The occasion of the 10th annual Katz JCC Sports Award Dinner was the same as it has been for many years: the first Monday night in November. Master of Ceremonies Marc Zumoff presided once again. There were the customary awards presentations, plus the appearance of a big-ticket personality culled from the professional athletic ranks.
But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic cast a giant shadow over the normally heartwarming evening, necessitating the absence of what would have been hundreds of enthusiastic attendees. Phillies manager Joe Girardi, keynote speaker for the night, called it a time to embrace “love and hope” in the face of great difficulty.
Speaking about Steve Ravitz, who oversaw the growth of his family’s ShopRite stores and received the Lifetime Achievement Award almost seven months after succumbing to COVID, Girardi noted, ”There were so many examples of how Mr. Ravitz gave ‘love and hope.’ He sent food to war-torn Kosovo. Think about when food is your hope, how much you must be struggling.
“That’s compassion. That’s love.”
Since its 1994 inception, The Ravitz Family Foundation has donated more than $5 million to charitable endeavors throughout the region, including those supported by Katz and the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey. Steve Ravitz, acting as chairman, led the foundation in its distribution of funds to a number of nonprofit organizations and community groups aimed at helping children and families in need.
Even as the elder Ravitz dished out advice to his children on how to maintain the business and its reputation and waged his final battle, he never forgot that he was a father first.
“Even in his retirement, and especially in what would be his final days, he never stopped inspiring and caring for us,” son Shawn Ravitz recalled. “This past spring, it’s no secret that our business was pushed to its absolute limits. Long days, sleepless nights. My dad called me every other day just to check in.”
It was fitting, then, that the honor bearing Steve Ravitz’s name for this year’s ceremony will bear his name in perpetuity.
Love and hope was also a theme in the story of Amy and Brett Breslow, who were recognized via Zoom with the People’s Choice Award. Brett recounted how, on March 20, he “became the first person to walk into Cooper University Hospital with COVID-19,” and triggered the start of a 19-day stint on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit, far and away more life-threatening than anything the Gulf War veteran had previously experienced.
Amy flocked to every available medium to plead with the public for plasma donations, particularly from a person who had already recovered from COVID, in the hope they contained antibodies to fight the virus.
She thanked many in the community, notably Cherry Hill Councilwoman Jennifer Apell, for navigating the state government bureaucracy and writing a letter on Brett’s behalf, and Camden County Freeholder Jeffrey Nash, for his influence in the county’s rapid response to setting up COVID testing sites.
Brett spent nine weeks in the hospital before returning home to a hero’s welcome on May 28.
“We’re forever grateful, but not surprised by your kindness and generosity,” he noted.
Eastern High School senior Melody Dias was the recipient of the David Back Memorial Award, recognition of an athlete who displays leadership qualities during and away from athletic competition while maintaining a strong sense of Jewish identity.
Her foray into “love and hope” came in the form of volunteerism at the Voorhees Pediatric Facility and her current position as an intern with Virtua Hospital’s surgical department. She also serves as vice president of her chapter within the Jewish youth group, BBYO.
Dias has competed in the Maccabi games since sixth grade, when she won a bronze medal in tennis, and has since gone on to represent Team South Jersey. She is currently captain of the Eastern girls varsity tennis team and president of Rho Kappa, the school’s history honors society. Her plan is to attend the University of Chicago next year.
Girardi capped the evening by offering words of grace to the award recipients, generous thanks, and a benediction for those in attendance live and online.
“Don’t lose focus, don’t lose faith,’’ he advised. “Never forget that life is not about you. Life is about how we can make someone else’s life better. If you change one person’s life, and that person in turn changes two people’s lives, and those two change four, think about how impactful that is.”
