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This past month saw the passing of two iconic Miami Beach residents with deep connections to our City and the Chamber – Past Board Chair L. Jules Arkin and “Mr. Miami Beach”, the irrepressible Michael Aller. Both where change agents in our Chamber and the City, although nearly two decades apart. More importantly, both mentored and guided leaders of our community and deeply cared about our City residents and visitors.
Jules Arkin arrived in Miami Beach with his parents, and brothers, Norman and Stanley, in 1934. After serving with the United States Navy during the Korean War, Arkin returned to Miami Beach were he established a legal practice and became active in the Chamber, at the same time his family was making an impact on construction projects on the Beach. Arkin served as Chair of the Chamber’s Board from 1970 to 1972, overseeing the Chamber’s “golden” anniversary in 1971 and the first golden age of Lincoln Road. Along with legendary Chamber board member James McDonnell (who succeeded Arkin as the Chair), Arkin and McDonnell set the standard for community involvement.
Michael Aller also was brought to Miami Beach as a young child by his adoptive parents, and as a teenager lived with them in an apartment at the Fountainebleau in the 1950s. After a detour to New York for an acting career and Los Angeles for a business career, Michael returned in 1988 to a more subdued Miami Beach in need of revitalization and rebranding. Accepting the challenge, Aller worked for the Chamber as a membership director, extolling the benefits of Chamber membership and the value of doing business on Miami Beach. And for many years, the Chamber awarded The Michael Aller college scholarship to a graduating senior from the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism at Beach High.
His exuberance for Miami Beach and his talent for connecting with people soon led to his position as the City’s Director of Tourism where he personally answered the City’s 800 number day and night. His passion for promoting Miami Beach led former Mayor Seymour Gelber to describe Aller as “Mr. Miami Beach”, a moniker that will always be attributed to him. For tourists and hospitality professionals, Michael Aller was the face of the City of Miami Beach and is credited with helping revitalize the tourism industry in the 1990s and early 2000s. For these efforts, Michael had recently been installed into the City’s Hall of Fame at the Convention Center.
Michael was one of the first people I met when I moved to Miami Beach in 1998. He was friends with my mother-in-law, Elsie Howard, whom he knew from her long tenure as a member of the City’s Visitor and Convention Authority board. Michael was generous with his time and his advice to me as a new Chamber Board member, offering thoughts about ways the Chamber could continue to promote the City he loved. And I was not the only Board member who benefited from Michael’s mentorship and enthusiasm for the City and for experiencing life, or enjoyed the occasional story Michael would tell about his time at the Fountainebleau or helping a visitor to the City. Ceci Velasco (Tourism and Hospitality Chair), Julio Magrisso (acting President), Jorge Gonzalez (Executive Board member and former City Manager), Alfredo Gonzalez (Vice Chair), Michael Goldberg (former Board Chair) and of course, Aller’s good friend George Neary (Co-Chair Sister City Council), among others, reminisced about Michael and his impact on them and the City. As Chamber President Jerry Libbin fittingly said: “Aller was truly a one of a kind individual who will sorely be missed. His enthusiasm for our city was infectious”.
It is a privilege to use this month’s letter to recognize two individuals who had a positive impact on the Chamber and our City, L. Jules Arkin and Michael “Mr. Miami Beach” Aller, and I take the responsibility of carrying on their honorable work as a public trust and challenge the Board and our membership to continue to uphold the positive legacies of both individuals.
