Q CEOs look back at the most memorable holiday gifts they’ve received

CEOs were asked: Tell us about the best holiday gift you ever received. Why was it memorable? To see all CEO answers, visit MiamiHerald.com /news/business /biz-monday.

The best holiday gift I have ever received has to be my ping-pong table!

When I am at home (as I travel quite a lot for expeditions, meetings and signing events — preCOVID), I would play pretty much every day. My family is quite competitive, so we sometimes play a few games, multiple times a day! We also entertain quite frequently and find that it’s a great game that everyone enjoys, specifically “around the world,” which gets everyone involved at the same time, going round and round the table — it’s a lot of fun. I would have to say I am still the family champion, but my children occasionally do take games off me.

Playing on my ping-pong table has to be one of my favorite things to do off the water — I love it! Guy Harvey, founder, Guy Harvey Enterprises == The best holiday gift I ever received was in 2015, a shadow box of items that my wife collected over several years from Miami Central Senior High.

The state in 2005 was threatening to close Miami Central due to its students under performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. As graduates of the school, several of us came together to establish an alumni association and an urban school education advocacy organization called Inner City Alumni For Responsible Education (ICARE). We all knew if you closed a school, you would kill a community.

My family understood how important it was to me to be named chairman of the mandatory State District Community Assessment Team. It was a requirement to work with the state Department of Education and the local School Board in the effort to keep my beloved high school open.

Our commitment to the Miami Central Rockets community paid off tremendously with continuous improvement in student performance and achievement. One of my mentees over that period became a Gates Scholar. We also received a visit from President Barack Obama along with winning the school’s first of four straight unprecedented state football championships.

Many of those victories were collected and captured in this gift, and I will cherish them for the rest of my life. Darryl Holsendolph, president, CEO of Holsen Inc. Merchandising ==

My parents were avid snow skiers and introduced me to skiing at the age of 3. I specifically recall an early holiday morning in 1968 when my first “real” new pair of skis and poles was under the tree! Keep in mind, at that time, “bear claw” bindings with runaway straps and bamboo poles with leather baskets was state-of-the-art.

To this day, I am so very appreciative of my parents introducing me to, and supporting me, in my love for skiing. In turn, it is a tribute to them, and immensely rewarding for me, to be able to continue that legacy with my children. It truly is a lifetime sport that has provided so many very special family memories over the years.

Allan Prindle, president, CEO,

Power Financial Credit Union

==

Choosing one memorable holiday gift is tough, but I can list three gifts I treasure most:

●My daughter Elle was due after

Christmas. She was my first, but somehow I knew she would be early, and she was. Her birth just before the holiday was the most stressful, yet loveliest Christmas gift ever.

Masterclass Series Annual Membership. I am a

● perpetual greedy learner, so this is what I wanted last year and my husband bought it for me. I spent my holiday season listening to back-to-back classes in the car or watching while cooking.

●My Apple Watch. At first, I was turned off at the price tag and the thought of possibly being even more tethered to my messages, dings and whistles. But after my husband got it for me, I fell in love. Funny story, actually — my friend and I got locked out of her house the week I got the watch. Thanks to it being on my wrist, we were able to call her husband to rescue us. It definitely came in handy!

Kerry-Ann Royes,

CEO, YWCA South Florida

==

It’s hard for me to identify one particular object that represents the “best gift” I have ever received.

I’m in the business of “things” — works of art meant to satisfy and enhance one’s life. Ironically, what I have learned since my husband’s death is that “things” don’t matter, people do. Memories and time spent with family and dear friends. The opportunity to laugh and hug and cry.

Those are the gifts that stay with me that I cherish. A lifetime of love that I hold close to my heart every day.

Mindy Solomon, owner, director, Mindy Solomon Gallery