PRESENTED BY IRA A. LIPMAN
NATIONAL CHAIRMAN N.C.C.J.
CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT GUARDSMARK, INC.

PEABODY HOTEL MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

APRIL 25, 1991

FRIENDSHIP. . . . FELLOWSHIP…. STEWARDSHIP. …CITIZENSHIP.

THESE ARE AMONG THE NOBLEST VESSELS IN THE FLEET OF CIVILIZATION. AND ALL THESE VIRTUOUS SHIPS HOLD THIS IN COMMON: THEY HAVE ALL BEEN ADMIRABLY SAILED BY THE SKIPPER WE HONOR HERE TONIGHT, OUR HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR, WILLIAM IRA LOEWENBERG.

YES, “WILLIAM IRA”…. FOR THIS FORMAL OCCASION, YOUR FORMAL NAME….”WILLIAM,” FROM YOUR PROUD FATHER….”IRA,” FROM YOUR UNCLE, THAT GREAT MEMPHIS CIVIC LEADER, IRA LICHTERMAN.

BUT WHY “SKIPPER,” OR “SKIP”?

THAT, WE ARE TOLD, IS A LEGACY FROM A NURSE, WHO TOOK IT UPON HERSELF TO GIVE YOU A NEW NAME IN YOUR INFANCY, AND WHO FIRMLY AFFIXED IT DURING YOUR BOYHOOD-BY SEWING IT INTO THE LINING OF ALL YOUR CLOTHES.

FORTY ODD YEARS LATER, YOUR FRIENDS STILL CALL YOU “SKIP.” AND HOW FORTUNATE IT IS TO BE COUNTED AMONG THEM. BECAUSE IN THIS WORLD, IT IS RARE TO FIND A FAITHFUL FRIEND THAT NEEDS NO VOW, NO GIFT, NO TIE ….ONE TRUE AND DEAR AND TRUSTED FRIEND WHO WOULD INDEED SAIL ACROSS AN OCEAN TO BE BY YOUR SIDE.

SUCH FRIENDSHIPS DO NOT COME BY CHANCE, BUT ARE BUILT ON HONOR, FAITH, AND TRUST. AND SO IT IS A PRIVILEGE TONIGHT TO BE ASKED TO PRESENT TO YOU THIS AWARD, IN RECOGNITION OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS ORGANIZATION, AND TO THIS COMMUNITY.

SOME HAVE RESTLESS EYES, ALWAYS ON THE HORIZON. OTHERS HAVE CLOSED AND BLINDED EYES THAT NEVER SEE THE LIGHT. SOME HAVE HAUNTED EYES THAT TELL THE SORROWS OF THEIR YEARS. BUT THE EYES OF SKIPPER LOEWENBERG BRIM WITH LOVE AND SYMPATHY AND COMPASSION FOR THOSE AROUND HIM.

HIS EYES BEHOLD A VISION-STILL UNREALIZED-OF A MEMPHIS FIRMLY ROOTED IN THE SOIL OF FREEDOM AND COOPERATION. HIS VOICE SPEAKS SOFTLY WITH THE WISDOM OF UNDERSTANDING. AND HIS HANDS ARE CONSTANTLY AT WORK, HIS RIGHT HAND OF FELLOWSHIP-STRONG AND STEADY-ALWAYS EXTENDED TO THOSE IN NEED.

THESE ARE THE QUALITIES THAT DEFINE A HUMANITARIAN. AND THESE ARE THE QUALITIES THAT IMPEL SKIP LOEWENBERG TO DO HIS BEST-NOT FOR THE SHOW, NOT FOR THE NAME, BUT SIMPLY TO WORK, AS A STEWARD OF THIS CITY’S RICH HERITAGE, AS A CONCERNED AND ACTIVE CITIZEN OF THIS COMMUNITY. WITH NOTHING MISSED AND NOTHING SHIRKED. KNOWING THE REAL ODDS THAT FACE HIM. AND YET GOING AT THEM WITH A COURAGE THAT IS EQUALLY REAL AND GREAT IN ITS QUIET AND PATIENT STRENGTH. …FOSTERING GOODWILL THROUGH HIS OWN WILL TO KEEP ON STRIVING, HIS OWN WILL TO KEEP ON HOPING. …MOVING FORWARD WITH A FAITH THAT ONLY DEEPENS WITH THE BLOWS OF TRAGEDY….WITH A FAITH IN THE ENDURING QUALITIES OF SMALL KINDNESSES THAT MAGNIFY THE GREATER GOOD IN ALL OF US.

