George Eastman Statue Dedicated
October 10, 2009
University of Rochester, River Campus

University of Rochester Trustee Larry Bloch (from left), his wife, Cindy, Trustee Gwen Meltzer Greene, Trustee Tom Sloan, and Chief Advancement Officer Jim Thompson applaud as a statue of George Eastman is introduced on the River Campus.

The University of Rochester has unveiled an 8’ high statue of George Eastman, whose vision and philanthropy helped transform the University of Rochester into a world-class university.

The statue was commissioned in conjunction with the establishment of the George Eastman Circle, a society of dedicated donors to the university. Over 1200 families have joined the GEC since it’s recent establishment.

For the University of Rochester's news release on the statue please click here.

For a short video on the University of Rochester, the George Eastman Circle, and the commissioning of the Eastman statue, please click here.

George Eastman Bronze Statue, In process

Process photos, Redding, CT

Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology

Commissioned by the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.

Wallace H. Coulter invented the Coulter Principle and developed the Coulter Counter, revolutionizing medical diagnostics.

Awarded Annually by the American Society of Hematology.

The 2009 Official Barack Obama Presidential Inaugural Medal

Links to Interviews:
National Public Radio (NPR)
CBS TV

President-elect Obama Honored with 2009 Official Presidential Inaugural Medal

The 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee has approved the Official Barack Obama Presidential Inaugural Medal.

Sculptor and medalist Marc Mellon modeled the portrait of Barack Obama that appears on the obverse (front) of the medal. The reverse of the medal is by well known medalist and former U.S. Mint engraver Thomas D. Rogers, Sr, whose work can be seen here. The medals are being struck by Medalcraft Mint of Green Bay, WI, considered to be one of the finest private mint in America.

Sales of the medal raised funds for the inaugural events of January 20, 2009 in Washington DC.

Official Inaugural Medals have been coveted collectables going back to the beginning of the 20^th century. Theodore Roosevelt, feeling that the medal should reflect the highest standards of American art, asked the legendary sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens to design his medal. Other well-known designers of the Official Inaugural Medal include Jo Davidson, who designed an FDR medal, and Paul Manship, who designed medals for both FDR and JFK.

Mellon medallions have previously served to honor President Jimmy Carter (recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Award for Humanitarian Service) and former US Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (awarded the Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the United States Michael Smurfit Achievement Award for his work in helping to broker the peace treaty in Northern Ireland).

The artist tried to project a thoughtful and introspective Barack Obama. Says Mellon, “I imagined Barack Obama thinking of Lincoln and of Martin Luther King, of the historic nature of his election, and of the serious challenges he's been chosen to face.”

Marc Mellon is known for portrait busts of luminaries around the globe, including bronze busts of Pope John Paul II (The Papal Apartments, The Vatican), President George HW Bush (The National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution), former Taiwanese President Lee Teng Hui, and legendary entertainer Tony Bennett. Mellon's work is also well known to sports fans; he is the sculptor of both the NBA MVP Trophy (The Maurice Podoloff Trophy) and the WNBA MVP. His limited edition bronze dancers are widely collected, and have been exhibited from New York to Tokyo.

UnitedHealthcare of Texas Annually Honors
University of Texas Athletes

University of Texas Longhorn Basketball Awards Banquet
April 13, 2009

Hook'em Horns!

Dogus Balbay, this year's Mike Wacker Comeback Award Recipient.

(Pictured left to right) Brad Van Winkle, Director of Account Management for UnitedHealthcare of Texas, Dogus Balbay, and artist Marc Mellon.

Ochsner Honors Medical Pioneer with a Mellon Bronze
World-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. John Ochsner Honored at Private Unveiling
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Brent House Conference Center, New Orleans, LA

Ochsner Health Systems has honored world-renowned cardiothoracic heart surgeon and medical pioneer Dr. John Ochsner as it celebrates the dedication of the “John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute.” Dr. John Ochsner is the Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Surgery at Ochsner Medical Center.

Dr. Ochsner was honored at a dinner attended by an esteemed group of colleagues and friends and by the unveiling of a bronze bust in his image done by sculptor Marc Mellon. The bust is displayed at the Institute.

Max Simon Bust Unveiled
August 21, 2008
Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center
Indiana University- Purdue University Campus, Indianapolis, IN

Above: Bren Simon (left) and President McRobbie unveil a bust of Joshua Max Simon.

On August 21, 2008 a bronze bust of Max Simon was unveiled in celebration of the opening of the new Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center on the Indiana University- Purdue University Campus in Indianapolis.

Mrs. Simon worked with the artist is capturing Max's desire to be a source of hope for others. The Simons have memorialized him by establishing a $25 million Joshua Max Simon Cancer Research Fund. The Endowment will provide funding for cancer research and facilitate the recruitment of new faculty members to the IU Simon Cancer Center. This gift is in addition to another $25 million gift by the Simons to help build the new facility.

At the event, Mrs. Simon was recognized by Indiana University with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for her philanthropic good works. "It is nearly impossible to summarize the good work that Bren Simon does," says D. Craig Brater, M.D., Indiana University vice president and dean and Walter J. Daly Professor in the IU School of Medicine.