George Voinovich: “I rise today to honor Alfred Lerner. Al, as he was called by those who knew him best, was a man of great success and…”

“I rise today to honor Alfred Lerner. Al, as he was called by those who knew him best, was a man of great success and wealth but also great compassion and charity. Al was born in New York City, graduated from Columbia College and proudly served in the Marine Corps as an officer and pilot from 1955 through 1957. The son of Russian immigrants, Al Lerner had an amazing sense of patriotism and was so proud to accept the Ellis Island Medal in honor of his immigrant heritage and individual achievements in 2002. My personal relationship with Al developed because of the fondness we shared for the city of Cleveland, and Cleveland is a better place because of Al Lerner. His generosity was seen in well known ways such as his contributions to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, where the Lerner Research Institute was founded, and to the Cleveland Clinic. In fact, Al Lerner's $100,000,000 contribution to the Cleveland Clinic was one of the largest donations to academic medicine in the history of the United States. Al gave so much of himself to these institutions, serving as president and trustee of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and establishing the Lerner Research Institute at the Clinic to conduct research of new treatments for cancer, coronary artery disease and AIDS.”