BALTIMORE, MD, February 02, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Entrepreneur and philanthropist Jeffrey Legum has once again been selected by the prestigious Marquis Who's Who in America for inclusion in its latest edition.
Jeffrey Legum is a philanthropist, chief executive officer of the investment holding company Park Circle Company, the former chief executive officer of Legum Chevrolet-Nissan, the Westminster Motor Company, and Park Circle Chevrolet.
Legum was born in Baltimore in 1941. He is a 1959 graduate of the Park School of Baltimore and a 1963 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, where he first developed a passion for investing.
During summer breaks from college Legum learned the ins and outs of the automotive industry at Park Circle Motor Company, which was founded in 1921 by his grandfather and subsequently run by his father Leslie Legum. His father always had great confidence in his son's abilities and Legum never failed to meet his expectations. He began his education on the showroom floor and, while still in college, was promoted to manager of one of his family's two Renault dealerships.
Upon graduation, Legum joined Park Circle Motor Company. In 1967, at age 25, Legum assumed the role of dealer, operator and owner of Park Circle Motors, thus becoming the youngest Chevrolet dealer in the United States.
In 1973 Legum purchased Westminster Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac located in Westminster, Maryland.
In 1977, Park Circle moved to US 695 and Eastern Avenue and was renamed Legum Chevrolet, with Legum as the chief executive officer. That same year he was elected to membership in the Young Presidents' Organization.
In 1981, Legum gained coast-to-coast attention when he was recognized on national television for lending Cadillacs to president-elect Ronald Reagan for his Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C.
That same year Legum purchased H&H Datsun and relocated the franchise to Eastern Avenue and was the only dealer in the United States to display Chevrolets and Nissans side by side on the showroom floor.
In 1984 Nissan recognized the dealership's extraordinary sales when Legum was given the honor of being one of only four dealers selected to visit Tokyo to share his insights on the U.S. automotive industry with Nissan's board of directors.
Chevrolet sales continued to boom as well. Between the years 1986-1989 Legum Chevrolet-Nissan ranked third in Automotive News' top "Sales Giants" in the country.
In 1989 Legum sold Legum Chevrolet-Nissan to Bob Bell and in 1997 he sold Westminster-Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac to Len Stoler, which ended the family's 76 years in the automobile business.
With the sale of the dealerships Legum was able to focus all of his energy as president and chief executive officer of Park Circle Company.
In 1962 Park Circle Motor Company sold Truck Rental Company of Baltimore to Avis in return for cash and 10 percent interest in Avis. In 1966, Park Circle and Lazard Freres sold Avis to ITT Corporation in exchange for stock in ITT. This cash and stock became the basis for Park Circle's original stock portfolio, which Legum has managed for over 50 years.
Since the inception of the portfolio Legum has focused on acquiring sizable holdings of Baltimore based companies including Black & Decker, McCormick and Legg Mason. In 1989 Legum reported to the SEC that he owned five percent of Legg Mason.
Approaching his philanthropic endeavors in much the same way he picks stocks, Legum selects Baltimore institutions of the highest caliber and forms lifelong commitments to them.
Legum has been a staunch supporter of Johns Hopkins for many years. His first association with Hopkins began in 1990 as a lay member of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Institutional Review Board.
Legum has been a member of the Wilmer Eye Institute's Board of Governors for 25 years. After serving 17 years on the Board of Trustees of Johns Hopkins Medicine, he became emeritus trustee and continues to serve on the finance committee.
Through the Legum Foundation, Legum and his wife Harriet have supported a wide array of philanthropic efforts benefitting both Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine.
In 2003 Mr. and Mrs. Legum made a large contribution to support the construction of a new clinical and basic research building for Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The Legum's have also endowed the Jeffrey and Harriet Legum Professorship in Acute Neurological Medicine as well as The John W. Griffin, MD Professorship in Neurology.
Legum has long been an avid supporter of the Baltimore Museum of Art. He is currently an honorary trustee after serving 20 years on the board. He also served 18 years on the executive committee, including three years as treasurer, three years as secretary, and two years as comptroller. He was chair for four years during his 20 year tenure on the fine art accessions committee and a chair for five years during his 20 years on the investment committee, during which time Legum's investment acumen built up the museum's endowment substantially.
In 1997 Legum and his wife co-chaired "A Grand Affair" a gala celebrating the opening of BMA's exhibition of the many treasures from Victoria and Albert Museum. In 2001 the Legum's co-chaired the gala celebrating the reopening of the Cone Collection. Legum has also co-sponsored numerous exhibitions including the Baltimore Museum of Art's Lucas Collection in 2000 and the Andy Warhol exhibit "Warhol: The Lost Decade" in 2010. In 2013 Legum created an endowment to fund the BMA's 100th anniversary advertising and public relations campaign. He also donated the funds to create a new docent room which opened in 2015. On December 20, 2016, Jeffrey Legum was honored by Baltimore County for his many contributions to the community, and that date was proclaimed Jeffrey Alfred Legum Day.
Legum has devoted considerable time to his former alma mater, the Park School of Baltimore. He served as both board member and chairman of the investment committee for 15 years, as a member of the executive committee for 11 years, the finance committee chair for ten years, and the treasurer for 10 years. During his tenure from 1982-1997 the value of Park's endowment more than doubled.
Numerous other institutions have been the beneficiary of Legum's philanthropy including Kennedy Krieger, the Associated Jewish Charities, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, the American Cancer Society, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The Kennedy Center, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the University of Pennsylvania.
In recognition of Mr. Legum's fifty years of business acumen and professional success, he has been featured in a wide variety of honors publications, including Who's Who in Finance and Business, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the East, Who's Who in the World as well as the 1987 inaugural edition of Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America.
About Marquis Who's Who :
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America , Who's Who in the World , Who's Who in American Law , Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare , Who's Who in Science and Engineering , and Who's Who in Asia . Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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