1988
Bio:
Jack (John J.) Avignone is President and Chief Executive Officer of AAA Michigan. A native of New York City, Mr. Avignone came to Detroit in 1979 to join AAA as Executive Vice President. In 1980 he was named CEO. He also serves on the Board of Directors/Governors of the company. AAA Michigan is one of the state’s largest employers and operates the largest insurance and travel companies in Michigan. Under Mr. Avignone’s leadership AAA has increased its involvement and visibility in the Metro Detroit area. Noteworthy among these efforts was the purchase of Boblo Island. Under Mr. Avignone’s guidance the company renovated and restored Detroit’s popular amusement park which had fallen into a state of disrepair over the years.
Mr. Avignone is heavily involved in the corporate community, both in metropolitan Detroit and in Michigan. He serves on the Board of Governors of the National Association of Independent Insurers and the Board of Directors of First of American Bank-Southeast Michigan. He is a trustee of the Traffic Safety Association of Detroit and the Traffic Improvement Association of Oakland County. He is also a member of the IBM Insurance Industry Advisory Council and the National AAA Committee of Club Officials. He is chairman of the Michigan Travel Commission, serves on the Governor’s Commission on China, the Michigan Sesquicentennial Commission and Detroit Historic Commission.
A civic booster and effective community leader, Mr. Avignone has given of his time and energy to a number of organizations in Detroit including New Detroit, Inc., Detroit Renaissance, Economic Club of Detroit, Metropolitan Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the United Foundation and the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce where he served as past chairman. His interest and support of education led him to assist in the development of the Detroit Public School Education Fund which is supported by local businesses and the Ford Foundation.
The University of Pennsylvania can proudly claim Mr. Avignone as an alumnus, graduating from there in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. He spent four years in the Marine Corps where he attained the rank of captain. Following his military service he began his career in the insurance industry.
Jack and Patricia Avignone make their home in West Bloomfield. They have two children.
Award was presented at the Works of Mercy Dinner September 8, 1988 by Maureen A. Fay, O.P., President, Mercy College of Detroit and Thomas V. Angott, Chairman of the MCD Board of Trustees and President of Pure Milk Co.