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PRESS RELEASE: Steve Jaffe Named President of City of Hope's Los Angeles Real Estate & Construction Industries Council

LOS ANGELES – Steve Jaffe, executive vice president and general counsel for BH Properties, a leading real estate investment firm, has been named president of City of Hope’s Los Angeles Real Estate & Construction Industries Council (LARE).  He assumes the position from outgoing president Jeffrey Okyle, Vice President-Institutional Services for Standard Parking.

Jaffe previously served on the industry council since 2006, when industry icon Richard Ziman of AVP Advisors was honored by City of Hope.  As president of the entire industry group, Jaffe will liaise with City of Hope and key industry supporters to determine and implement strategic planning and fundraising within the Los Angeles real estate industry.  He also will participate in the selection of Spirit of honorees for the annual LifeCelebration and help identify and recruit new volunteers to grow the council’s fundraising efforts.

“I am honored, as is BH Properties, that City of Hope has selected me to this position,” Jaffe said.  “I’m well aware of the amazing work they do not only in cancer research but other areas of medical research and of the countless lives they have saved.  I also know the hope that they provide for patients here and around the world.  I am looking forward to working and doing all I can for City of Hope.”

"It is a great honor to have Steve steer our council this coming year to raise much-needed funding and awareness for City of Hope’s cancer and diabetes research,” said Jeff Okyle.  “Working with Steve has always been a pleasure given his easy going personality, intellect and drive."

Okyle will remain actively involved with City of Hope by continuing to serve on the industry group’s executive committee and by remaining as the advisor for LARE’s young leadership initiative, Building Hope.  In this role, Okyle will focus on the next generation of real estate leaders, advising their fundraising efforts to maximize support for City of Hope.

Unique among philanthropies, City of Hope’s industry groups are partnerships made up of companies and supporters, all united by their industry and by the drive to advance City of Hope’s mission of bringing new hope to patients and families everywhere.

Each fall, the LARE Council honors outstanding figures in the industry by presenting City of Hope’s most prestigious philanthropic honor, the Spirit of Life Award.  Wayne Ratkovich of The Ratkovich Company received the 2013 Spirit of Life Award, which recognized not only his philanthropic contributions to the community, but also his business leadership.

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