By Amy Joseph Landon
Senior Director of Marketing and Communications
For so many in our community, the past 135 years of the JCC have been filled with memories of sports, from the games played to the friends made along the way. On Friday, November 28, the Trager Family JCC celebrated that rich legacy and history of sports — in this and all buildings — with a JCC Sports Reunion. Nearly 150 members of our community – and one who came into town from Virginia – came together to reunite with old friends, compete in basketball challenges, and be on hand as the championship banners from the old JCC building were unveiled in the Goldberg Family Gymnasium, where they now have a permanent home.
As soon as guests walked into the hallway leading to the gym, they were greeted by nostalgia. A timeline of the 135-year history of the JCC/YMHA highlighted photos of many celebratory moments in sports, accompanied by myriad trophies, plaques, and other memorabilia from both the JCC collection and from community members who shared their treasures for the reunion. Athletes who have been inducted into the JCC Sports Hall of Fame were featured alongside the memorabilia display, highlighting their athletic accomplishments.
Inside the Goldberg Family Gymnasium, sports alumni quickly gathered with friends, old and new to reminisce and catch up. Throughout the event, conversations continued to flow, leading up to some of the event’s biggest moments. Some guests participated in a basketball contest, testing out their old skills in shooting baskets from different areas of the court to see who could make all the designated shots the fastest. There were two winners – Camden Evans and Aaron Tasman.
The day culminated with a brief ceremony in which Event Co-Chair Mark Behr honored some of the athletes who are no longer with us and spoke about what participating in sports at the JCC meant to so many people over the years. Emotions were high as the championship banners that hung in the old JCC building finally found their place in the new Trager Family JCC. Guests whose names were featured on the banners gathered at center court to watch as each banner was individually unspooled from the railing on the track above the court.
The event was an exceptionally meaningful way to honor the rich history of the JCC in our new home. Just as the memories of the event will find a permanent place in each guest’s heart, the banners will find their permanent place in the Trager Family JCC for all to celebrate.
“So many people came up to me and thanked me for putting this event on,” said Evan Rowe, who played on several JCC basketball teams during the 1990s. “Seeing the banners once again brought back a lot of wonderful memories — reuniting with old friends and teammates as we spent the afternoon reminiscing about, as the Bruce Springsteen song says, our ‘glory days.’”
Behr, whose 1977 JCC basketball squad made it to the national semifinals, was struck by the power of the reunion’s collective camaraderie.
“Everyone seemed to have a great time seeing old friends and teammates,” he said, cherishing being present “to see all the banners find a new home in the Goldberg Gym where they belong.”
It was a promise long contemplated and richly fulfilled.
“To get so many individuals together representing so many generations,” Behr observed, “is exactly the definition of l’dor v’dor.”