Rose will receive the award at the 2018 JCC Sports Award Dinner on Sept. 17.
For years, Donna Rose has been a key part of putting on the annual Katz JCC Sports Award Dinner, serving as the event’s operations chair since its inception.
This year, Rose is in a bit of a different position. In addition to being the operations chair for the dinner, Rose is also an honoree. Rose was selected as the 2018 recipient of the JCC’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her many years of service to the JCC in a variety of capacities. This year’s JCC Sports Award Dinner is scheduled to take place on Monday, Sept. 17.
“I was taken aback,” Rose said of her selection. “I was appreciative of it. But it’s something that I do because I love what I do.”
Rose has been a part of the JCC community since the 1990s when her family moved to Cherry Hill and her kids began to get involved in the sports teams and other programming at the center. Rose has since been a huge part of the JCC, serving as a board member, chairing the South Jersey Maccabi Delegation and being the operations chair for the Sports Award Dinner for the past 11 years.
“I was asked to be on the committee,” Rose said about her role with the dinner. “I like to be organized. I wanted to make sure things run smoothly.”
Rose’s job with the dinner is to oversee everything from the setup of the tables to the order of events during the evening. As the years have gone on, Rose said the dinner’s organizing committee has gotten a routine down as to how the night should run each year. She credits the community for making the Sports Award Dinner a success.
“I think that people come out to support the people in our community,” Rose said. “They want to give back and support them and hear what professional athletes have to say and how they relate to community.”
Rose enjoys the keynote speakers the JCC brings in. Each year, the JCC brings in one or two sports personalities to speak at the event. Athletes such as Shane Victorino, Brian Dawkins and Charles Barkley have all appeared. This year, Philadelphia Eagles players Jason Kelce and Malcolm Jenkins were scheduled to speak at the event.
“It’s usually pretty eye-opening when you hear what different speakers say, like how Shady McCoy got his nickname or Donovan McNabb and his charity,” Rose said. “Everyone has a cause.”
Rose isn’t just being honored for her work with the dinner. She’s been heavily involved with the JCC’s Maccabi Games delegation for a number of years. Rose recalled when the JCC hosted the games in 1999 and was impressed with the scale of the event.
“I liked the whole concept of the Jewish teams getting to know each other from all over the world,” she said.
Four years ago, when the JCC hosted the 2014 Maccabi Games, Rose took on a big job as an administration co-chair for the games. She oversaw a number of departments, including housing, food and evening activities.
“Our games were the most secure games that I had been to, prior to or after,” Rose said about what stood out about the 2014 games. “The amount of security and things we had going on was incredible.”
Currently, Rose is also a board member for the Katz JCC. She talked of how the board is charged with making a variety of decisions about the JCC, everything from financial to programming. Rose enjoys making her voice heard and being able to make a positive impact on the center.
“We know what’s going on in the whole Jewish Community Center,” she said.
Rose has taken on numerous jobs throughout the years at the JCC and plans to continue volunteering in the future. Rose said her love for the community is what pushes her to continue serving at the JCC.
“I like the people there,” she said. “I like the organization. I feel like I help out. I feel like my voice is heard.”
