FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact: Gary R. Gerson, CPA
305-868-3600

ACCOUNTANT GARY GERSON TO BE INDUCTED
INTO THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

Gerson Helped Establish the University’s Athletic Counseling and Tutoring Program

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — December 4, 2001 — Gary Gerson, founder and managing partner of the accounting firm Gerson, Preston, Robinson & Company, P.A., will be inducted into the prestigious University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame during a ceremony and dinner on April 5, 2002. Other sports notables to be inducted include Joe Brodsky, former coach of the University of Miami and Dallas Cowboys, Alonzo Johnson and Shane Matthews, football greats, and Anthony Nesty, Olympic swimming gold medallist. Gerson was named an honorary inductee for his support in establishing the university’s athletic counseling and tutoring program.

“Being selected for induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame is the highest athletic honor anyone can receive from the University of Florida,” said Red Anderson, assistant director of The F Club, the booster organization that selects the Hall of Fame inductees. “Gary Gerson’s initial contributions and continued support over the years has helped set the standard and foundation of pride, spirit and tradition by which our current and future successes are measured.”

While Gerson was a freshman accounting major in 1951, he recognized the critical need to help student athletes balance their work both on the playing field and in the classroom.

“I started by tutoring a couple of football players after practice,” said Gerson. “The coaching staff then hired me to set up a formal program and I employed more than 20 top students to help with the tutoring. Special tutoring classrooms were built and we didn’t lose a player due to academic ineligibility for the next four years.”

“Gary’s nomination came from the players during that era,” said Anderson. “Many of them attribute their success in the business and professional world to Gerson’s efforts.

Over the years, Gerson has taken a leading role in promoting education throughout the state of Florida. He sponsors the Gary R. Gerson Lecture Series, which brings outstanding Jewish scholars from around the country to the University of Florida. Gerson has also established scholarships at the University of Florida because it is his belief that no student should be without an education because of financial need. In addition to supporting students at the University of Florida, he has also awarded scholarships to students attending the University of Miami, Florida International University and the New World School of the Arts.

Professionally, Gerson has more than 40 years experience in public accounting in the areas of taxation, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, financial institutions, government and not-for-profit organizations and additionally has developed a special expertise in the area of litigation support for business damages. Gerson and partner James P. Robinson recently co-authored a manual for the Florida Department of Transportation called, “A CPA’s View of Varying Interpretations of Business Damages Under Florida Law.”

Gerson's achievements in business and community leadership have been recognized by a number of civic and professional organizations. Gerson, the 1994 recipient of the University of Florida Distinguished Alumnus Award, will have the new accounting hall named in his honor after it is constructed. Other honors include being named in 1996 as an inaugural inductee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Commerce and Professions Hall of Fame, and receiving the "Citizen of the Year" award from the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce for 1996.

Gerson and his wife, Niety, reside in Miami Beach. The couple has four children and seven grandchildren.

Founded in 1959, Gerson, Preston, Robinson & Company, P.A. is one of Florida’s leading accounting firms with offices in Miami Beach, Boca Raton and Tampa, Fla. The full-service firm has 50 professionals who specialize in business damages and valuations, taxation, audits, litigation support, business planning, lease consulting, merger and acquisition services, reorganizations and liquidations, estate planning and trust taxation, and individual financial planning. Gerson, Preston, Robinson & Company is on the leading edge of key growth areas such as healthcare, international taxation, computer software and system planning. The firm serves a broad range of well known privately owned companies, organizations and individuals including healthcare providers, hospitality and travel companies, individuals, international investors, manufacturers and distributors, not-for-profit organizations and employee benefits plans, professional service firms, real estate developers, contractors and retailers. For more information, you can visit the firm’s web site at www.gprco-cpa.com.

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