The Lions Gate retirement community will be holding its first annual Golf Classic at Golf Land on Oct. 10 to honor the memory of its former CEO Susan Love, who passed away at 57 in January.
The golf event will connect senior residents with family and community members, and participants are able to play one round of either chip and putt or mini-golf at Golf Land in Voorhees. Also on tap will be food trucks, a showing of the Philadelphia Eagles’ game and prizes. The Voorhees police and fire departments will give truck tours and safety talks to kids.
Aimee Levin, Alison Platt-Tarnopol and Glenn Sloves are co-chairs for the Friends of Jewish Senior Housing Event committee, and knew Love on both a personal and professional level. They planned the event beginning in April as a way to honor and remember Love, who was named CEO of Lions Gate in 2016 and was an employee for 20-plus years prior. She oversaw the facility during the pandemic and her colleagues commended her for taking swift action and handling the crisis with grace and insightfulness.
“There was not one stone left unturned in Susan’s plan to do the most she could do to mitigate the spread of this horrible thing,” Platt-Tarnopol said.
In her free time, Love was an avid golfer who participated in tournaments and saw the sport as a family activity.
“Susan’s dream was to eventually do an intergenerational event with the Lions Gate residents, their families, as well the whole community,” Levin explained. “She thought it would be such a beautiful thing to have this multigenerational day where people could have fun with golf,” Platt-Tarnopol added.
“… Doing miniature golf and chip and putt was the highlight of the idea. It wasn’t your typical 18 hole.”
Proceeds from the golf event will support residents at Lions Gate and Saltzman House who need help to buy medical equipment, an effort of the Friends of Jewish Senior Housing and Healthcare Services.
In addition to the golf tournament, the Voorhees Arts Council will unveil and donate eight new pieces of art created for a silent auction at Golf Land. Three pieces honor Susan Love, and four pieces and a collage were of health-care staff as part of the Healing Art for the Healthcare Hero’s Heart program.
“Susan was well known, not just at Lions Gate, but in the community, and we have really had tremendous support for people who want to come and honor her,” Platt-Tarnopol said.
Registration for the event is ongoing, and tickets can be purchased at https://lionsgateccrc.org/lovegolf. Adult tickets are $72, a family of four costs $216, and tickets for nongolfers are $36.
