The Summit Awards
The Summit Awards will honor those individuals from Akron and Summit County whose inspirational accomplishments touched the nation and the world. The honorary chair of the event is Dr. W. Gerald Austen, a renowned heart surgeon who is widely considered one of the foremost heart specialists in the world. The awards ceremony will take place at Greystone Hall on October 8.
The 2011 Recipients are as follows:
Shirley Fry Irvin - Sports: In the 1950’s, she was the #1 womens tennis player in the world and one of only sixteen to win all five major Open Tournaments.
James Stewart Polshek - Arts: Architect Polshek is known for designing the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Newseum, a news museum in Washington, D.C. along with numerous other monumental buildings.
Ara Parseghian - Humanitarianism: A native of Akron, Parseghian is being recognized for his efforts in funding research on Neimann-Pic disease.
Dolores Parker Morgan - Entertainment: One of Duke Ellington’s 1940’s jazz vocalists, Morgan performed in theaters across the United States.
John S. and James L. Knight - Philanthropy: Founders of the Knight-Ridder newspapers and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the brothers are being recognized for their philanthropic efforts on a national scale. (Deceased)
Frederick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard - Trailblazer: Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, Pollard was the first African American to be a head coach of a professional football team, the Akron Pros. (Deceased)
Lewis Miller - Industrialism: A local inventor, Miller had a number of patents and businesses but he is most recognized as a co-founder of the Chautauqua Institution in New York and the Akron Sunday School plan. (Deceased)
