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Palm Beach Atlantic University to Honor John D. MacArthur as 2009 American Free Enterprise Medal Recipient WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach Atlantic University will present its American Free Enterprise Medal to the late John D. MacArthur, insurance and real estate entrepreneur. MacArthur was instrumental in the founding of Palm Beach Gardens and was a force in the development of Palm Beach County. His estate created the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that has donated millions of dollars to charities across the nation, including many localorganizations such as Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, The Norton Museum of Art and Palm Beach Atlantic University. The medal ceremony is set for 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Rubin Arena of the Greene Complex for Sports & Recreation, 1100 S. Dixie Hwy. in West Palm Beach. The ceremony is free and open to the public. For more information, call 561-803-2010. One of the three wealthiest men in America atthe time of his death in 1978, John Donald MacArthur was sole owner of the nation's largest privately held insurance company. He was known as hardworking, eccentric, frugal – and a true entrepreneur. In 1928, at the age of 30, John D. MacArthur bought the Marquette Life Insurance Company, and in1935, he borrowed $2,500 to acquire the financially impaired Bankers Life and Casualty Company ofChicago. As the sole member of the sales force, with his wife Catherine as the office staff, MacArthurdeveloped an innovative method of selling insurance—by mail. Five years later, Bankers Life hadmore than $1 million in assets; by 1977, they had surpassed $1 billion. At his death, MacArthur'sinsurance companies had more than 3 million policyholders, with $5.5 billion of insurance in force,anda sales staff of more than 5,000 agents and brokers. MacArthur’s businesses created and sustained hundreds of jobs for the middle-class workforce. In fact, many of his employees were handicapped,andin 1953 MacArthur received a Presidential Citation for employing the handicapped in his companies. In addition, Bankers Life was one of the few corporations that did not force employees intoretirement. In the 1960s, Mr. MacArthur's attention turned to real estate and development. He conducted his business at a table in the coffee shop of the Colonnades Beach Hotel, in Palm Beach Shores. He owned the hotel, and he and his wife lived in a modest apartment overlooking a parking lot. In contrast, his real estate holdings were so vast that he sold the land on which many southeast Florida housing and commercial developments were built, and donated land that ultimately became much ofwhat is nowthe John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. At one time or another, MacArthur's holdings included100,000 acres of land in Florida, primarily in the Palm Beach and Sarasota areas; severaldevelopmentcompanies and shopping centers; paper and pulp companies; 19 commercial, office, and apartmentbuildings in New York City; several publishing enterprises; hotels; radio and television stations;banks and 12 insurance companies. Though MacArthur was not an active philanthropist duringhis lifetime,he always planned to leave the bulk of his assets to charity upon his death. He arranged forall thestock of Bankers Life and Casualty Company—approximately $700 million—to be transferred to atrust tofund the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Today, the MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant andpeacefulworld. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights,advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. More information is available at www.macfound.org. American Free Enterprise Day is a tradition at Palm Beach Atlantic since the first celebration took place in 1984. Previous medal recipients include John M. Gregory, managing partner of SJ StrategicInvestments,LLC; Karl H. Watson, CEMEX, 2007; Stuart W. Epperson, Salem Communications Corporation, 2004; Sam Moore, Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003; Joseph R. Gregory, Kingsway L.L.C., 2002; LesterJ. Woerner, WoernerHoldings, Inc, 2001; Rich DeVos, 2000, Orlando Magic; John J. Brogan, 1999;Thomas R. Pledger, DycomIndustries, 1998; Carl DeSantis, Rexall Sundown, Inc., 1997; Lowell "Bud" Paxson, Paxson Communications Corp., 1996; Richard S. Johnson, Johnson Investment Group, 1995; David Mahoney, Charles A. DanaFoundation, 1994; William G. Lassiter, Jr., W.G. Lassiter Co., Inc., 1993; Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr., The Dreyfoos Group, 1992; S. Bradford "Skeet" Rymer, Jr., Magic Chef, 1991;S. Truett Cathy, Chick-Fil-A, 1990; Stewart Morris, Stewart Information Services Corp. and the HughJ. Andersen Foundation, 1989; Frederick M. Supper, Alexander Proudfoot Co., 1988; Henry J. Rolfs, Downtown/Uptown West Palm Beach, 1987; Theodore R. Johnson, United Parcel Service, 1986; Marshall E. Rinker, Sr., Rinker Materials Corp., 1985, and Sir John M. Templeton, Templeton World Funds Ltd., 1984. Palm Beach Atlantic University is a private, independent university offering undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees, with campuses in West Palm Beach, Orlando and Wellington. The University is dedicated tothe integration of Christian principles to prepare students for lifelong learningand leadership. Foradditional information, visit our Web site: http://www.pba.edu/