Herbert and Barbara Pearce have been named recipients of the 2009 John H. Filer Award by the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy.
For more than two generations, as individuals and through the H. Pearce Company, the firm that they have successfully and successively led for half a century, this father-daughter team has personified private action for the public good in Greater New Haven.
The H. Pearce Real Estate Company was founded by Herb Pearce in 1958. Barbara joined in 1981 shortly after graduating from Harvard with degrees in law and business.
The two have built an institution considered by many to be the industry leader in its market.
Among their accomplishments, development of Whitney Grove Square as a landmark downtown office-condominium complex in the 1980s and turning an abandoned rail yard in North Haven into the large commercial complex known as Universal Drive.
"For all that they achieved in the world of real estate, Herb and Barbara are best known and most honored for what they have contributed to their community,”" said Will Ginsberg, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. “Their story of harnessing private action for the public good in different eras and in different ways over five decades is most relevant to the Filer legacy.”
Herb Pearce served as campaign chair and president of the United Way of Greater New Haven, playing an instrumental role in creating the modern United Way in the community through the merger of the United Fund and the Community Chest almost four decades ago. He also served on several boards including: Yale-New Haven Hospital, Connecticut Hospice, Junior Achievement and the Quinnipiac Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He is one of New Haven's most honored citizens, having received numerous honorary degrees and other community honors, including an Elm-Ivy Award from Yale University, the Community Leadership Award of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce and the Seal of the City Award of the New Haven Colony Historical Society.
Barbara has used her position as a business leader to bring the public and private sectors closer together through such organizations as the Regional Leadership Council and the Regional Growth Partnership. She has been a staunch supporter of the arts having served on the board of Long Wharf Theatre, organizing the National Arts Stabilization project and serving as a director of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Among her other philanthropic roles, Barbara was campaign chair for United Way of Greater New Haven 45 years after her father served in that same role. She now serves as a trustee of both the Burry Fredrik Foundation and the Lippincott Foundation, and just completed a seven-year term on the board of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, including two years as chair. Like her father, Barbara has received numerous honorary degrees and other community honors, including the Chamber's Community Leadership Award.
The award honors the life and work of the late John H. Filer, former chief executive of Aetna Life & Casualty Company, who was known for his bold support of corporate citizenship and who helped reassert the American commitment to private philanthropy in the 1970s. Each year, the award recognizes an individual or individuals who embody an entrepreneurial spirit and leadership in promoting the field of philanthropy, and have demonstrated a creative response to solving societal problems.
The 2009 Filer Award was presented to the Pearces at the council's annual meeting at the AquaTurf Club.
Previous recipients of the John H. Filer Award include Anne Tyler Calabresi, the Carolyn Foundation; David A. E. Carson, formerly of People's Bank; Carlyle “Hap” Barnes, the Barnes Foundation; Paul Aicher of the Paul J Aicher Foundation; William Graustein, William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund; Emily Tow Jackson, The Tow Foundation; Robert Merriman, formerly with The Main Street Community Foundation; F. Peter Libassi, The Children's Fund; Leo Nevas, Fairfield County Community Foundation and Nevas Family Foundation; John Riege, formerly of Reid and Riege; Thomas O. Barnes, chairman of the board of the Barnes Group; and Jim English, The Nutmeg Foundation.
The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy is a nonprofit membership association of grantmakers committed to promoting and supporting effective philanthropy for the public good in Connecticut. For more information visit www.ctphilanthropy.org or call (860) 525-5585.
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