Late Dolphin to Be Honored at Pro Football Hall of Fame

"I was blown away. I did not expect this. And I don't think Jason would have ever thought he would have gotten this," Elizabeth Jenkins, Jason's wife, told Wingfield about the honor. "You think about the Hall of Fame for obviously players who are phenomenal, and it's such an amazing thing that they honor the other side of the business that is just as important and has kept this train running, and for him to be honored this way, it's just an amazing legacy."

Jenkins oversaw the Dolphins' media outreach, public relations, digital and social media, and community efforts.

He found a way to impact everyone he came in contact with and did so in a diligent, respectful way.

"It was really important for him to build solid relationships," Elizabeth said. "He knew that there were going to be times where there're not going to be great stories, and he's going to have to have that relationship, at least a respectful relationship, with a media person who may disagree or may write something that you know the organization is not overly thrilled about and that he has to manage."

But Jenkins' effect went beyond simply handling the press and putting a positive image out for the Dolphins. He made an effort to get to know people, and that became contagious throughout the organization.

"He just cared so much. He cared so much about the organization," Tom Garfinkel, the Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dolphins, said. "He cared even more about the people in it, the individuals on an individual level and he cared about the game of football."

Through his work with the Dolphins, Jenkins led the charge for the Junior Dolphins youth football program, the Miami Dolphins Foundation Food Relief Program, the Miami Dolphins Football UNITES™ program, and was an influential part of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge.

After Jenkins passed away, the Dolphins honored him with their annual Football UNITES™ Jason Jenkins Day of Service, where hundreds of volunteers spend the day in various community projects across Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties.

"He cared about the community and the people in it, and wanted to make an impact in people's lives every day," Garfinkel said. "You only read about great people actually having that level of commitment to helping other people and genuinely wanting to do that, and he did it with such humility that many things he did I didn't even know about until after he passed, and I had so many people reach out to me and tell me how he touched their lives."

Elizabeth will be in Canton, Ohio, to receive the award on behalf of Jenkins for the impact he left on the Dolphins and the South Florida community.

"I think he would just feel an immense amount of honor that they would even acknowledge him this way," Elizabeth said. "He would be extremely humbled, and I think it would drive him more. I think it would probably have been an inspiration to take it to the next level."