Jewish National Fund

Detroit Pride

INVITES YOU TO THE

2014 Maccabi organizers
plan to show off the city.

2013 Doctors for Israel Dinner

I

Honoring
Dr. Mark L. Rosenblum

... . .... . . . ... ;At . .. .

Julie Edgar
Special to the Jewish News

T

hink Detroit and sports and
music likely come to mind.
So it makes sense that
next August's JCC Maccabi Games &
ArtsFest will feature Motown promi-
nently.
The leadership team — comprised
of former JCC Maccabi athletes,
coaches and delegation heads — are
stoked about the opportunity to show
off Detroit to visitors.
"It's an exciting thing for kids to see:
Here's a city with not a great rap, and
here we are showing kids some pretty
cool history:' says Ariella Monson, a
native of Ann Arbor who returned to
Michigan from California last year to
run the 2014 JCC Maccabi Games &
ArtsFest.
Opening ceremonies will be held at
Joe Louis Arena, and one of the ven-
ues the team is considering is the old
Jewish Community Center, now the
Northwest Activities Center in Detroit.
Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans is a
major sponsor of the event.
For an event of this scope to run
smoothly, about 1,000 volunteers and
800 host families are needed to do
everything from pass out snacks and
drinks to house teens for the week, to
register participants, to help with JCC
Cares, the tzedakah project associated
with Maccabi.
On Sunday, Oct. 27, the team will
host the first kickoff meeting at the
West Bloomfield JCC to sign up volun-
teers and host families, and to provide
information to athletes and artists who
want to try out later this year.
Maccabi will take place Aug. 17-22,
with Detroit hosting the largest number
of events. Along with the 1,500 teens
pouring in from all over the U.S. and
Canada, Detroit's delegation is expected
to be around 400 athletes and artists.
Sports played during the week
include baseball, inline hockey, tennis,
soccer, basketball, swimming, table
tennis, golf and bowling, and ArtsFest
includes events like vocal music/glee,
dance, musical theater, visual arts and
acting/improv. There's even room for
"star reporters" or fledgling journalists
who want to cover the event.
Games also will take place in Cherry
Hill, N.J., and Boca Raton, Fla., a week
earlier, but competitors from Detroit
will stay here. Tryouts are set for

*jcc maccabi*:

GAMES & ARTSFEST

...

..

. • •

Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, Henry Ford Health System

2014detroitorg

11111111

Co-director, Hermelin Brain Tumor Center

110

Co-director, HFHS Neuroscience Institute

1

MUM

Vice President of Clinical Programs, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital

December and January for teens ages
12-16.
Monson, 32, and her team —
Karen Gordon, Dave Stone and Rick
Zussman — started planning for next
year in August, just after the 2013 JCC
Maccabi Games & ArtsFest wrapped
because there's so much to do.
Detroit has hosted the Games
four times since Maccabi started in
1982; the reason, say team leaders, is
because of good infrastructure and the
community's legendary hospitality.
"In Detroit, we do things bigger and
better. We always push the envelope
says Stone, JCC associate executive
director.
Gordon hopes the event next year
will spark the same kind of commu-
nity pride she saw in 2008.
"There was such a buzz in this com-
munity that was just contagious:' she
says. "People were in such awe of their
own community. I think we're still rid-
ing that wave. For the first time, we
are going to infuse the city into a lot of
things we do. We're showing it off:'
Zussman, a Huntington Woods
attorney, is co-chairing with Gordon.
In 2008, he served as vice chairman of
athletics, and for the prior seven years,
coached the inline hockey teams. His
three children are former Maccabi
athletes, too.
He, too, is eager to make Detroit a
part of the overall experience.
"We're trying to showcase Detroit,
show that it's much better than the
national media portray it," he says.

with Guest Speaker

Nancy M. Schlichting

Chief Executive Officer, Henry Ford Health System

November 6, 2013 • Cocktails 5:30 pm
Tam-O-Shanter Country Club

5051 Orchard Lake Road • West Bloomfield, MI 48323

Sponsorship opportunities available • Dietary laws observed

Register online at jnf.org/dfidinner or RSVP to
RSVPmidweststates@jnf.org or 248.324.3080.

❑

A kickoff for athletes, artists, host families
and volunteers starts at 4 p.m. Sunday,
Oct. 27, at the JCC in West Bloomfield;
another will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday,
Nov. 13, at the JCC in Oak Park. Tryouts
for athletes and artists will be held in
December and January. For dates and
times, go to www.2014detroit.org or con-
tact Franci Silver at soccerrcoach@jccdet.
org. Also, see Facebook: 2014 Detroit JCC
Maccabi Games & Artsfest.

III.

JEWISH
NATIONAL
FUND

DOCTORS for ISRAEL

jnf.org • 800.JNF.0099

1872300

October 24 • 201.

21