FEBRUARY 10 • 2022 | 47

SPORTS

T

he Michigan Jewish 
Sports Foundation has a 
new executive director.
He’s a familiar face.
Don Rudick, a foundation 
Pillars of Excellence honoree 
in 2016 and active volunteer 
at foundation events, was 
named the executive director in 
December.
The West Bloomfield resi-
dent replaced Sari Cicurel, who 
resigned as executive director 
to devote more time to her busy 
public relations business.
Cicurel had been executive 
director since 2018 after serving 
for six years as the foundation’s 
community relations director.
Rudick retired in September 
from his job running a financial 
services company. But he’s not 
the retiring type.
“I didn’t want to sit around 
after I retired,
” he said. “I want-
ed to be productive, and hope-
fully do something that promot-
ed Jewish values and history.
”
He jumped at the opportunity 
to run the philanthropic foun-
dation’s day-to-day operations 
after being offered the executive 
director job by the foundation’s 
board of directors.
“I didn’t apply for the job. 
The job applied for me,
” he 
said. “This is a great job for me 

because I’m a sports guy and 
I’m an organizer. I like to be in 
charge of things.
”
Foundation board president 
Stuart Raider is happy Rudick, a 
longtime friend, took the job.
“Right guy, right job, right 
time,
” Raider said. “Don’s a solid 
guy with great organizing skills. 
The best part about Don taking 
the job is he’s so excited, and his 
excitement is contagious.
”
Rudick’s organizing 
skills have been put 
on display many 
times when 
Detroit has 
hosted the 
JCC Maccabi 
Games.
He was 
the operations 
director in 2019, 
in charge of areas 
ranging from transportation 
to medical services to signage 
to making sure there was water 
and ice at venues.
He was the transportation 
chair in 2008. His task then was 
to ensure that 3,500 teenage ath-
letes and coaches got to where 
they needed to go on time.
He ran the softball venue in 
1998.
Rudick coached Detroit 

Maccabi softball teams for eight 
years — earning gold, silver and 
bronze medals — and table ten-
nis players for five years, and he 
also was a delegation head for 
three years.
Longtime Detroit Maccabi 
delegation head Karen Gordon 
said the foundation executive 
director position is “a wonderful 
fit” for Rudick.
“Don is a good guy who is 
passionate about sports 
and the Jewish com-
munity,
” she said. 
“He’s a great lis-
tener and will 
do whatever 
needs to be 
done.
”
Rudick’s 
organizational 
acumen is being 
quickly put to the test 
in his new job.
He’s organizing the founda-
tion’s next fundraising event, the 
31st annual Hank Greenberg 
Golf and Tennis Invitational, 
contacting vendors and spon-
sors and attending to myriad 
other details ahead of the June 
6 get-together at Franklin Hills 
Country Club.
“It’s like putting together the 
pieces of a puzzle,
” he said.

Some of the pieces are in 
place.
Southfield High School grad-
uate and 2021 Baseball Hall of 
Fame inductee Ted Simmons 
will receive the Hank Greenberg 
Lifetime Achievement Award.
CBS News and 60 Minutes 
correspondent Armen Keteyian 
will receive the Dick Schaap 
Memorial Award for Media 
Excellence.
Keteyian was supposed to be 
honored at last year’s Greenberg 
Invitational, but he couldn’t 
travel from the East Coast after 
it was battered by Hurricane Ida.
Still to be announced by the 
foundation is the recipient of 
the Barry Bremen Memorial 
Inspiration Award.
The Greenberg Invitational 
wasn’t held in 2020 because of 
the COVID-19 pandemic. It 
was moved from its usual early 
June date to August last year 
when there was a lull in COVID 
infections.
The Michigan Jewish Sports 
Hall of Fame induction banquet, 
the foundation’s other major 
annual fundraiser, was canceled 
in 2020 and 2021 because of the 
pandemic.
It could return in 2022 at a 
date and site to be determined.
“We’re planning to have a 
Hall of Fame banquet this year,
” 
Rudick said. “Of course, COVID 
will dictate that decision.
”
The banquet holds a special 
place in Rudick’s heart because 
that’s where he received his 
Pillars of Excellence award in 
2016.
There’s more information on 
the 2022 Greenberg Invitational 
at www.michiganjewishsports.
org and the foundation’s 
Facebook page.
Rudick can be reached at 
(248) 390-5981. 

Send sports news to 

stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

Don Rudick hits the ground 
running after being named 
executive director of the Michigan 
Jewish Sports Foundation.

‘Right Guy, 
 Right Job, 
Right Time’

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

MICHIGAN JEWISH SPORTS FOUNDATION

Don Rudick

