The Tasting Panel magazine

April 2013

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ACHIEvEMENTS Role Model PHOTO: COURESTY OF SWS OF AMERICA L Larry Ruvo, Senior Managing Director, Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada. arry Ruvo, Senior Managing Director, Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada, is one of 11 individuals selected nationally to receive the Horatio Alger Award of 2013. The Horatio Alger Award is presented each year to individuals who have overcome obstacles to become successful entrepreneurs or community leaders. "This is a richly deserved honor for Larry," says Harvey R. Chaplin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Southern, whose own record career achievements and longstanding dedication to charitable causes mirror those of Horatio Alger. "On behalf of our entire organization, I want to congratulate Larry; he has been a true civic leader, locally in Las Vegas, in Nevada, and nationally. He serves as a tremendous example to us all about the importance of giving back to the communities in which we live and serve." Following news of this honor, Ruvo commented, "I am extremely humbled and honored by the Horatio Alger Association, and want to thank all the individuals with whom I work here in Las Vegas, across Nevada and the nation for their support through the years of the causes, educational and medical institutions which are so important to me personally and to my family. I also want to pay tribute to my parents, whose lives, work ethic and generosity continue to inspire me." In addition, The Horatio Alger Association also announced that 106 students, who hail from every state in the nation, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, were selected to receive National Scholarships. This is the Association's top college scholarship, individually valued at $20,000, to be used toward a bachelor's degree. It is accompanied by an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to attend the annual Horatio Alger award ceremonies. The 2013 Horatio Alger National Scholarship recipient from Nevada is Jesus O. Dominguez-Becerra, of North Valleys High School, Reno. Both the Horatio Alger Award recipients and the National Scholarship recipients were honored in Washington, D.C., during the 66th Annual Horatio Alger Awards Induction Ceremonies earlier this month. The association shared Larry Ruvo's life experience as a role model in the spirit of Horatio Alger with its scholars and the American public. He began his career at the Sahara and Caesars Palace hotels in Las Vegas then went on to be Nevada's youngest manager at the Frontier Hotel. After establishing a wine and spirits wholesale distribution company with famed Las Vegas entrepreneur Steve Wynn which was ultimately acquired in 1976 by Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Ruvo went on to serve as the company's Senior Managing Director, a position he holds to the present. Southern remains Nevada's largest wholesale liquor, wine and beer importer and distributor. As a longtime supporter of numerous charitable organizations, Ruvo was dissatisfied with the pace of advances made in treating Alzheimer's and the care that his father, an Alzheimer's sufferer, initially received in Las Vegas. He was motivated to start a charitable organization called Keep Memory Alive and was instrumental in building the preeminent Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, in having Frank Gehry design the facility and in partnering with the Cleveland Clinic to operate the Center. His charitable endeavor focuses mainly on the research and treatment of neurological disorders, patient care, an innovative care-giving component, clinical trials, education and assistance for families. He has been listed as one of the Most Influential Businessmen of Southern Nevada and received the Governor's Philanthropist of the Year Award. ©2013 Columbia Crest Winery, Paterson, WA 99345 LARRY RUvO RECEIVES THE 2013 HORATIO ALGER NATIONAL AWARd 14  /  the tasting panel  /  april 2013 COLUMB

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