HARTFORD – More than 350 community leaders and local dignitaries came together at the Marriott Hotel in Hartford on Sept. 29 to honor the Hoffman family and Ray Allen as they were presented with the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Torch of Liberty Award.

The Torch of Liberty Award is presented annually to citizens and corporations whose work has helped to strengthen the Greater Hartford community. The Hoffmans and Allen were introduced by Alan Lazowski of LAZ Parking and former UConn coach Jim Calhoun, respectively.

“We have to teach our children… to communicate from a basis of love and respect,” said Allen in his acceptance speech. “We have to provide them with the tools to weed out the negative stereotypes, the hate and the bigotry, that to some extent will always be present in today’s world. That is what ADL does.”

“We couldn’t ask for more deserving award recipients,” said ADL Connecticut Director Steve Ginsburg. “Ray is a great basketball player and an even better person. He lives by the ideals of the ADL. The Hoffman family’s generosity in Greater Hartford is unmatched and spans decades.”

CAP: At the ADL Torch of Liberty Award reception: (l to r) Alan Lazowski, Jim Calhoun, I. Bradley Hoffman, Jeffrey Hoffman, ADL Board Chair Robyn Teplitzky, Ray Allen, Regional Director Steve Ginsburg and Eric Zachs. Photo credit: Harold Shapiro