1999 Honoree, Samuel N. Stroum

"Blessed is he who gives and enjoys giving"- throughout his life, Sam Stroum lived these words, which are inscribed on a cane carved for him by his dear friend Rabbi Raphael Levine. Sam's vision, generosity and genius for cultivating the best in others were so integral to the business and community life of the Pacific Northwest that The Puget Sound Business Journal named him "a Northwest legend." In his lifelong passion for giving his time, talent and resources as a business leader and philanthropist, Sam personified the qualities we honor in awarding the E. Donnall Thomas Medal of Achievement.

Born in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1921, Sam's early life was influenced by the Great Depression, which destroyed his father's furniture business and prevented Sam from going to college. Instead he enrolled in the New England Aircraft School to study airplane and engine mechanics, and followed an instructor's advice to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1940 and receive his education through the GI Bill after service. In December 1941, he was assigned to Seattle as a flight engineer to ferry Boeing B-17's to combat groups being set up on the East Coast. In early 1942, he met Althea Diesenhaus at the USO and they were married later that summer.

After his discharge from service, Sam answered an ad for a sales position, got the job and quickly established a reputation for producing results. Just four years later, he bought the company's Northwest operations which he then developed into ALMAC/Stroum Electronics, the region's largest industrial electronics distributor. Among his early customers were the owners of Schuck's Auto Supply, who became close friends and mentors and sold the business to him when they retired in 1967. By the time he sold the company to Pay N Save Corporation in 1984, Schuck's had grown from seven to 58 stores.

Although the sale of Schuck's marked his formal retirement from running businesses, his wide-ranging investment and venture capital activities led to the creation of a new organization, Samuel Stroum Enterprises. In the 1980s, he was one of the founders of both Egghead Software and Digital Systems Inc.; he was also involved in providing start-up capital for companies that are household words today, among them Advanced Technology Laboratories, Immunex, and Starbucks. In the process, he was instrumental in establishing the Northwest as a center for high technology, biotechnology and other emerging industries.

Sam's philanthropic and civic contributions were as successful and far-reaching as his business achievements. In fact, he regarded his businesses as fuel for his philanthropic actions, saying it was the job of his employees "to fill the buckets (with money), so I can give it away." He was the Chairman Emeritus of the Seattle Symphony and former president of the University of Washington Board of Regents where he served for 13 years. He chaired major fundraising campaigns for United Way of King County and other organizations, the last one being the major expansion of the Henry Art Gallery on the UW campus which reopened a year ago. When financial trouble threatened to close the Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island in 1982, Sam organized an emergency fundraising campaign that brought in more than $4.2 million cash in just two months to pay off the debt.

During the decade of the 90's to date, Sam and Althea Stroum contributed $35 million to arts, education, human service and religious institutions through three foundations established in their names. Their gifts have touched more than 300 organizations, with major beneficiaries being the University of Washington, Children's Hospital and Medical Center, United Way of King County, Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Brandeis University, Kline Galland Center, Jewish Family Service, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, Pacific Northwest Ballet, ACT Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Opera and many other worthy organizations such as Medic One, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the Northwest School of Hearing Impaired Children. In 1996, the Stroums endowed the first Chair in "Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery" at Children's Hospital.

In 1988, Sam received the First Citizen Award from the Seattle-King County Realtors Association. In 1991, he was inducted as a "Laureate in the Puget Sound Business Hall of Fame". In 1989, Whitworth College honored Sam "as a business role model for their students" with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. In 1997, Brandeis University heralded Sam as "Seattle's dean of philanthropy" in awarding him an honorary doctor of humane letters.

On March 9, 2001, Seattle mourned the loss of one of its great leaders as Sam lost his battle with cancer. However, his influence in Seattle's philanthropic and community life will continue on through his wife Althea and his daughters, Cynthia and Mansha. Recent beneficiaries of the Stroum's generosity include the Stroum Jewish Community Center which will begin a major capital expansion at both their Mercer Island and North End facilities and the "Samuel and Althea Stroum Grand Lobby" in Seattle's magnificent new Benaroya Hall which was completed last September. The Stroums have set an excellent example for their daughters, Cynthia and Marsha, who are also active in their own personal foundations and philanthropic activities. Sam reached beyond his own family in his crusade to inspire the next generation to give and get involved in their community, and to do so while they're alive to see what a great difference they can make. Ultimately, one of Sam's greatest gifts to us may be in how gracefully he demonstrated that giving is its own reward.

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