Pepin Family Foundation Donates to Salcines Statue Project That Forever Showcases One of Tampa’s Best
Downtown Statue of Living Legend Celebrates What Is Great About Tampa
Lauren Pepin with the honorary E.J. Salcines, Tom Pepin and Bill Gieseking,
Marketing director of Pepin Distributing Company, at the statue unveiling Oct. 27
TAMPA – The Pepin Family Foundation is proud to be among the top donors for the beautiful E.J. Salcines statue that was unveiled last week at the downtown courthouse.
Pepin Distributing CEO Tom Pepin and wife Lauren attended the unveiling of the bronze life-size statue of Mr. Salcines that is forever displayed outside the County Courthouse.
“We owe a lot to this man, Mr. Salcines, who embodies the highest character and has a selfless spirit that is truly inspiring,” says Mr. Pepin. “My family’s foundation is proud to make a donation for such a great man. We can all learn from Mr. Salcines’ grace, humility and work ethic. It’s an honor to have him as a friend and a privilege to be associated with the wonderful Tampa Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Council.”
The Pepin Family Foundation was listed with dozens of other supporters and donors of the statue at a “E.J. Salcines Day” event, held at the historic West Tampa Library over the weekend.
At the library ceremony celebrating statue donors, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said a donation from Mr. Pepin and his family’s foundation meant a lot to the statue project because, along with Mr. Salcines, the Pepins have deep roots in Tampa and have also helped countless citizens have better lives because of their giving spirit.
“It was great to see Tom Pepin involved in the project,” Mayor Buckhorn said after the donor list was shared with the public. “Tom saw a great opportunity to represent a community icon such as E.J. Salcines and create a living monument. We had one community legend in the Pepins and their generous foundation helping out with a major project for another community legend, and it was special to see that happen.”
ABOUT
Pepin Family Foundation strives to inspire a positive difference in the lives of our community’s children and families through healthcare and education. We dream of building a better tomorrow through lasting friendships with community partners who will help us continue to build and deliver a successful education model for our most at-risk population of children and young adults at Pepin Academies and the eradication of heart disease through state of the art research and delivery of revolutionary patient-centered care at Pepin Heart Institute.