[Life+Dog] Featured Profile: Leslie Alexander

[LIFE+ DOG] Rockets.com Featured Profile: Leslie Alexander

LIFE+DOG Featured Profile: Leslie Alexander

"According to William Shakespeare, “men of few words are the best men.” Few embody this sentiment more than Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander, who may limit his words, but his personal impact on countless charities speaks volumes to his power to help others and make positive changes throughout our communities.

(All Photos By Mel Hammonds, Fetching Images) Alexander has a true passion for philanthropy. It’s not a selfish passion that leads to personal exposure; it’s a deep-rooted desire to help others in need. The former securities trader has a long history of giving—impacting everything from health care and education to animal rights causes. After receiving a B.S. degree from New York University and a J.D. from Western State University, Alexander began working on Wall Street and started his first independent venture in 1980 when he created the investment company The Alexander Group. In 1993 Alexander assumed ownership of professional basketball’s Houston Rockets, and in 1995 he purchased the WNBA team the Houston Comets, devoting his efforts to making both teams champions on the court and in the community. His dedication to winning has led to two NBA championships for the Rockets and four WNBA titles for the Comets, who held the top spot for the franchise’s first four years. In 2008 Alexander was recognized by Forbes, which called him the NBA’s best owner, recognizing the leadership that led to the Rockets becoming one of the most lucrative and successful franchises in the NBA.

Charitable giving has always been a way of life for Alexander. In 1995 he established the Clutch City Foundation, whose goal is to provide help, hope, and inspiration to those who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the Clutch City Foundation, the Houston Rockets became involved in a host of community service and charity fundraising programs benefiting thousands of children. In 1997 Alexander and the team were honored with the Pro Team Community Award given by the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, recognizing them for acting as a catalyst for community spirit and pride, and in 1998 they were awarded Leadership Houston’s Leadership in Action Award for outstanding community service to education. In 2002 and 2003 Alexander donated funds to the Houston Chronicle program Goodfellows, which provides holiday gifts to needy children ages two through ten. These contributions became two of the largest single donations given to the program in its more than 100- year history. Alexander has continued to support Goodfellows each year, and to date has donated $950,000 to the program.
His support of animal advocacy organizations is the closest to his heart. Alexander has traveled the world and seen firsthand the impact of animal abuse, neglect, and overpopulation. Not one to sit idly by and watch animals suffer, Alexander has donated his time, money, and heart to the animal community for more than 35 years and continues to be a major donor and advocate for our four-legged friends.

He first experienced the powerful bond between people and dogs as a child growing up in New Jersey with his first canine companion, Penny. “Dogs make life enjoyable,” he says, and when asked what word he would use to describe his feelings for dogs he simply states, “love.” His generosity and passion to improving the lives of animals ultimately led to his creation of the Evelyn Alexander Home for Animals Foundation, whose vision is to provide a permanent home to abandoned and abused animals. “I created the foundation about five years ago because there are so many abandoned and abused animals,” he says. “The world needs more people to help.”

Leading by example, Alexander continues to help and envisions a world where the ideal role of dogs would be to serve as,“companions for people, making their life more enjoyable,” rather than suffering from abuse, neglect, or homelessness. He has made a huge impact on animal caretakers in Houston by funding the first-ever mobile surgery unit of its kind for the Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP), who take the clinic to underserved areas throughout the community and provide free services for those who want to do the best for their companion animals, but lack the necessary funds to provide for them. Since funding that first SNAP mobile unit in 1994, he has continued to be a generous SNAP supporter. In the current economic climate, demand for this resource has greatly increased and the only barrier to providing more mobile visits is funding. This year Alexander once again stepped up to help this program and the clients SNAP serves by naming them a beneficiary of the annual Houston Rockets Tux and Tennies Gala, generating more than $140,000 for SNAP that will go directly toward increasing the outreach and number of clients served by the mobile clinic.

Splitting time between homes in Florida, Houston, and New York, Alexander is often seen with his 13-year-old yellow Labrador, Joy, who accompanies him on trips to the office and to his North Folk, Long Island, vineyard, where Alexander’s passion for wine led to the creation of his own label, Leslie Wine.

Alexander, who has held the longest ownership tenure in franchise history, continues to strive for success both on the court and in the community. With the recent addition of Kevin McHale as the Rockets’s head coach and his dedication to making a difference for people and animals everywhere, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for Leslie Alexander, a man of few words with a heart of gold.

—Ryan Rice "

http://lifeanddog.com/2011/09/featured-profile-leslie-alexander/

 

Yao Ming was the main reason I became an avid Rockets Fan since 2002 because among various considerations, he was so highly regarded as the #1 NBA Draft pick and being one of the Best professional basketball players from China (estimated population of an over 1.3 Billion people!) At seven feet six inches, his height is rare for all of mankind, nevertheless an athlete.

Yao has the support and representation of my birth country China. He is only months apart from my age. There were no iconic Asian NBA role models and very few in other American professional sports at that time. So the timing was Perfect

I love the game of basketball. I have played playground basketball since I was around 7 years old consistently thru high school, college intrumural ball, tapering off into my mid 20's-early 30's mostly due to my career demands. Growing up in NY, I naturally became an NBA and Knicks fan during the Riley and Van Gundy Era, especially considering how good those Knicks were.

These were the reasons why I became part of Yao Mania and a Rockets Fan

To this day I am still spirited by Yao, Mr. Leslie Alexander, and the Rockets. Yao worked so hard to improve in the NBA and it was obvious that he needed to in his rookie year to compete at a high level. Even if Yao only remained as a great basketball player, a legitamate two-way all star, a major factor in the Rockets Winning seasons, I would still be a BIG fan of his today. However, Yao Ming was much more than that... He had very high expectations for a young man from his parents who were professional sports players and a country- China with likely hundred of millions of Chinese and in the USA- Asian American fans eagerly hoping for his success in a country foriegn to him. Yao was also challenged with limited communication skills being deaf in one ear and not being fluent in English.

Without a doubt, Yao and Mr. Leslie Alexander have become significant parts of a bridge that has helped to build and or expand relationships between Millions of Chinese and American people via basketball, global business, humanitarian efforts, and contributions.

They are the Ultimate Ambassadors between two major countries that are so different but continuously share more similarities and interests every day...

It was disappointing to see Yao get injured all of the time not by his choice, the Rockets losing games, and not making the playoffs without him. Yet it was refreshing to see him work as diligently as possible to return as an elite player which he did many times for many years... There was never a lack of will or effort from him. I always wanted to see him be part of NBA Championship as a player because he deserved to be, as much as anyone else with his dedication, work ethic, passion, performance, leadership, team spirit, representing a major country, etc. I would not be suprised if he does win a CBA or NBA Championship as an owner or a coach such as with the Shanghai Sharks.

What I have observed however is something more Profound and Remarkably Greater than any Professional Sports Championship...

During the past nine years I also realized how Classy and Altruistic Mr. Leslie Alexander (Owner of the Rockets) and the Rox Organization are. It's very challenging to become a Champion in any professional sport and although the Rockets play a game of basketball and run a significant business, I will remain a Rocket Fan, win or lose, as long as there is a Rockets commitment to winning with continuous support and awareness for others in the community and around the world.

The fact that Yao, Mr. Leslie Alexander, and the Rockets are Consistently Improving the Quality of Life for Others Around the World makes them The Ultimate World Champions !!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._by_population