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ALEC GLASSER STORY CONTINUED...
Enter The Drake Hotel at the swanky address of 440 Park Avenue in New York City. It was here that Alec spent his teenage summers working the night shift as an elevator operator and bellman, while attending college at State University of NY, Buffalo, where he earned a BA degree in Political Science/Russian Language Studies, and graduated Dean’s List and Phi Beta Kappa.
Instead of living at home and commuting between the two boroughs, management allowed him to stay at the hotel in exchange for being on-call 24/7 if needed. As a result, between school years, Alec literally lived at, absorbed, and enjoyed the experience and music of The Drake during these very formative years meeting the likes of John Coltrane, Sammy Davis Jr, Judy Garland and Jimi Hendrix —The Drake experience never left him.
After spending three summers at The Drake, Alec left New York City bound for college in California, and armed with enough cash earned to put himself through law school at the University of Southern California, where he graduated Order of the Coif (top 10%) and was an Editor of the Law Review. After passing the California Bar, a long career later followed. First, as a practicing lawyer (specializing in real estate and securities law), then, as a faculty member at the USC Law Center, and later as a commercial real estate investor/developer.
Alec attributes much of his success professionally to the many invaluable lessons learned and wisdom gained from his early experiences while working and living at The Drake Hotel. While Alec's time at The Drake Hotel is long behind him— it was demolished in 2008— the memories remain present and strong in his heart and soul. And, decades later, he reinvented an updated version of The Drake experience in his longtime home of Laguna Beach.
When The Drake restaurant opened in Laguna in 2019, Alec had a primary goal: to establish a “give back” initiative dedicated to supporting music education for underserved children in public schools. In 2021, The Drake Gives, a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit foundation, was formed. Partnering with Save The Music—a nonprofit with a remarkable 25-year history of successful music education programs—The Drake Gives has since raised over $625,000, supporting programs in schools across the U.S., with a primary focus on Orange County school districts.
In 2023, Alec’s vision for amplifying music's impact on society took a significant step forward when he connected with Dr. Richard Matthew at the University of California, Irvine's School of Social Ecology. This pivotal meeting led to the creation of the Center for The Power of Music. Together, they have driven the Center’s rapid growth, building impactful programs and forging partnerships that enhance lives and strengthen communities on both a local and global scale.
In addition, Alec and The Drake Gives have established an annual $100,000 scholarship program administered by the Center to support students who want to infuse music in their future professional paths in some manner. These scholarships are awarded to those with a financial need regardless of whether they intend to have careers specifically in the music industry, including medicine, social services, marketing, and sports.