health & wellness >> sports A Big Success Heartland — Georgian Bloomfi Heartland —West Bloomfield Heartland — Oakland : Honorees Paul Carey and Lou Brock at the Hank Greenberg event Steve Stein Contributing Writer 800.800.CARE 1,.1 • Health Care Center ENTERTAINMENT 248.356.6000 www.JoeCornell.com V MCs, DJs, Dancers Cool Music Lighting Staging The Original 6th Grade DANCE EXPERIENCE BIRMINGHAM Kids Karate _ Call for your Ft EE Trial Class Birmingham 12219 Cole Street. Birmingham MI 48009 248.646.6608 Martial Art S www.bmartialarts.com 94 jUr e 4 2 012 j of this down: June 3, 2013. Franklin Hills Country Club in Farmington Hills. That's the date and site of the 23rd annual Hank Greenberg Memorial Golf Invitational. Former major league player and manager Joe Torre, now the executive vice president for baseball operations for Major League Baseball, will be presented the Greenberg Lifetime Achievement Award. All that's in place for next year's invitational before the glow of the 22nd annual invitational June 4 at Franklin Hills has faded, and David Blatt couldn't be happier. "We've been trying to honor Joe (Torre) for a while, and Franklin Hills did a wonderful job this year so we decided to come back',' said Blatt, exec- utive director of the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation, which presents the invitational. A sellout of nearly 170 golfers played at Franklin Hills the first time the invitational was held there. "That was a lot of people, but play moved along well," Blatt said. Another 80 or so folks attended the post-golf dinner. It was an emotional, nostalgic and informative evening. Program emcee Jeremy Schapp of ESPN presented the inaugural Barry Bremen Memorial Inspiration Award to Adam Bremen, son of the famous "Great Adam Bremen Imposer" who died last year. The award recognizes individuals who have over- come challenges. Adam Bremen hasn't let being wheelchair-bound stop him from leading a full life. Former St. Louis Cardinals star and Hall of Famer Lou Brock was pre- sented the Greenberg award by Steve Greenberg, Hank Greenberg's son. Ex-Detroit Tigers radio broadcaster Paul Carey received the Dick Schaap Award for Media Excellence from Jeremy Schaap, Dick Schaap's son. Brock and Carey with Schaap acting as moderator participated in a sports panel discussion and answered ques- tions from the audience. Information of a different sort was disseminated by Jordan Maier, medical director of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center's Lawrence and Idell Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center in Farmington Hills. He talked about the work that's done at the Weisberg Center. Proceeds from the invitational ben- efit the Weisberg Center and children's charities. Hank Greenberg died of cancer in 1986. Maier's appearance was one of a few new twists to the invitational. Another was a drawing for a trip for two to the 2013 Masters golf tournament, a $5,000 value. Blatt said about 130 of 200 raffle tickets were sold in just a few weeks. Another twist took place the day before the invitational. Brock signed autographs for two hours at DC Sports at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Lou Brock Scholarship Foundation and Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation. It was the first time the Greenberg award winner held a public autograph session, and Blatt hopes it becomes a tradition. "There were close to 100 people wait- ing in line when Lou arrived there Blatt said. "Lou was very cordial. I'm sure the people who came enjoyed meeting him, and it was a worthwhile day financially for both foundations." Even though the invitational has a proven formula for success, Blatt said, it's important to change and improve it each year. "We're always looking for ways to make it better',' he said. "`With the economy the way it is and so many worthwhile charities needing funds, we want to make our event one that you can't miss." Beatles fans couldn't afford to miss this year's invitational because one of the auction items was a guitar signed by Paul McCartney. Even though it wasn't a guitar McCartney played, it went for about $1,500. The invitational was held at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township in 2010 and 2011 before moving to Franklin Hills. It was at its longtime home, Tam- 0-Shanter Country Club in West Bloomfield, in 2009, the first year Blatt and his wife, Hedy Blatt, started running the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation. Hedy Blatt is the founda- tion's communications and events director. Send news to sports@thejewishnews.com .