Editorial: The legacy of Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. will endure
"Tell me, what is it you plan to doWith your one wild and precious life?"
— from "The Summer Day," by Mary Oliver
Palm Beach County lost an icon last week with the passing of Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. Many people talk about leaving a legacy, but Mr. Dreyfoos simply did it.
A very successful businessman, Mr. Dreyfoos founded Photo Electronics Corporation with his partner George W. Mergens, and they developed their groundbreaking and Academy Award-winning Video Color Negative Analyzer, which makes it easier to develop high-quality prints of a picture.
We don’t know how much time he spent pondering what he would do with his life, but we know that because of his generosity and his passion for both the arts and sciences, his imprint will remain for generations to come.
Longtime Palm Beach residents can remember when the only way to see a ballet was at the old "leaky teepee" hall on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. Mr. Dreyfoos changed that forever when he parlayed his business savvy into moving the local cultural scene to the next level.
More: Alex Dreyfoos: How a creative mind sparked a life of accomplishment
His push to create the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 1992, resulted in an organization that revolutionized the county’s performing-arts landscape and helped revitalize downtown West Palm Beach. The Kravis does an amazing job of bringing national and international acts as well as Broadway shows to West Palm, but it also provides a world-class stage for local and regional performers to share their craft.
And today, the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County — previously Palm Beach County Council of the Arts — which Mr. Dreyfoos founded and chaired, has a packed lineup of events as it helps to nurture and showcase local artists.
For many Palm Beach County students and their parents, Mr. Dreyfoos’ greatest legacy is the high school for the arts that bears his name.
Thanks to the $1 million — one of the largest private contributions ever made to a public school in Florida — he gifted the institution in 1997, children can pursue their passion at a school that’s focused on helping them hone their crafts.
Mr. Dreyfoos donated to research Alzheimer's, the disease with which he was diagnosed. No advances were made in time to cure him, but maybe his donations will help move the needle on finding a cure. He also gave millions to his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which named a building in his honor.
Seeing a diverse lineup of news anchors on TV is normal now, but when in 1974 he hired AnEta Sewell-Spence for an opening at WPEC-TV, which he owned, she became the first Black anchor in the Palm Beach County/Treasure Coast area. Surprised by the racism he found in Florida after moving here from New York, Mr. Dreyfoos said he was deliberate in choosing Sewell-Spence, whom he described was “very bright and gutsy.”
Beyond his groundbreaking moves, the organizations he founded, and the money he gave, Mr. Dreyfoos was a mentor to countless people.
Former Kravis CEO Judy Mitchell counts herself among those to whom he offered guidance and advice. As does Kravis board chairwoman Sherry Barrat, who called Mr. Dreyfoos her hero and said he gave her some great advice over the years.
We extend our sympathy to Mr. Dreyfoos' family, and hope they find some comfort in knowing that his was a life well-lived on many fronts and that his legacy is one that will endure.
His was a shining example of what to do with your "one wild and precious life."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Editorial: The legacy of Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. will endure
