By Andrew Adler
Community Editor
Twenty years ago, an idea bubbled up that would significantly alter the course of Jewish philanthropy in Louisville:
Organize a golf scramble that would benefit not one, but two foundational organizations, Jewish Family & Vocational Services and the Jewish Community Center. Call it the Republic Bank Players Challenge, reflecting the title sponsorship by the area’s largest independent banking company and its stewardship by multiple generations of the Trager family.
The collaboration flourished over the ensuing two decades, even as the benefitting organizations became Jewish Family & Career Services and the Trager Family JCC. This year’s event, slated for Monday, Aug. 12 at the Standard Club, once again will reflect the power and resonance of a defining community partnership.
“I think it’s more relevant today than ever before,” says Steve Trager, chairman of Republic Bank, “because all of us as Jews are going though stressful times, and having entities like the JCC and JFCS – that are so helpful to so many people – highlight what we as Jews do.”
Prior to 2004, then-JFVS hosted its own golf tournament, with the JCC holding a smaller members’ event. Considering their overlapping missions and physical proximity (literally across the street from each other), a merged tournament could generate considerable philanthropic synergy.
“Then Republic Bank and Steve Trager stepped up and agreed to be the title sponsor,” recalls Judy Freundlich Tiell, who was Executive Director of JFVS at the time. “They also helped develop other sponsorship leads – through their book of business, they had opportunities we didn’t have. From there it grew to become a real collaborative event, with staff and lay volunteers from both organizations involved.”
During the combined tournament’s early years, organizers sought to expand the participant pool by including such ancillary components as tennis and card games. More recently, however, it’s been a golf-only enterprise, with four-member teams competing for top honors.
Many of these quartets have returned year after year, a number of whom aren’t themselves Jewish but who believe in the shared goals and the pleasures of friendly competition. But fundamentally, the Republic Bank Players Challenge reflects its core constituency.
“The interesting part is having a bunch of people in Louisville who play golf and are Jewish, who for one day get to be together in that setting,” says Reed Weinberg, a former event chairman and longtime participant. “There aren’t a ton of opportunities to do that in an informal setting, and I think that’s why it was always exciting.”
Having the event at Standard Country Club makes it doubly compelling.
“A lot of people like myself grew up at the Standard Club who are Jewish and are no longer members there,” Weinberg points out, “but I always enjoy coming back. It brings back memories, because as a young Jewish kid playing gold, that’s where I was.”
(Standard individual player registration is $300, which includes lunch, admission to the golf scramble, Heaven Hill Brands tasting, and the awards & honor dinner that evening. Foursomes can register together for $1,200.)
Volunteers are essential to making sure the Republic Bank Players Challenge run smoothly. Doug Roemer, a former board member of JFVS/JFCS, was already a veteran event golfer when he was asked some years ago to chair the Players Challenge committee.
“It was already a well-oiled machine that Judy had developed,” he says. “My job was to reach out to all the sponsors and make sure they wanted” to continue. “I’d help with the advertising and marketing. We were always well supported by Republic Bank – Steve and (vice chair) Scott Trager were always out there playing.”
Indeed, from its inception the event has been an intergenerational initiative. The late Bernard Trager, Steve Trager’s father and the founder of Republic Bancorp – and Jean Trager, Steve’s mother – were passionate supporters of Jewish enterprises throughout the Louisville area. They were also highly visible personalities at successive Players Challenges, both on and off the golf course.
Bernard and Jean Trager’s legacy will be honored during a post-scramble ceremony.
“We’ve been very blessed, being able to achieve some success,” Steve Trager says. “And you know, it started with my mom and dad. They came from nothing, so they always felt that they were the beneficiaries of philanthropy back in their young days, and I think they always wanted to pay it forward.”
Their imperative has succeeded beyond traditional boundaries. “Steve Trager was instrumental initially in attracting corporate sponsors who were not Jewish,” Tiell says. “Many of those sponsors stayed on for many years, (which) created an opportunity for us to get our messages out, raise money and create a fun time for people.”
Following pandemic-induced pauses in 2020 and 2021, the Republic Bank Players Challenge returned to the Standard Country Club in 2022. That year also saw the return of players eager to get back on the course, augmented by a cadre of volunteers – including a fair number of young ones that had already made their mark on the event. “After a while some older people weren’t going to do all the lifting and schlepping,” Tiell recalls, “so we needed young people to help.”
Over the years “we also had volunteers who were welcoming (participants),” she adds, “selling mulligans (a do-over after an errant shot) and giving out shirts or whatever the prize was.”
The idea is for teams to have fun even as they strive – with varying intensity – to come out on top.
“You play and play, and on a day when you’re playing really well you think to yourself, ‘Oh my gosh – we have a chance to win,’” Weinberg says. “And then you get into the clubhouse, and you realize there are some teams that are way ahead of you.”
Think of the Republic Bank Players Challenge as an embodiment of L’dor V’dor – “From generation to generation” – whether you’re a player or volunteer.
“The role of volunteering as much as the role of being in a foursome has been passed down among generations within families,” Roemer says.
“It’s like a reunion,” Steve Trager emphasizes. “My generation grew up at the JCC, and many of my best friends are folks I met at the JCC, where we hung out multiple days every week. I think all of us have that attachment. Something good happened there – and to this day, something good is happening there.”
Ultimately, the 20th anniversary Republic Bank Players Challenge is about furthering the overlapping visions of JFCS and the Trager Family JCC, helping to translate those visions into action and result. “We all have slightly different missions,” Tiell acknowledges, “but we have similar kinds of values and work very closely.”
“We’re very proud” of the bank’s sponsorship, Trager says. “When people come to the JCC who aren’t Jewish, participate in the Challenge or take advantage of the services provided by JFCS, it gives them a face for Jews. We aren’t ‘that unknown’ out there. They get a feel for (how) these are the people who help other people.”
For more information and to register, go online at JewishLouisville.org/golf. Golfers who register as individuals will be matched to form a foursome.
