The Jewish National Fund (JNF) will host its first ever Orlando Gala and Backstage Tour at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, to honor Jim Pugh and Chuck Steinmetz with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their dedication to the Orlando community and JNF. Guests will be treated to a an exclusive backstage tour of the newly opened Center as well as a special performance by Davis Gaines, who has performed as the Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "The Phantom of the Opera" more than 2000 times, on Broadway, in Los Angeles, and in San Francisco.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed on exceptional and senior community leaders who, throughout their life, have become a symbol of Jewish and non-Jewish philanthropy and tzedakah through giving back to their community.

"We are thrilled to be honoring Jim Pugh and Chuck Steinmetz this year. Both are respected leaders in the Central Florida community, both are strong business leaders, and both have been, and continue to be, major philanthropists," said Deborah Meitin, JNF Orlando Board president.

"The location of this special event couldn't be more fitting as both Jim and Chuck were essential in making the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts a reality," said Laura Abramson, JNF's director of Orlando.

Pugh serves as the chairman of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and is the owner and chairman of Epoch Residential, a multi-family housing developer based in Florida. Under his guidance, Epoch developed over 37,000 housing units in 56 cities across the U.S., which has led the company to being recognized as one of the top 50 multi-family housing developers in the nation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Holocaust Memorial Center in Orlando, and in the past has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government, chairman of the Investment Advisory Council of the Florida State Board of Administration, and a member of the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

A Florida native, Steinmetz currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and the past owner of Middleton Pest Control and All America Termite and Pest Control companies. Under his ownership, Steinmetz's companies grew to become successful businesses with branches in over 10 U.S. states. He has previously served as chairman and CEO of the Orlando Science Center and on the Crummer Board of Overseers at Rollins College's graduate business school. He has been the recipient of numerous awards for his work on pest control, including being named Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc Magazine in 1992, and receiving the Pest Control Technology Profession of the Year award in 1996.

The Orlando Gala and Backstage Tour will take place on Feb. 16, 2016 at 6 p.m. at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue in Orlando.

Sponsorship information and tickets are available online at jnf.org/theatergala. For more information on this event or ways to get involved with JNF in Orlando, please contact Laura Abramson at labramson@jnf.org or 407.804.5568.