Tom Love Memorial Field dedicated
Mayor’s Message: Michael Mignogna
On March 30, I was honored to join hundreds of people at the Rabinowitz Complex, home of GVAA baseball, for the dedication of the “Tom Love Memorial Field.” Tom was a devoted husband, father and community volunteer who died on April 9, 2011 at the youthful age of 51.
Tom was a “local boy” who grew up in Pennsauken and attended Camden Catholic High School, where he starred in basketball. He went on to receive his degree at Quinnipiac University, where he was also a standout in basketball.
His greatest collegiate accomplishment was meeting Susan, who became his wife of 26 years.
Voorhees soon became home for Tom, Susan and their four children — Sarah, Emmalee, Tylor and Stephen.
Tom loved spending time with his kids and spent many hours coaching both of his sons in baseball. He was a fixture at Rabinowitz and loved sharing his baseball knowledge and passion with the kids.
He was one of the coaches of the 2007 Gibbsboro American Legion freshmen team that won the New Jersey state championship.
Tom had a large circle of friends, including those from Pennsauken, Camden Catholic, Quinnipiac, Voorhees and the “Gym Rats” from the Jewish Community Center.
Tom will be remembered, not for how he died, but for how he lived.
He loved to ride bikes, cook and spend time at the beach.
One of his favorite pastimes was watching horse racing, and he loved visiting Saratoga Race Track in New York.
I was lucky to know Tom for the better part of 40 years.
We first crossed paths playing basketball against each other in high school.
In the years that followed, I often saw Tom as we played in the softball circuit. In the late 1990s, we relived our youth by playing against each other in the Voorhees Men’s Basketball League.
As years passed, I was lucky to run into him at a ballgame or neighborhood party.
Very simply, Tom Love was one of the good guys.
He made the world a better place and he will be missed. His memory will live on and his spirit will remain alive in the joy of kids playing baseball on “Tom Love Memorial Field.”
Tom will like that.
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The 18th-Annual Charity Bowling Tournament sponsored by Remington & Vernick Engineers will be held on Saturday, April 21 at 30 Strikes, 501 White Horse Pike, Stratford. There are four separate sessions between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. The $20 cost includes live entertainment, food and refreshments as well as bowling.
A cash bar will be available. Proceeds will benefit the Alicia Rose “Victorious” Foundation, The Little Rock Foundation, The Canuso Foundation, The Ellie Koerner Leukemia Fund and
The Mary Anne Mazanec Ovarian Cancer Foundation.
For more information, visit www.victoriousfoundation.org.
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The Fourth-Annual Community “Walk 4 Family & Friends with Cancer” will be held on Sunday, April 22, at 8 a.m. at Connolly Park on Centennial Boulevard.
Proceeds will benefit the Financial Assistance for Cancer Patients Program and the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
The entry fee is $25 per person, $15 per child age 6 to 18, by April 17 or $30 the day of the event.
For more information, visit www.walk 4family-friendswithcancer.org.
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On Saturday, April 28, the Voorhees Animal Orphanage will hold its Sixth-Annual Wag ’n Walk fundraiser at Connolly Park. The event is for dog owners and their pets and is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event features vendors, refreshments and pets for adoption. Since 1988, VAO has been dedicated to providing shelter, food and medical care to stray and unwanted animals until permanent homes can be found.
To register online, visit www.firstgiving.com/awagnwalk.
For more information about the VAO, visit www.animalorphanage.org
On Sunday, April 29, Virtua Hospital in Voorhees will host the March of Dimes March of Babies at its campus located on Route 73.
The 4-mile walk raises funds to support babies born prematurely or with birth defects. Registration is at 9 a.m. and the march begins at 10 a.m.
For more information, contact Susan Sczechowicz at ssczechowicz@marchofdimes.com or call (856) 375–8214.
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Special Needs Parents, Educators and Kids (SPEAK) will hold an All Abilities 5K-Run/1 Mile Walk on Saturday, April 14 at the Eastern Regional High School Stadium.
Registration begins at 8 a.m.
The 5K begins at 9 a.m. and the 1 Mile Walk begins at 9:30 a.m. The cost for adults 18 and older is $15 and for children is $10. SPEAK is the parent-faculty association for families with special needs in Voorhees Township Public School District and money raised will support the cause. Register online before April 11 at www.southjerseyspeak.org or on the morning of the event. For more information go to speak@southjerseyspeak.org or call (856) 808–0048.
