The Juneau Community Foundation celebrated John Gaguine with its third Founders’ Award, at a Zoom reception on September 16. The Founders’ Award recognizes “a lifetime of achievement and service to Juneau and Alaska.” More than 90 people — friends, family and colleagues — were online to honor John’s enduring commitment to community and philanthropy, his generous giving of time, talent, expertise, and money.
Over the course of the program, words of appreciation and affection for John were abundant. The Foundation’s founding members Reed Stoops and Eric Kueffner talked about the purpose and history of the Founders’ Award and provided an overview of John’s philanthropy and community service, contributions recognized by many as being fundamental to Juneau’s well-being.
“This is an exceptional award given only twice in the Foundation’s 20 year history, to Clark Gruening in 2015 and Ken Leghorn in 2017, who were both instrumental in the founding of the Foundation and exemplified philanthropy through their lifelong track records of giving back to the community. ” – Reed Stoops.
John and his wife Cindy’s philanthropy, both personal and through the Benito & Frances C. Gaguine Foundation, have touched many organizations in Juneau and beyond with an emphasis on health and social services, including The Glory Hall, Southeast Alaska Food Bank, AWARE, Haven House, Foster Care in AK, Juneau Arts & Humanities Council, Catholic Community Services, Perseverance Theatre, Love, Inc., KTOO, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, Alaska Legal Services, and the Juneau Community Foundation.
“A steady supporter of charitable and community enterprises in Juneau and throughout the world, John’s willingness to volunteer his time is as valuable as money. And, he is generous with his time – the currency of philanthropy– and that is a major reason why he is so deserving of the Founders’ Award.” – Eric Kueffner
Other speakers included KTOO’s Bill Legere, Catholic Community Service’s John Greely, The Glory Hall’s Mary Alice McKeen, and with a nod to just some of John and Cindy’s international philanthropy, Greg Bowles & Mercedes Alvarez spoke from Nicaragua. His daughter Rebecca Gaguine shared anecdotes about how frugal her father is in his personal life, nothing lavish, while always being very generous with his charitable giving.
In accepting the award, John referenced his father, Benito Gaguine who grew up during the Great Depression, and how people living then think a whole lot differently about money. Later in life after a very successful legal career, his father wanted to give his wealth to his two sons, but they convinced him that they had all that they needed, and that a better use of the funds would be for charitable purposes, which lead to the creation of the Benito & Frances C. Gaguine Foundation.
John, who had a distinguished legal career here in Alaska, is renowned for his humble nature. In his closing remarks, John’s humility surprised no one, when he said “after listening to all of this, hearing these remarks, I firmly believe I am not deserving of this award.” Yes, you are, John. Thank you for being generous and touching the lives of so many people here in Juneau and around the world.
