8th Annual Columbus Dinner of Champions
Honoring
Kenneth P. Mills, President, Mills James &
Cameron James, CEO, Mills James
Ken Mills and Cameron James will receive the Norman Cohn Hope Award, the most prestigious National MS Society award. An honoree exhibits vision and commitment to leadership, philanthropy and community service.
Ken Mills and Cameron James of Mills James Creative Media have a long history of community involvement, providing support to a large number of non-profit and charitable organizations since the company’s founding in 1984.
Among the organizations to whom the firm has contributed services, time and cash are Greater Columbus Habitat for Humanity, the Pelotonia, the Wexner Center for the Arts, the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Stefanie’s Champions, the Salvation Army, United Way, the Cancer Support Community, the Center for Healthy Families, COSI, Rock for Hunger, Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio, Flying Horse Farms, Girl Scouts USA, the Homeless Families Foundation, Maryhaven and more. The firm estimates that it contributes several hundred thousand dollars in services each year to non-profit organizations. Mills and James have also supported the National MS Society’s Dinner of Champions since 2010, serving as committee members and co-chairs of the annual event.
In 2005, the firm was recognized with a Philanthropy Day Award as the Outstanding Small Corporation. And for more than a decade, Mills James has been a co-sponsor of Business First’s Corporate Caring Awards, which recognize exemplary companies who creatively dedicate their resources to a variety of non-profit organizations.
Mills and James have been honored as Central Ohio Entrepreneur of the Year, as well as Columbus and Ohio Small Business Person of the Year, and the firm has received countless awards for creativity and excellence in communication. Both men are natives of Central Ohio.
Cameron James is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. He and his wife Nancy, an advocate for children with reading challenges, have been married for 43 years and have four grown children.
Ken Mills is a graduate of Ohio State University. He and his wife Charlotte, a retired RN, have been married for 44 years.
Proceeds from Dinners of Champions have totaled more than $6 million and are used to provide programs and services to the 11,000 people with MS and their families in the Ohio Buckeye Chapter. Proceeds also support research efforts to find the cause of and cure for multiple sclerosis.
Past Columbus honorees include:
2012 - Mark Swepston, President, Atlas Butler Heating & Cooling
2011 - Dr. E. Gordon Gee, President, The Ohio State University
2010 - “Jungle Jack” Hanna, Director Emeritus; Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
2009 - Jim Tressel, Head Football Coach; The Ohio State University
2007 - Cheryl Krueger, President, CEO & Founder; Cheryl&Co.
2006 - Carl Kohrt, President & CEO; Battelle
2005 - Fred Sanfilippo MD, CEO; The Ohio State University Medical Center
1998 - Florence Greasamar, Retired; Mount Carmel Health System Foundation