Celtics Recognize the "Heroes Among Us"

New England is home to many individuals who have made an overwhelming impact on our community, positively affecting the lives of others. For the fourth season, the Boston Celtics will recognize an individual or individuals at each home game who have made a special contribution.

April Heroes | March Heroes | February Heroes | January Heroes | December Heroes | October Heroes

Here are the November 2000-01 "Heroes Among Us":

November 26
Deb Berman and Rick Hobish - (pictured with Antoine Walker and Grant Long) Deb and Rick are co-founders of Camp Starfish, a summer camp in Brewster dedicated to children from suffering from severe emotional, behavioral and learning problems. The camp, the first of its kind in New England, is based on the principle that each child needs to experience small personal and social successes to build the self-confidence necessary for them to function outside of the camp. By providing a one-to-one ratio between campers and counselors, the camp provides each child with the tools they need to make lasting changes in their lives.








November 24
Mark Friedman - (pictured with Antoine Walker and Bo Outlaw) Mark, the basketball sports director for the Special Olympics, has been volunteering with Special Olympics for over 20 years. He attends every training school, clinic and competition throughout the state. Mark is one of the most dedicated volunteers Special Olympics has ever seen, and for his years of dedication, Mark was recently inducted into the Special Olympics Massachusetts Hall of Fame.










November 22
Peter Needham and John Burke - (pictured with Paul Pierce and Cuttino Mobley) While walking along the Neponset River with friends in June, 15-year olds Peter and John from Dorchester heard the screeching of tires from the Expressway above them, and saw a vehicle fall over 30 feet into the River. The car, which had been run off the road by a drunk driver in another car, quickly sank in fifteen feet of water. The driver escaped from the sinking car, but had injuries that prevented her from staying afloat. With no lifeguard or emergency training, Peter and John jumped into the river and swam to save the driver, Carol Logan. As a crowd gathered above to watch the dramatic scene unfold, Peter and John dragged Carol to safety. Thankfully, Carol fully recovered from her injuries.





November 20
Reverend Ross Lilley - (Pictured with Antoine Walker, Allen Iverson and Eric Snow) Ross is the founder of AccessSport America, a one of a kind organization dedicated to building personal empowerment for disabled people through participation in high-challenge sports. In addition to windsurfing, the program also includes teaching water-skiing, kayaking, competitive rowing and para-sailing. Ross is the first person in the country to adapt and teach windsurfing to people with significant disabilities, and AccessSport America is the first program of its kind in the United States.





November 17
Ira Kittrell - (Pictured with Paul Pierce and Jim Jackson) Ira, a speech pathologist at the Walker Home and School, created and developed a program based on American Sign Language for his special needs students who cannot express themselves verbally. Although his students are not hearing-impaired, sign language has enabled them to communicate effectively, without becoming frustrated and angry. The program, which involves all of the teachers and students at Walker, is the first of its kind in the United States.

November 15
Jane Alexander (pictured with Antoine Walker and Juwan Howard ) - Jane founded the Women's Lunch Place in Boston. Since 1982, the Women's Lunch Place has offered food, friendship, resources and advocacy to women who struggle daily in the streets. These services are offered in the spirit of respect and friendship, which foster a community committed to meeting the women's needs. Throughout the year, nearly 600 women find refuge at the Women's Lunch Place.

November 10
Dr. Stephan Ross - (pictured with Paul Pierce and Allan Houston) Steve Ross was imprisoned by Nazis at age nine and lost his parents and all six of his siblings to the death camps. For over five years, he survived ten different concentration camps. He was liberated by the American troops in 1945, and arrived alone in the United States in 1948.

He never forgot the American soldier who found him near death and gave him bread and a small American flag. For many years, he harbored the dream of building a memorial to pay tribute to those who perished in the camps, to honor those that freed him, and to serve as a lesson to the living. Dr. Ross' dream became a reality when he founded the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston's Faneuil Hall, which was dedicated in 1995.

November 3, 2000
Greg Zaff - (pictured with Paul Pierce and Vince Carter) Greg, an internationally prominent squash player, decided that inner-city youth could benefit from the sport he loved to play. By utilizing the squash network, he arranged for use of athletic and academic space at Harvard Club and the Boston YMCA , and created Squashbusters. His program offers not only practice, lessons and competition four times a week, but also private study and tutoring sessions from volunteers from Harvard. The participants are also required to complete service projects around the city.

November 1
Betsy and Danny Nally - (pictured with Antoine Walker and Jerry Stackhouse) Five years ago, Danny and Betsy saw a story on the news about a shortage of Thanksgiving turkeys and started "Turkeys 'R' Us." Starting with 35 turkeys the first year, the drive has grown to over 1,800 turkeys collected last year alone! Danny and Betsy came one step closer to their goal of 4,000 turkeys this year when they were on the Oprah Winfrey show. There they met Jim Purdue, who committed to hand-delivering 1,000 turkeys to the Nally Turkey Drive just before the Thanksgiving holiday!