Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches & Treasure Coast Honors William Meyer at 18th Annual JA Hall of Fame Benefit

Author: R. Michael Brown
Community Involvement
Published: Tuesday, 11 Feb 2020

Sharing

Image caption: William A. Meyer, 2020 JA Hall of Fame

As Junior Achievement enters the one hundred and first year of inspiring and preparing youth to succeed in a global economy worldwide, Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches & Treasure Coast is honoring Mr. William A. Meyer at this year’s 18th Annual JA Hall of Fame Benefit. The evening kicks off at 6:30 pm and includes a 3-course dinner, silent and live auction, and features live music from Rachelle Coba.

The event is being chaired by Carla Thrower and will be held at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Cohen Pavilion on Saturday, March 21, 2020. All funds raised help support the financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness programs that Junior Achievement provides to local students.

To attend the JA Hall of Fame Benefit go to 2020 JA Hall of Fame Benefit or call 561-242-9468.

Mr. Meyer has been a resident of Palm Beach since 1978. Following his graduation from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the London School of Economics and Georgetown Law School, he became a member of the New York and Florida Bars and a specialist in real property law with a New York City law firm. He later graduated from Harvard Business School.

In the early 1980s, Mr. Meyer was an early franchisee of Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, having the exclusive territorial license for Long Island, Queens and Manhattan. Also, during this period, he became President of Servico Inc., a publicly traded hotel company with 58 hotels.

Mr. Meyer later developed Devonshire PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens as well as other senior-housing projects. Mr. Meyer is presently Chairman of Meyer Jabara Hotels, based in West Palm Beach. Its hotel portfolio includes 30 hotels with more than 4,500 rooms in 12 states, operated under franchises from Marriott, Hilton, Intercontinental, Hyatt and Cambria. Mr. Meyer is the past Chairman of the Kravis Center, the Quantum Foundation, and the Jewish Community Foundation.

Mr. Meyer has also been involved in other companies including CRSA Holdings, which provided management, development and marketing services to 20 continuing-care retirement communities across the country. He is presently the chairman of Liberty Rehab Services, which provides physical, speech and occupational therapy in Palm Beach County, and Seaside Adult Day Care in Jupiter. The real estate projects he has developed in Palm Beach County include two office buildings, three shopping centers, The Residences of Windsor Court in Palm Beach; the 1,600 acre Fox Property in West Palm Beach and the 500 acre Crestwood Lakes residential development in Royal Palm Beach, now known as Madison Green, the Marriott Residence Inn in downtown West Palm Beach and Devonshire at PGA National, a Senior Life Care Community.

Mr. Meyer is the former vice chairman of the board of trustees of JFK Medical Center. He is now Chairman of the Operations Committee of the Kravis Center and serves on the investment committees of the Kravis Center, the Quantum Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. He is the immediate past chairman of the Jewish Community Foundation and co-founded and was the first philanthropist-investor in the Palm Beach Philanthropy Tank. He is also presently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Palm Beach United Way and a member of the Board of Directors of the Palm Beach Civic Association. He served on the Board of Overseers of the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania for 14 years.