EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ…The Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs Girls Junior Varsity Basketball team of the City of East Orange enjoyed some pre-game festivities as special guests of the New Jersey Nets at the Izod Center in East Rutherford on Tuesday night, February 10^th before their game against the San Antonio Spurs. 

Representing Mayor Robert L. Bowser, Acting Mayor William McNeely had the honor of tossing up the game ball for the Girls in the pre-game ceremonies. “This was a great opportunity for our Girls Junior Varsity Team to meet some of the Nets players and to get a feel for playing in such a large arena. “We appreciate and enjoyed the hospitality the entire Nets Organization has shown us,” says McNeely.  Also attending along with the 15-member girl’s JV team, and their families, were East Orange Council members William Holt, Sharon Fields, Jacquelyn Johnson, Virginia Cross, Andrea McPhatter and Recreation Department Director Larry Schumacher, as well as City staff coaches, and other City residents and athletic students. Pictured with Mr. McNeely and Mr. Schumacher representing the Nets Organization are Michael Verna, Account Executive for Partnership Marketing, Dashawnda Brown, Director of VIP Access and Experience, and Rick Thorne, President and CEO. 

This event represents a 25-year ongoing partnership with the Nets Organization and the City’s Department of Recreation, which have included sponsored coaching clinics and workshops for Recreation staff, and overall community outreach. “We have become the Nets’ “adoptive City,” says Director Schumacher. The New Jersey Nets have also contributed towards the renovation of the Fellowship Civic Center located on Greenwood Avenue in East Orange.

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