When I moved to Dayton almost 6 years ago, I was amazed at all of the wonderful things our city has to offer. Admittedly one of the things that surprised me most was our baseball team. It wasn’t the fact that Dayton has a baseball team that surprised me; it was that the team has such a cult following.
The Dayton Dragons are well-loved and well-known in the world of sports. Aside from the games being fun and entertaining, the Dragons currently hold an all-time record for sports in North America for having the longest streak of sold-out games. This tells me that aside from our clear love of the game, Daytonians see something very special in the Dragons program.
So when Men’s Event chairs Dan Sweeny and Larry Klaben were discussing where to go for our July 25th event, attending a Dragons game seemed like an obvious choice. Food and baseball – what’s not to love?
The evening was so much more than hot dogs and home runs. Prior to the game, Dayton Dragons owner Greg Rosenbaum gave an amazing presentation to our group. Greg is an accomplished businessman, sports enthusiast and all around good mensch. His passion for both his career, his family and his Judaism is contagious.
Greg shared with us details of his life and how he, along with two partners, acquired the Dragons. A native of Toledo, Greg attended Harvard and has had a very successful and lucrative business career. His leadership continues to inspire and support management in their innovative and professional work on behalf of the Dragons. And yet, through all of his success, he has remained incredibly humble.
Greg told us a story about an event he attended where Mark Cuban (who owns the Dallas Mavericks) was in attendance as well. When Greg and Mark were introduced, Greg assumed Mark had no idea who he was. To his surprise, Mark did know who he was. Mark is very familiar with the success of the Dragons. He told Greg he watches the Dragons attendance record as he hopes one day his team will move from second to first place for longest streak of sold-out games!
Greg was inspiring on so many levels. What struck me most though about Greg’s presentation was his love of our city. His passion for Dayton is strong. And as we work toward our goal of being the best little Jewish community in the country, it is that type of passion that helps propel us forward toward our goal.
Just as the Dragons may be small but mighty, our Dayton Jewish community is too. Our size does not define us. Sometimes being small in size can lead to big success!
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