Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida names Richard Akin and Phil McCabe the 2012 Business Hall of Fame, Collier County Laureates
Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida has chosen Richard B. Akin, president and CEO of Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida and Philip J. McCabe, CEO and owner of Gulf Coast Commercial Corporation and founder of the Inn on Fifth and McCabe’s Irish Pub & Grill in Naples to be inducted as laureates into the 2012 Business Hall of Fame, Collier County. Akin and McCabe will be honored during a dinner and awards ceremony on Oct. 30 at the Waldorf Astoria Naples. The prestigious award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who serve as role models for youth through their professional accomplishments and commitment to the community. For more information including sponsorship opportunities and tickets to the event, visit www.jaswfl.org.
Akin and McCabe join a distinguished group of individuals who have been inducted into the Business Hall of Fame,CollierCountysince it was established in 1988.
For the past 32 years, Akin has served as the president and CEO of the Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida, Inc., a non-profit primary health care provider inCollierCounty. With 39 years of health care management experience, Akin currently serves as the Chairman of the Lee Memorial Health System, and was honored as the 2011 Trustee of the Year by the Florida Hospital Association.
Demonstrating his passion for children’s health care, Akin initiated the Children’s Health Network, a pediatric system of care which provides the majority of health care for children inCollierCounty, with 12 locations. He is also responsible for bringing the first Ronald McDonald Care Mobile toFlorida, and for initiating a pediatric dental residency program as a partnership with the University of Florida College of Dentistry. He has also developed a pediatric center of excellence for the children of Immokalee as a partnership with the Florida State University College of Medicine, and is the founder and chairman of Integral Quality Health Plan, a state wide Medicaid HMO.
Akin has received numerous awards for his service and dedication to health care excellence, including the Prendergast Lifetime Child Advocate Award and the Harvey Kapnick award, given by the Collier County Community Foundation for the best managed non-profit organization inCollierCounty.
After serving active duty in the Air Force followed by four years working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) inNorthern Iran, McCabe resigned to pursue entrepreneurship. At 27, he purchased his first hospitality venture, which led to a successful career in real estate and hospitality industries that has helped shape theNapleslandscape. In 1986, McCabe opened the Inn of Naples, a small boutique property with a restaurant and six years later, he built another boutique hotel, the Inn atPelicanBay. McCabe also developed, opened, and operated the Inn on Fifth, along with McCabe’s Irish Pub & Grill, and four additional restaurants: Garden Court Café, Windows on the Water, McCabe Brothers Steak House, andBoston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar. In September 2011, McCabe broke ground on a $15 million expansion project at the Inn on Fifth that will add new luxury suites and meeting space for guests, as well as more retail locations for the shopping, dining, and entertainment to theFifth Avenue Southdistrict of downtownNaples.
With his passion for serving children, McCabe has awarded 45 scholarships toCollierCountystudents through the “Take Stock in Children” program of the Education Foundation of Collier County. He received the Man of Distinction award inCollierCountyfor advocating on behalf of high-risk children and supports other non-profit and cultural organizations such as the Community Foundation, the Gulfshore Playhouse, the Naples Community Theater andFunTimeAcademy. He presently serves on the board of the Fifth Avenue South Business Improvement District.
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida provides in-school and after-school programs for students in Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties that focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Today, 122 individual area operations reach more than 4 million students in the U.S., with an additional 5 million students served by operations in 120 other countries worldwide. For more information about Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida visit www.JASWFL.org or contact Anne Frazier at 239-225-2590 or info@jaswfl.org.
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