May 04, 2015

Kenny Gamble, Suzanne and Ralph Roberts to accept Philadelphia Award

By Leah Kauffman
PhillyVoice Contributor

Renowned producer Kenny Gamble and Comcast Corp. moguls Suzanne and Ralph Roberts will be honored on Wednesday evening at the National Constitution Center, where they will receive the Philadelphia Award.

Kenny Gamble is co-founder of the storied record label Philadelphia International Records. Gamble is the founder and chairman of Universal Companies, an organization that builds communities and operates charter schools in Philadelphia.

Ralph and Suzanne Roberts have served on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Brandywine River Museum, and the PENN Medicine Board of Trustees.

Founded in 1920 by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and longtime Ladies' Home Journal editor Edward Bok, The Philadelphia Award is presented to local citizens who "act and serve in the best interests of the community."

Bok is known for pivoting the Ladies' Home Journal from a publication aimed at farmers’ wives to a luxury magazine for the well-to-do. Among his many successes in the territory of domestic culture, Bok is credited with coining the term "living room." He won a Pulitzer in 1921 for his autobiography, "The Americanization of Edward Bok." Bok’s wife, Louise Curtis, the daughter of Curtis Publishing magnate Cyrus Curtis, founded The Curtis Institute in 1924.

Past winners of The Philadelphia Award include Leopold Stokowski, Edmund N. Bacon, Marian Anderson and Edward G. Rendell.

Leah Kauffman
PhillyVoice Contributor