Catholic Community Services to honor the Huntsmans at annual Humanitarian Awards

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Jon and Karen Huntsman have been named Humanitarians of the Year by Catholic Community Services.

SALT LAKE CITY - Catholic Community Services of Utah (CCS) will be celebrating 66 years of providing help and creating hope for many people in Utah.

This celebration will be framed with the Humanitarian Awards Dinner, during which diverse humanitarians who have provided help and hope for those in need across the state of Utah will be honored.

Among the honorees are Jon M. and Karen Huntsman, who will be receiving the Humanitarian Award of the Year.

The Huntsmans have been generous benefactors to CCS’ St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall in Salt Lake City, said Lauren McCarty, CCS public relations manager. "They are huge supporters to that program; they are great funders."

That support extends back many years. On Jan. 6, 1992 Jon M. and Karen Huntsman donated $1 million for the support of St. Vincent de Paul Center. Six years earlier, a fire destroyed what was then called the St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen and Thrift Store, which was near 200 South 200 West. The current St. Vincent de Paul Center was built at 200 South 427 West. "The fund-raising campaign to rebuild the facility received unprecedented interfaith support, including that from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," according to "Salt of the Earth: The History of the Catholic Church in Utah, 1776-2007."

Every year CCS officials choose the awards dinner honorees by looking at what they have done to help in the community, especially their assistance to CCS and its community partners; Huntsman also supported St. Joseph Villa before it was sold in January to the for-profit Ensign Group. St. Joseph Villa originated as a home for the aged and infirm run by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word that later became part of the nonprofit CHRISTUS Health system.

Huntsman is founder of Huntsman Corp., an international chemical manufacturing company. He is widely recognized for his humanitarian giving, which, including contributions to the homeless, the ill and the under-privileged, exceeds $1.2 billion in the United States and internationally. In 2007 he was listed the second largest donor by the "Chronicle of Philanthropy."

In 2000, the "Salt Lake Tribune" included him among the 10 Utahans Who Most Influenced Our State in the 20th Century. In 2003, he received CNN’s Humanitarian of the Year Award, and in 2008, the American Cancer Society presented him its Medal of Honor for Cancer Philanthropy.

Chairman and founder of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Huntsman also serves or has served on the boards of the American Red Cross, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Primary Children’s Medical Center Foundation, the Chemical Manufacturers Association and the American Plastics Council.

He and his wife, Karen, have been married for more than 50 years. They are the parents of nine children and grandparents of 56.

The Humanitarians Award dinner started as a fundraiser many years ago, as a way to generate more support for CCS and for its programs and, at the same time, give something back to people like the Huntsmans who supported them so generously.

"We want to honor them by giving them a fun night and being able, at the same time, to raise some funds for CCS," said McCarty.

The annual Humanitarian Dinner will be Nov. 10. Other honorees will be The Sisters of St. Benedict, The Sisters of the Holy Cross, LDS Welfare Services and CCS’ Unsung Hero, Katherine Mahoney. For tickets, call 801-428-1231.