The Orange Bowl is the annual American college football bowl game played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Slesnick was installed on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, at Riviera Country Club in Coral Gables. Slesnick has been a member of the Orange Bowl Committee (OBC) since 1997 and succeeds Immediate Past President & Chair Michael Chavies.
Slesnick will oversee the Committee’s continued commitment to the South Florida community, including a full slate of events, highlighted by the 84th Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30, 2017. The Orange Bowl invests nearly $1 million in the South Florida community on an annual basis, funding a variety of community events, academic programs, scholarships and youth sports programs and initiatives; including the Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance presented by MetroPCS, the “Drive for Excellence” girls’ golf program in conjunction with the First Tee Miami. The Orange Bowl’s fourth legacy project, Orange Bowl Field at Harris Field Park in Homestead is also scheduled to open during Slesnick’s tenure. Upon completion, the OBC legacy gift projects combined will have provided more than $12 million worth of improvements toward the beautification of the South Florida community and recreational park activities for residents and their families.
“I am truly honored to serve as President and Chair of the Orange Bowl Committee – an organization of community leaders whose work I have admired since my youth,” said Slesnick. “We will remain dedicated to a mission of enhancing South Florida’s image while providing activities that inspire young persons to set and achieve high standards of performance both academically and athletically. At the same time, the Committee will use its premier event, the Capital One Orange Bowl post-season college football game, to enhance the area’s economy. It is both humbling and an extreme privilege to have been chosen to lead this venerable organization that does so much for so many throughout the region.”