Neal Communities Honors Pat Neal

March 26, 2025 | Lakewood Ranch

As a way to honor the legacy of founder and chairman Pat Neal, Neal Communities donated $5,000 to the 2025 Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award, presented by BUILDER Magazine and Hearthstone.  Mr. Neal was the winner of the 2024 Hearthstone Award.

Hearthstone and BUILDER joined forces to recognize builders who are dedicated to giving back and making a difference in the community. Over the last 25 years, the Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award has given $7.65 million to various charities, making it the largest philanthropic award in the home building industry. 

“Receiving last year’s Humanitarian Award was a great honor and Neal Communities is happy to support the 2025 Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award and support the many charities who benefit from the program,” says Mr. Neal.  “Land preservation is an important priority for me and for Neal Communities. We take great care in preserving natural features, and native plants and trees while creating interconnected wildlife corridors and aquatic preserves in every community that we build.”

The Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award was presented to Mr. Neal last year as a result of his efforts for conservation in Sarasota and Manatee Counties over the 55 years that Neal Communities has operated.   The Hearthstone award also recognized the Keystone contribution to the Big Pine Key National Wildlife Refuge in Big Pine Key, Florida near Key West. This is the home of the remaining 700-800 Key Deer surviving on the planet – an increase from the approximately 50 key deer when the contribution was made – which itself is a result of Mr. Neal’s gift to the Trust for Public Lands and the sale to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1986.

The Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award program is fully funded by a team of sponsors. Every dollar given is donated to the awardee’s associated charities. As last year’s award winner, Neal received $350,000, which was donated to the Big Waters Land Trust (formerly the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast), which focuses its efforts on the purchase of fresh and saltwater wetlands, imperiled habitats for wildlife, scrub habitats, connectivity for wildlife corridors, and for the purchase of properties for public access.