Ernie Bono will receive the 2022 “Rock of the Community Award” from the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach during its annual Mineral City Celebration, to be held April 23 at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa.
A longtime Prudential Insurance executive, Bono has been an active philanthropist in the Jacksonville area. In addition to serving as a board member of Catholic Charities and Baptist Beaches Medical Center, he serves as vice president and secretary of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation, where he has helped raise more than $5 million to help area families who have been impacted by childhood cancers.
“Ernie Bono’s record of giving back to the community make him richly deserving of the Rock of the Community Award,” said Lori Anderson, president of the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach.
A nationally known speaker, Bono is a corporate consultant and author of the book, “There Are No Shortcuts: Enjoying the Balance of Faith, Family and Career.” It details his life experiences from his childhood days growing up in the tough “Devil’s Pocket” neighborhood of 1950s Philadelphia to his career as an executive with the Prudential Insurance Company. He has consulted with such companies as Fidelity National Capital, Acosta Sales and Marketing, PineRidge Film & Television Company and Rug Decor.
Bono is a graduate of Cheyney State University in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, where he lettered in football. He received his Chartered Life Underwriters (CLU) Degree from American College and his Limra Life Insurance Fellow (LLIF) from Babson College.
The Mineral City Celebration is the signature annual fundraising event for the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach. Proceeds from the event have benefited more than two dozen local nonprofit organizations and charities, including the Beaches Dial-a-Ride program, Mission House, BEAM, HEAL, the Council on Aging and more. For more information, go to mineralcitycelebration.com.
