FEATURES
the adjacent office one Saturday afternoon, listening to Haskell dictate the final report into an old machine.“ He was dictating the words, he was dictating the footnotes to the words, remembering what page the testimony occurred on,” said Halverson.“ One draft, light edits, it was a masterpiece. As a result of that, the integrity of Jacksonville’ s elections was preserved and enhanced.”
THE QUIET PHILANTHROPIST
In a day and age where many seek recognition for their contributions, Preston Haskell operates from a different playbook. He hosts community gatherings at his home without fanfare. He constructs buildings, institutions and homes, then steps back, letting the work speak for itself. His humility, paired with extraordinary generosity, has quietly transformed Jacksonville’ s cultural and educational landscape for decades.
This quiet generosity extends to Haskell’ s love and support of the arts. He is widely considered the most influential philanthropist in arts and culture in Jacksonville. His contributions to Jacksonville University remain largely unheralded.“ There are worldclass pieces of art on this campus that he has donated to us,” said Jacksonville University President Tim Cost.“ He takes great pride in being able to make this university better, to enrich the experience of the students and faculty here.” Most recently, Haskell has served as the Honorary Chair of the Jacksonville University Future. Made. campaign.
Mayor Deegan smiled as she reflected on how much Haskell has invested in Jacksonville’ s arts community.“ He believes that art really does teach people how to think differently,” she said.
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