The Treasure Awards Dinner was created to recognize our neighborhood Treasures, the people and places that make Squirrel Hill a great place to live, work and do business. The Squirrel Hill Treasure Dinner has become an annual celebration and fundraiser for the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition. In 2025, we will honor three individuals and one place who have made a great impact on Squirrel Hill and the city at large. Please join us on Thursday, November 6th at 6 pm for a celebration to remember! Event tickets, virtual ads and raffle tickets can be purchased here.

Announcing Our 2025 Treasures

Dr. Eugene N. Myers

Eugene Myers was born in Philadelphia into a family of generations of physicians. His future career seems to have been ordained at birth. Dr. Myers graduated from Temple University Medical School and completed a general surgery residency at Mount Sinai Hospital (New York) and an otolaryngology residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Myers’ special fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery in New York City changed his life. The challenge of resecting the cancer and immediately reconstructing the defect became possible for the first time during his fellowship. Dr. Myers found this field so compelling that he devoted his clinical activities to solving these problems.

Dr. Myers served as Assistant Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania from 1968-1972, until he was recruited to be Professor and Chair and the first academic faculty member of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. During the 33 years that he served in this leadership position he increased the size and quality of the Department, introduced the Department to modern head and neck surgery and cultivated what is widely considered to be one of the leading Departments of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in the world.

Dr. Myers shared a wonderful life with his late wife Barbara Labov Myers. They have two children, and five grandsons. The family tradition of physicians continues, with son Jeffrey, MD, PhD, Chair of head and neck surgery at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and grandson Keith, a surgeon in Philadelphia. At the age of 91, Dr. Myers continues to give talks and lectures, and to travel around the world.

Caroline Boyce, Owner/Steward, Historic Henry Koerner House

After 25 years away from Pittsburgh, Caroline returned to Squirrel Hill in 2020 and purchased the Negley Avenue home of renowned Austrian/American artist Henry Koerner (1915-1991). Caroline preserved the property and has succeeded in obtaining Historic Landmark designation from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and listing in the National Register of Historic Places with the Department of the Interior.

Caroline is a national leader in the historic preservation field with deep knowledge of museum and preservation activities across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Throughout her career she has connected community heritage to economic and community revitalization. Caroline has served as chief staff executive to Preservation Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, and the Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation. She represents Pennsylvania on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Board of Advisors, and is a recipient of the Otto Haas Award for lifetime achievement in historic preservation.

Born in London, England, Caroline moved to Squirrel Hill in 1963 at the age of 6. The diversity of the neighborhood appealed to the Boyce family that had just left apartheid South Africa. Caroline attended the Ellis School, holds a Bachelor of Arts from Connecticut College and a Master of Arts degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University. She lives with her dog, Tux, and spends as much time as she can with her daughter, Emma; her stepdaughter, Jeanette; and her stepson, Daniel. She has two grandchildren, Frank and Olivia, who bring her great joy.

Ann Belser

Ann Belser, publisher of Print brings a hyper-local news approach to the East End. That means the newspaper reports on proposed developments in the neighborhood; it prints pictures of parades and the Squirrel Hill Night Markets; and it lists happenings in the East End such as historical talks, book readings, and performances. These types of articles are precisely what the large newspapers in the metropolitan area do not write about. Most importantly, these are the articles the community is interested in and wants to read about.

Ann believes there is a need and a demand for the news of where you live, told by skilled journalists. Print exists because she believes the essence of journalism is to connect with the community and tell its stories. Don’t look for Print’s stories on the internet. The East End’s news will be in Print.

Ann and her wife Jan Kurth, also a community columnist, and urban planner, live in Squirrel Hill.

Action Housing

In 1957, Mayor David Lawrence and Philanthropist Richard King Mellon, along with other civic leaders, founded ACTION-Housing. The organization was created with the guiding principle that any great city must have not only a vibrant city center, but also strong neighborhoods and good housing for its residents.

Squirrel Hill has been fortunate to have to have a variety of projects undertaken by ACTION-Housing. On a small, local scale, ACTION-Housing helped support two houses on Darlington Road for people with developmental disabilities.

On a larger scale, Krause Commons is a six-story building located on the former site of Poli’s Restaurant. Krause Commons is a supportive housing development comprised of 33 units, half of which have a preference for those with intellectual and/or mental health disabilities; the other half for general occupancy. The first two floors are home to Jewish Residential Services (JRS), which operates the Howard Levin Clubhouse and provides the service component for the residents. By having these components in the building, services for residents is readily available, helping to eliminate the sense of isolation that special needs individuals may have when they live in scattered-site housing. General occupancy units have been designed as work-force housing for those income-eligible individuals who work in the area and who have few options for decent apartments.

The site of the former Squirrel Hill Theater on Forward Avenue had been an eyesore ever since it closed in 2010. ACTION-Housing, together with Kobol –private developers in the area, was successful in creating a mixed‐use development called the Flats on Forward, that blends 43 units of affordable housing with ground floor office space, celebrating this gateway to the Squirrel Hill community while housing vulnerable people and catalyzing development in a well‐located commercial area.

2025 Treasure Dinner Details

This year’s Treasure Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday, November 6th at the Pittsburgh Golf Club from 6-8pm. Tickets are $125 per person.

Event tickets, virtual ads and raffle tickets can be purchased here.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our 2024 Treasure Dinner a successful and fun event! See photos of the event below: