‘Born to serve’: Loved ones, friends honor legacy of Dolphins executive Jason Jenkins
Friends and family members of Jason Jenkins, an ambassador for the Miami Dolphins and a South Florida community trailblazer, gathered Monday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium to pay tribute to his legacy.
Jenkins, 47, died of a blood clot on Aug. 27.
A fixture in the press box before becoming omnipresent across the Miami metropolitan area, Jenkins started with the Dolphins as the team’s director of media relations in 2009, and he became senior vice president of communications and community affairs in 2015. His time in the organization spanned seven coaches, three general managers and 11 starting quarterbacks.
In his latest role as senior vice president of communications and community affairs, Jenkins transcended the typical duties of an NFL spokesman, transforming into a pillar of the community — overseeing the Dolphins’ charitable foundations and youth programs and serving as a board member for United Way Miami, YWCA South Florida, the Anti-Defamation League of Florida, the Urban League of Broward County and the Dolphins Cancer Challenge.
As the Dolphins Cancer Challenge’s chairman since 2020, Jenkins helped build it into the largest fundraiser in the NFL. The team’s program has raised more than $53 million for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center to fund life-saving cancer research in South Florida, his wife, Elizabeth Jenkins, and Brett Brecheisen, senior manager for football communications for the Dolphins, wrote in an op-ed for the Miami Herald.
In 2020, Jenkins led the Miami Dolphins Foundation Food Relief Program amid the COVID-19 pandemic, his wife and Brecheisen highlighted. The program, they said, donated more than one million meals to tackle food insecurity in the community, while also providing resources to local minority-owned restaurants and businesses at a time when the restaurant industry was struggling.
At his memorial service, speakers reminisced about the times they had together with Jenkins as attendants watched from the stands.
Germaine Smith Baugh, president and CEO of the Urban League, said at the 50-yard line that Jenkins had a keen understanding that being present was important. One of the many times when Jenkins was present, she said, was when he rented a movie theater in 2018 so students could watch the superhero film “Black Panther.”
“Jason did not only rent the movie theater, he was present,” Smith Baugh said. “Standing in the middle of all faces of the children was Jason smiling.”
READ MORE: Jason Jenkins, Dolphins executive and ‘an icon’ in South Florida community, dies at 47
Tom Garfinkel, vice chairman, president and CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, said Jenkins was not only appreciated and respected, but also loved because he helped people on and off the field. He said the best way to honor Jenkins’ legacy is to be more like him.
“Successful relationships are more about accepting the responsibility of how someone feels about themselves when they are with you,” Garfinkel said. “A concept that is much easier to theorize about than to practice. Jason practiced it.”
READ MORE: Medical examiner: Dolphins’ Jason Jenkins died of blood clot
Elizabeth Jenkins said he was a devoted husband, and a loving and supportive father. She noted Jenkins encouraged others to be the best version of themselves.
“He didn’t believe in tearing (people) down,” she said. “But he believed if you push people up, they will rise.”
READ MORE: Jason Jenkins embraced this community, and the community embraced him back | Opinion
Born on Oct. 30, 1974, in Houston, Texas, Jenkins attended Texas Tech University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism in 1997 and played defensive back on the football team.
Jenkins began his career at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, where he held several communications roles from 1997-99. He joined the Texas Southern University Athletics Department in 1999, serving as an associate athletics director there until 2002. That year, he joined the San Francisco 49ers in their media-relations department before joining the Dolphins.
Jenkins is survived by his wife of 12 years, his daughters Liya, 12, and Sloane, 6; his son, Aiden, 10; his parents, Mary Clay and C.L. Whittington; brothers Corey Harmon and Anthony Clay; and sisters Dr. Catherine Whittington and Candance Clay.
“Some people will be missed, but others will be remembered,” Smith Baugh said. “And Jason is one of those that will be remembered.”
Miami Herald Staff Writer David Wilson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 5, 2022 at 8:49 PM.
