Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida is pleased to announce that Huntley “Bud” Hornbeck II, area chairman for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., and Dan Lavender, president and CEO of The Moorings Park Institute, Inc., will be inducted into its 2019 Business Hall of Fame, Collier County. The laureates will be honored during a dinner and awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 24 with a cocktail reception at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples Beach Resort in Naples.
The prestigious award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who serve as role models for youth through their professional accomplishments and commitment to the community. Hornbeck and Lavender will join a distinguished group of individuals who have been inducted into the Business Hall of Fame since it was founded in 1988. For more information on the event, or to learn about sponsorship opportunities and purchasing tickets, please visit www.JASWFL.org.
Hornbeck began his 44-year career in the insurance industry after attending Culver Military Academy and Indiana University on a full four-year football scholarship. He worked for Travelers Insurance in Indiana and then joined his father’s insurance agency before moving to Naples in 1985 to work for James L. Martin Agency. He was appointed president of Smith Lesher Insurance in 1995 and was part of a partnership that purchased the company five years later to create Lutgert Insurance. The company was sold in 2017 to the fourth-largest insurance broker in the world, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., under which its business is operated today.
Throughout his nearly 35 years in Naples, Hornbeck has been committed to giving back to the community and is active with many charities and organizations. He was a member of the Leadership Collier Class of 1992 and selected as Distinguished Alumnus in 1995. He previously served as president of the Greater Naples Little League, volunteer chairman for the PGA Seniors Golf Tournament in Naples, volunteer chairman for the LPGA Subaru Memorial tournament, 10-year board member of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, and selection committee member for Junior Achievement’s Business Hall of Fame. Hornbeck also helped establish and passionately serve the Winged Foot Scholarship Foundation at the Collier Athletic Club, which honors and recognizes the top scholar athletes in Collier County. He has been the chairman of the Foundation for 27 years, overseeing the distribution of more than $1 million in scholarships. Hornbeck was also inducted into the Culver Military Academy Athletic Hall of Fame, recognized in 2006 alongside racecar legend Roger Penske and Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt.
Hornbeck and Patty, his wife of 45 years, are proud parents of three children, daughters Brooke and Mari and son Huntley, and two grandsons, Boomer and Huntley.
An Ohio native, Lavender earned his Accounting degree from Bluffton College and MBA from Ohio University. As a licensed CPA, Lavender began his career serving seniors in leadership roles in retirement communities where he improved financial performance and fostered strategic growth.
Lavender joined Moorings Park, the nation’s preeminent Senior Life Plan community, in 2006 as chief financial officer. He was appointed president and CEO in 2009. Moorings Park in Naples enjoys a reputation as one of the most successful, highly rated and progressive senior communities in the country. Since its opening in 1980, it has fulfilled its nonprofit mission of successful aging to thousands of residents from many walks of life. Moorings Park occupies two beautiful campuses offering luxury living in handsomely appointed homes and distinguished health care services in its award-winning assisted living and skilled nursing centers of excellence. Also, construction is underway on its new campus, Moorings Park Grande Lake, which will welcome its first residents in early 2020.
Under Lavender’s leadership, Moorings Park has continued to enhance the quality of life for its residents. The addition of new casual and fine dining at the Park Grill and Trio restaurants, innovative wellness and concierge medical services at the Center for Healthy Living, creative arts and woodworking studios, memory care programming, and technology enhancements are a few examples of Lavender’s commitment to quality services. In addition, his work with the Moorings Park Foundation Board has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to benefit employees and Collier County seniors through scholarships and health care.
Lavender is a Naples resident and an active leader in the Southwest Florida community. He serves as past chair of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, and is a current member of the board of directors for Florida Gulf Coast University’s Foundation and the Naples Zoo. Lavender is also a graduate of Leadership Collier Class of 2010 and recognized as a 2013 Man of Distinction by Champions for Learning. Most importantly, Lavender is married 31 years to his wife, Michele, and they are the very proud parents of two daughters, Alisha and Emily.
About Junior Achievement:
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Junior Achievement programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches 4.8 million students per year in more than 100 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide. Locally, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida partnered with more than 200 classroom business volunteers during the 2017-2018 school year to provide nearly 63,800 hours of instruction to more than 11,600 students in 519 classes throughout Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties. For more information on Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida, visit www.JASWFL.org, call 239-225-2590 or email info@jaswfl.org.