THIS IS COURAGE INDEED, THOUGH NOT RECORDED ON HISTORY’S PAGE. AND IT IS THROUGH THE COURAGE OF SMALL KINDNESSES THAT OUR CITY OF MEMPHIS-AND ULTIMATELY, THE HUMAN RACE WILL FIND ITS GLORY, AND ITS REDEMPTION.

FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL, THE WELLSPRING OF COMPASSION HAS BEEN THE FAMILY HEARTH. LOOK THERE. AND YOU WILL FIND A TRUE REFLECTION OF A MAN’S CONVICTIONS-AND THE TRUE ORDERING OF HIS LIFE’S PRIORITIES.

SADLY, TOO MANY TODAY SHOW A DEEPER CONCERN FOR THE WELFARE OF THEIR BUSINESSES THAN THEY DO FOR THEIR OWN FAMILIES, OR THOSE OF THEIR NEIGHBORS.

NOT SO WITH SKIPPER.

LIKE THE REST OF US, HE TOO HAS WORRIES OF WORK, OF CAREERS, OF OBLIGATIONS TO BE MET. BUT HE DOES NOT TAKE HIS TROUBLES WHERE THEY ARE UNWANTED, DOES NOT BURDEN PRECIOUS RELATIONSHIPS WITH PETTY GRIEVANCES AND RESENTMENTS AND THE THINGS THAT TOO OFTEN DESTROY HAPPY FAMILY HOURS OF PEACE AND REST, OF JOY AND DREAMING.

NO MATTER HOW MUCH OF THE WORLD’S INSENSITIVITIES HE SEES, HE STILL RETAINS THE CURIOSITY AND WONDER OF THE BOY WHO EXPERIENCES LIFE’S MYSTERIES FOR THE FIRST TIME. NO MATTER HOW GREAT THE DEMANDS, HE STILL SAYS “YES” MORE READILY THAN “NO.”

AND NO MATTER HOW HEAVILY THE WEIGHT OF THE WORKING DAY PRESSED DOWN ON HIM, HE STILL FOUND TIME TO SOFTLY SING A LULLABY TO HIS BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, TO LAY A GENTLE HAND UPON THEIR BACKS, TO CARESS THEM TO SLEEP….TO BE THERE FOR THEM AS THEY GREW FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADULTHOOD…. AND TO KILL A COPPERHEAD OR TWO ALONG THE WAY, IN THEIR PROTECTION.

THESE ARE THE MEMORIES CHERISHED THROUGHOUT A LIFETIME-THE HELD HAND, THE QUIET ROOM, THE PEACE AND SECURITY OF A FATHER’S LOVE. AND THESE ARE THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR FUTURE HUMANITARIANS.

AND HOW MANY OTHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE KNOCKED ON THAT FRIENDLY DOOR TO FIND IT OPEN, HIS KINDNESS LIGHTING THE ROOM WITHIN-A REFUGE IN THE STORM-A CORDIAL CHAMBER WHERE THE WEARY COULD REST AND WARM THEIR FROZEN HEARTS?

IT IS IN THE HUMBLE SETTINGS THAT THE GREATEST WORK OF A HUMANITARIAN IS PERFORMED. AND IT IS IN THOSE SETTINGS THAT SKIP’S COMPASSION SHINES. ALWAYS CONSIDERATE OF THE OTHER PERSON’S POSITION, OF THEIR NEED, NOT HIS OWN. STRIKING UP A CONVERSATION WITH A STRANGER IN A STRANGE ROOM, TO PUT HIM AT EASE IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATION. KNOWING THAT SO MUCH MAY HANG UPON A GOOD WORD…. KNOWING THAT IN THE CHOICES WE MAKE, WE PIN THE WEBS OF DESTINY-FOR BETTER OR WORSE-ON THOSE WE TOUCH.

AND KNOWING THAT, ULTIMATELY, THE CHOICE IS OURS, TO HATE OR TO LOVE. …TO PRAISE OR BLAME OR CRITICIZE. …TO BUILD OR TO DESTROY….TO LIVE A LIFE OF MISERY, OR ONE OF PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING.

