What is the Miami ‘Sand in My Shoes’ award and who won it this year? Here’s a rundown
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce has chosen Alberto Ibargüen, recently retired president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and former publisher of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, as its 2023 Sand in My Shoes Award recipient.
Ibargüen, 79, joins a list of 42 others to receive the Chamber’s top accolade.
The Sand in My Shoes award is given to leaders of the South Florida community who are deemed to have demonstrated exceptional public service in the metro Miami-Dade area.
“I am honored to receive the Sand in My Shoes award and proud that the Miami business community embraces the Knight Foundation’s mission of supporting informed and engaged communities,” Ibargüen said in a statement provided to the Miami Herald by the Chamber of Commerce.
“Miami is a young, vibrant and diverse city. It’s a privilege and our opportunity, every day, to make this hemispheric magnet the Miami of our dreams. I am proud to be part of that journey and excited to continue our work together,” he said.
Two years ago, David Lawrence Jr., former publisher of the Miami Herald, was the Sand in My Shoes recipient for 2021. In 1999, Ibargüen succeeded Lawrence as the Herald’s publisher.
“Alberto is as good as it gets — smart and wise, good in every chapter and still getting even better. I’ve known this, and him, for more than three decades, and even before he came to his Herald chapter 28 years ago,” Lawrence said on Thursday.
READ MORE: Passion for family and Florida’s children drive this year’s Sand in My Shoes award winner
Why Alberto Ibargüen?
“Alberto Ibargüen has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to promoting a thriving cultural and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Miami,” said Alfred Sanchez, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.
“His leadership has been transformative,” Sanchez said. “His efforts have helped make Miami a more dynamic and culturally rich place to live, work, and visit, and we are thrilled to recognize his contributions with this prestigious award.”
What is the Sand in My Shoes award?
The Sand in My Shoes award was established by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce in 1981.
The award takes its name from a live broadcast from downtown Miami on Dec. 31, 1981.
During that broadcast, pioneering Miami WTVJ news anchor Ralph Renick quoted from Damon Runyon’s “Sand in Your Shoes” letter that the journalist and writer had written in 1936 to Paramount Pictures’ Hollywood producer friend William LeBaron.
Renick said he tapped Runyon’s phrase in an attempt to promote tourism in South Florida.
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce picked up on the theme, Renick said.
“A land covered in sunlight, warm and soft,” Runyon described in his letter to LeBaron about why he was going to stay in Miami in October a bit longer rather than return to California.
Ibargüen’s reaction to honor
Ibargüen was visiting the Danube in Europe when the Chamber publicly announced his honor.
Here’s what Ibargüen told the Miami Herald in an email:
“Sand in My Shoes means commitment to place, to Miami,” Ibargüen wrote. “When Susana and I moved here almost 30 years ago, we had no idea we’d stay forever. But the vibrancy, opportunity, diversity and openness made it impossible to not ‘get sand in our shoes.’ I am lucky to have had a chance to help shape and build community through information when I was publisher of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald, and later through engagement with arts and tech entrepreneurship at Knight Foundation.”
Susana López Ibargüen, Alberto’s wife of 53 years, died two years ago in August 2021, at 76 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurological disease that affects the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. Among her roles in the community, she was an arts activist, much like her husband, and president of the board of trustees at Pérez Art Museum Miami.
The Sand in My Shoes distinction should not be considered a capper to a career nor a sign that Miami’s best and brightest are to be relegated to history, Ibargüen added.
“We’re often impatient with the pace of change because we compare ourselves to world-class cities. And we should. But we should also remember how young we are as a community and how much we’ve achieved in a comparatively very short time,” Ibargüen said. “Sand in my Shoes should not be understood as backward looking recognition of an establishment figure but rather as testament to Miami’s openness to newcomers and willingness to evolve.”
Who are previous Sand in My Shoes recipients?
Alberto Ibargüen is the 44th recipient of the Sand in My Shoes award since the first was given in 1981 to the late Lester Freeman, a Southern Bell Telephone and Greater Miami Chamber executive.
In addition to Lawrence, and last year’s recipient, Manuel “Manny” Medina, eMerge Americas founder, previous Sand in My Shoes recipients have included Penny Shaffer, Brian E. Keeley, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Harve A. Mogul, Eduardo J. Padrón, Jorge Pérez, Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin, Alvah H. Chapman Jr. and Congressmen Dante Fascell and William Lehman.
Here are all the honorees.
2023: Alberto Ibargüen
2022: Manuel D. Medina
2021: David Lawrence Jr.
2020: Penny Shaffer
2019: Tony Argiz
2018: Brian E. Keeley
2017: Carlos A. Migoya
2016: Patricia & Dr. Phillip Frost
2015: Harve A. Mogul
2014: Donna E. Shalala
2013: Gloria & Emilio Estefan
2012: Eduardo J. Padrón
2011: Peter J. Dolara
2010: Dr. Modesto A. Maidique
2009: Adolfo Henriques
2008: Sherwood M. “Woody” Weiser
2007: Jayne & Leonard Abess
2006: Jorge Pérez
2005: Carlos J. Arboleya Sr.
2004: William O. Cullom
2003: Armando Codina
2001: Sue & Leonard Miller
2000: Edward T. Foote II
1999: Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin
1997: Robert H. Traurig
1995: Jim Batten
1994: Congressman Dante Fascell
1993: Congressman William Lehman
1991: M. Anthony Burns
1990: Martin Fine
1989: Ted Hoepner, Jr.
1988: R. Ray Goode & Leslie Pantin Sr.
1987: Dr. Luis Botifoll
1986: Bill Colson
1985: Hank Meyer
1984: Charles I. Babcock, Jr.
1983: Alvah H. Chapman, Jr.
1982: Harry Hood Bassett
1981: Lester Freeman
Where and when is the ceremony?
The ceremony is 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 4 at Jungle Island, 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami.
If individual seats remain, they are available at rate of $1,250 per seat. Contact Letitia Reid at 786-870-4799 or email LReid@miamichamber.com. Also visit www.miamichamber.com.
