By Cindy Mindell

STAMFORD – A surprise awaits attendees of the Stamford Jewish Community Center Annual Meeting on Tuesday, May 24: Who will carry in the torch to kick off the organization’s second century?

The torch that will be carried aloft is the JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest torch, which was passed last August to Maccabi delegation representatives of the Stamford JCC, a host site of this summer’s annual international Jewish athletic and arts event. The Torch Run will begin on Sunday, May 22, when participants trace the historical migration of the Stamford JCC from its original location on Greyrock Place in downtown Stamford, north to 132 Prospect Street, and north again to 1035 Newfield Avenue.

Two days later, on the JCC’s official 100th birthday, the yet-unnamed multi-generational family will enter the Annual Meeting and complete the relay.

The community-wide event is appropriately named “The Stamford JCC Maccabi Torch Run: A Celebration of Our Centennial’s Past, Present, and Future.”

The 2.9-mile Torch Run begins at 137 Greyrock Place, where 26 families established the Stamford Hebrew Institute on May 24, 1916, in the basement of Congregation Agudath Sholom. It stops at 132 Prospect Street, home of the newly renamed Stamford Jewish Center from 1930 until 1973. The run concludes at the entrance of 1035 Newfield Avenue, which has served as the Center of the Jewish Community and then the Stamford Jewish Community Center since opening in 1981.

The roster of relay participants is as symbolic as the route. The first group, commemorating the JCC’s past, comprises three- and four-generation member families. They will hand off the torch to the 2016 JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest leadership team-members and families, who represent the JCC’s present. Finally, the torch will be passed to the representatives of the organization’s future: the JCC Maccabi teen athletes and artists, who will complete the run.

At each of the three stops, several speakers will chronicle highlights of the JCC’s history. On May 24, the torch-bearers will enter the JCC on its official 100th birthday.

Every honoree group or family will run 100 yards of the ceremonial route.

“We want to make this as inclusive as possible, and that’s what the JCC has always been about,” says Mike Gold, co-chair of the JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest. “The Torch Run is also a symbol of how all-inclusive the JCC is for our broader community.”

“People are very passionate and emotional about being asked to participate in the Torch Run,” says Stamford JCC CEO Eric Koehler. “They are very proud in their multi-year and multi-generation participation in the JCC and in what the JCC has meant to them and the community. Being part of the Torch Run is literally passing the torch from those who started this organization to those who are going to continue it.”

The Stamford JCC Maccabi Torch Run commences on Sunday, May 22, 9 a.m. at 137 Greyrock Place in Stamford, and ends at 12:30 p.m. at the Stamford JCC, 1035 Newfield Ave. The Stamford JCC’s 100th Annual Meeting is on Tuesday, May 24, 7:45 p.m. at the JCC. Both events are open to the community. For information: stamfordjcc.org, (203) 322-7900.

CAP: As the next host community of the JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest, the Stamford JCC was passed the Maccabi torch at the closing of the 2015 JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last August. Receiving the torch are: (l to r) Rachel Rothman, director of the 2016 Stamford JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest; Mo Concepion, Stamford games supervisor; and Robin Frederick and Michael Gold, Stamford games co-chairs.