SO MANY PEOPLE STUMBLE THROUGH THIS NOISY WORLD, BEWILDERED, BLIND, AND LOST ON A ROADWAY THAT TWISTS AND BENDS. PERHAPS BY CHANCE THEY FALL IN WITH AN UNEXPECTED FRIEND THAT GOES WITH THEM A LITTLE WAY. THEIR ACQUAINTANCE MAY SOON PASS OUT OF SIGHT. BUT HE LEAVES THEM JUST A LITTLE BETTER FOR THE COMPANY. HE GIVES THEM KIND WORDS TO REMEMBER. HE GIVES THEM THOUGHTS THAT BLESS AND UPLIFT. AND HE LETS THEM LOOK BACK AT THEIR BRIEF COMPANION WITHOUT A SINGLE THOUGHT OF BITTERNESS.

TO MANY IN OUR COMMUNITY, SKIP LOEWENBERG HAS BEEN JUST SUCH A FELLOW-TRAVELER. SOMEONE WHO HAS GONE WITH THEM THROUGH SUN AND RAIN, THROUGH DUST AND HEAT AND STORM. SOMEONE WHO HAS HELPED THEM ON THEIR WAY, THEN PASSED QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT-BUT HAS FOREVER LINKED THEIR DESTINIES THROUGH THE SIMPLE ACT OF HIS LOVING KINDNESS. LOVING KINDNESS. …CHESED….IT IS THE NOBLEST OF ALL PRECEPTS OF JUDAISM, AND THE HIGHEST RUNG OF CHARITY. IT IS AN ACT THAT TRANSCENDS BOTH LOVE-WHICH DEMANDS RECIPROCITY-AND KINDNESS AS A WAY OF LIFE. IT IS AN ACT THAT IS SINGULARLY DIRECTED….CLOSE…. INTIMATE ….ONE TO ONE….EXPECTING NOTHING IN RETURN, AND GIVING ONLY BECAUSE THE HEART IS SO FILLED WITH COMPASSION, WITH COMMITMENT, WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR THOSE AROUND. A RIGHTEOUS MAN KNOWN AS A TZADDIK ONCE SAID THE ENTIRE WORLD IS SUPPORTED BY THREE THINGS: THE STUDY OF TORAH, OR THE BIBLE; THE SERVICE OF GOD; AND THE PERFORMANCE OF LOVING KINDNESS.

THAT KINDNESS THAT LOVING KINDNESS-IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING SKIP LOEWENBERG-AND THE KEY THAT UNLOCKS THE GOLDEN GATES OF PEACE. IT IS THE BALM THAT HEALS THE WOUNDS OF CHILDREN BORN IN POVERTY AND NEGLECT, AND BRINGS TO THEIR HEARTS A RELEASE FROM ALL THE FRUITLESS QUESTIONS, AND THE CONFUSION, AND THE PAIN.

IT IS THE LIGHT THAT GUIDES US ALL OUT OF THE PRISON OF OURSELVES, OUT OF THE CHAINS THAT BIND US TO THE PAST, WITH ITS ANGER AND ITS REGRETS, AND LEADS US TOWARD PERFECT HARMONY.

IF THERE IS ONE CONSOLATION GIVEN TO THE HUMAN RACE….IF THERE IS ONE HOPE OF PEACE….IF THERE IS ONE QUIET ACT THAT CAN SAVE A SOUL FROM LIFE’S TRAGEDIES, ITS TREACHERIES, ITS TERRORS AND ALARMS….IT IS THE ACT OF LOVING KINDNESS PERFORMED BY PEOPLE LIKE SKIP LOEWENBERG. BY PEOPLE WHO ASK, WHAT CAN I GIVE TODAY? OUT OF MY HEART, WHAT CAN I GIVE? WHAT CAN I GIVE-NOT RECEIVE. WHAT CAN I GIVE? IT IS A QUESTION WE MAY ALL ASK-AND WE ALL MAY FIND THE ANSWER IN SKIP. GIVE OF YOURSELF, IN THE GOOD UNSELFISH TASK, IN THE CONSIDERATE WORD AND AMIABLE THOUGHT, IN TOLERANCE AND UNDERSTANDING AND IN THE PURE AND DIVINE SPIRIT OF BROTHERHOOD.

OUR WORLD IS HUNGRY FOR THESE THINGS. AND OUR WORLD IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE SOMEONE LIKE SKIP, TO HELP SUSTAIN AND NOURISH IT WITH HIS LOVING KINDNESS.

AND NOW, FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS GIVEN SO MUCH, IT IS TIME TO RECEIVE. SKIPPER, WILL YOU COME FORWARD PLEASE.