to the Miami-Dade County Communications and Customer Experience Department for their role in providing information and services on Deering Estate to all Miami-Dade County residents and visitors through a variety of communication tools including Miami-Dade County TV, Marketing & Advertising, Social Media, and Miami-Dade County Web Portal. Miami-Dade TV produces a wide variety of award-winning original videos designed to inform and educate residents and visitors about services, events, and programs, as well as public safety, arts & culture, and the environment. In November 2020, Miami-Dade TV produced videos featuring the Holiday Décor at Deering Estate. The videos were shared across Miami-Dade County’s social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube and had a combined reach of over 20k. Other services provided include the design of the Deering Estate’s Quarterly Calendar, the design of online and print ads, and social media posts highlighting the many programs and events at Deering Estate.

Rebecca Roper Matkov – 2020 Charles Deering Preservation Award
The Deering Estate Foundation and the Deering Estate is honored to introduce and celebrate the inaugural presentation of the Charles Deering Preservation Award. This award, to be presented annually at the Deering Estate Foundation Champion Awards ceremony, is presented to distinguished individuals, non-profit organizations, public agencies, and corporations whose skill and determination give new meaning to our community through preservation of local historical, architectural, environmental, and cultural heritage. This year, it is my great honor to bestow the first Charles Deering Preservation Award to Rebecca Roper Matkov.

Becky, President of the Deering Estate Foundation, is an award-winning writer and preservation consultant. For 18 years, she served as CEO of Dade Heritage Trust, Miami’s largest nonprofit historic preservation organization. In 2015, she received the Florida Secretary of State’s Award, given to one “whose passion for historic preservation has forever changed the face of Florida.” She wrote the script and chaired the production of the Deering Estate Foundation’s award-winning television documentary “On This Land, The Charles Deering Estate.”

Becky is a past president of the Junior League of Miami, a former chair of the State of Florida’s Historic Preservation Advisory Council and the founding editor of Preservation Today magazine. For 10 years she managed the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation, which funded environmental initiatives in Florida. Becky serves on the boards of the Stiltsville Trust and the Florida Trust and is a member of The Villagers and the International Women’s Forum. Becky was recently honored by the Junior League of Miami as one of 2020s Women Who Make A Difference.

Becky believes there is no better way of gaining an understanding of a community than to learn about its history and culture while protecting and preserving the South Florida environment. Today, we celebrate Becky Roper Matkov and her three plus decades of work in South Florida. Congratulations, Becky, and thank you for your tenacity, wisdom, and dedication. You have made your community a better place through your preservation efforts.

Photos of the 2020 Champion Partner Awards and recipients.

About the Deering Estate
The Deering Estate preserves the 1920s-era Miami estate of Charles Deering, Chicago industrialist, early preservationist, environmentalist, art collector, philanthropist and first chairman of the International Harvester Company. The Deering Estate is a 21st Century house museum, cultural and ecological field station, and a national landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, owned by the State of Florida and managed by Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department. The Deering Estate is located at 16701 SW 72nd Ave. in Miami.