JCC Sports Award Dinner Honors its Founder

Six years ago, Jeff Brown was just trying to figure out how he was going to get Donovan McNabb to come out to a sports awards dinner and fundraiser that had only just come into existence.

He’d tried all the usual routes—going through the Eagles, trying associates of the quarterback, you name it—then stumbled on an in while working out at Nexxt Level Sports in Voorhees.

McNabb, as it turned out, would stop by and play basketball at the center, Brown discovered, and staff there offered to try to make the connection.

Not long after, McNabb signed on, and Brown had his hook.

“I went through all these agents and all these people and got nowhere,” he said with a laugh. “That is pure luck.”

The luck didn’t stop there, though—with McNabb headlining, things got even bigger on that inaugural night. Leon Rose, a Cherry Hill East alum who was Allen Iverson’s agent at the time, was being honored as part of the dinner, and that same night, Iverson re-signed with the Sixers.

Suddenly, Brown’s vision for a way to bring the local sports community together was thrust into the spotlight, as news crews featured Rose’s appearance at the JCC on every evening broadcast.

“Nothing was planned, and it turned out to be fantastic,” Brown said. “We had some luck that first year.”

It kept growing the following year—McNabb’s appearance and the media attention helped bring two members of the Phillies, Shane Victorino and Cole Hamels, and helped drive fundraising even higher—something Brown said he’s particularly proud of, since the money—roughly $700,000 since the dinner began—has gone straight to helping fund programs at the JCC.

“We were able to start something new and really fill a gap for the JCC during a tough economic time,” said Brown, who has since stepped aside from his role at the annual event. “We’re pretty proud, and our hope this year is we have our best year ever on the fundraising side.”

Now, the program he created will feature Brown in a prominent way Thursday night, as those who have followed in his footsteps will recognize him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I think it’s a great honor,” Brown said. “I’m really appreciative and thankful the group that runs the committee has felt my family has made an impact on the community.”

It’s not just his work on the sports dinner that garnered Brown the recognition—he’s been involved with the Junior Maccabi Youth Basketball League for years, and helped spearhead the JCC’s health and wellness expansion as part of the center’s board of directors.

He started out as a coach for his kids in the basketball league, and eventually brought one of his family’s companies—Sun National Bank—in as the league’s sponsor after recognizing the role it played in the local basketball community, and how it helped bring his own family into the fold after they moved into the area.

“We feel very fortunate that we’ve been in a position to give back to the community,” Brown said. “The JCC’s always had a special place in our hearts…it really was a welcoming place for us to get accepted.”

This year’s dinner won’t just honor Brown—Brett Kratchman will get the People’s Choice Award and Cherry Hill East grad Hank Davis will receive the David Back Maccabi Memorial Award.

Headlining the dinner this year will be Eagles running back LeSean McCoy.