Diana and Ira Riklis both have fond memories of their experiences as graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania. And both are extremely grateful for the quality of the education they received and the doors that opened to them as a result. That’s why they continue even today to give back to the University. Over the (many) years that have passed since they graduated, they’ve funded several scholarship programs and term professorships. They’ve also supported the development of a number of facilities, including a student lounge and a Dean’s office.
Most of their support has gone to the Graduate School of Education, from which Diana received her degree. The GSE is one of the premier education research schools in the nation and one of the few to offer doctoral degrees. While Ira Riklis is proud to have graduated from the Wharton School of Business, he realizes that Wharton has many alumnae with the ways, means and eagerness to provide their support to that school.
Once you’ve really mastered a skill, be it driving, playing music, painting or skiing, you can do it almost without thinking. But while you’re in the process of learning, it seems almost impossible that you’ll ever be able to do it, or at least that you’ll be able to do it with any degree of skill or grace. It was like that for Ira Riklis as he was learning to ski.
Thinking back on it now, Ira Riklis is sometimes amazed he made it through his first family skiing trip. It took him several uncomfortable hours just to get his boots and skis strapped on properly and to learn how to sidestep his way up a small hill that really didn’t even qualify as even a beginner’s slope. Today he could jump that hill without a second thought while zipping down a double black diamond slope. But back then, it felt to him like he’d scaled Mt. Denali when he finally reached the top. It’s something worth remembering when you’re faced with the challenge of learning something new.
Here in the U.S., we like to idealize the holiday season as a time for merriment, family and feasting. While most of us, including Ira Riklis, realize that reality often falls short of this ideal.
But even he was shocked some years ago when he learned of the plight of New York City’s poor, elderly and homebound residents. Largely invisible to most of us, the elderly poor make up a rapidly growing segment of our population. Many have limited mobility, few relatives or friends and household incomes of less than $10,000 a year.
For nearly thirty years now, an organization called Citymeals On-Wheels has been working to make the lives of these people a little better by providing meals delivered to their homes. The organization was founded in 1981 after Gael Greene and James Beard read an article about homebound elderly New Yorkers with little to eat on weekends and holidays.
They rallied friends, including Ira Riklis to raise funds to supplement a government-funded weekday meal delivery program. The program now serves 18,000 people with nutritious meals and human contact every day.
On his first family skiing trip as a child, Ira Riklis remembers his father trying to teach him how to use the herringbone method to move around on the slopes. But for a young boy wearing a pair of skis that were two feet longer than he was tall, it was a near impossibility for him to even begin to move his ski tips together in the herringbone pose.
After trying and trying—without success—for more than an hour, Ira Riklis remembers plopping himself down in the snow and starting to cry. In spite of his efforts, he’d traveled all of about three feet. It was then that his sister, who had been skiing before, stepped in and took pity on him by showing him how to sidestep. In doing so, she gave him the first skill that eventually led to a life-long love of the sport. Now, nearly forty-five years later, he’s yet to see anyone use the herringbone for simple movements around the slopes.
Someone Needs Blood Every 7 Seconds
As the New Year approaches, it’s sobering to think that more than 4.5 million people will need blood transfusions in 2010. That averages out to about one person every seven seconds. These figures include trauma victims, patients with leukemia, cancer, sickle-cell anemia and people who need surgery to overcome a vast variety of injuries and diseases. In the face of such great need, what surprises Ira Riklis is how few of us ever take time to donate blood.
What about you? Do you make it a point to donate blood even once a year? If not, why not? To be sure, we’re all busy and it does take an effort to get out and do something beyond our normal routines. But it may be that the fear of pain keeps some people from donating.
If that’s the case for you, Ira Riklis wants to assure you that those fears are unfounded. He’s made some 40 blood donations over the years. He can testify that, other than a possible moment of discomfort when they prick your finger to take a blood test, the process is completely painless.
So why not make it a New Year’s resolution to donate blood at least once next year. (And there’s even time to donate in 2009!)
For Ira Riklis, his first skiing experience started in a less-than—enjoyable way. When he was around 10, his parents packed up their three children and made the 2.5 hour drive to Hunter Mountain, the closest major ski resort to New York City. It was to be a new experience for the children. They were equipped with the latest gear, but that wasn’t saying much at the time.
Ira Riklis points out that, even though skiing dates back several thousand years, it originated as an offshoot of snowshoeing. The goal back then was to make traveling through the mountains in winter a little bit easier. Ski boots were basically hiking boots and binding were a way of strapping the boots to rudimentary skis. On his first trip, Ira’s bindings consisted of two sets of laces that had to be tied super tight. Not only was this very painful, it meant he had to spend a long, uncomfortable hour just to get strapped in.
Today the goal is recreation and fun – which is much preferred.
Aish HaTorah translates as “Fire of Torah.” And the “fire” at the heart of the organization which bears this name is the passion of teaching and learning about the Torah—the Jewish holy book. From its headquarters near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the organization operates an international network of educational centers.
They have programs in more than one hundred cities on five continents. And their website, which offers everything to remembrances of the Holocaust to humor to practical advice for everyday life—has versions in five languages. The breadth and depth of their offerings have made Ira Riklis a long-time supporter of the group.
But above and beyond all that, what impresses Ira Riklis is the organization’s non-judgmental approach. While they are strictly Orthodox in their beliefs, they do not try to impose those views on others. Rather, their educational philosophy is that Judaism is not all or nothing; it is a journey where every step counts, to be pursued according to one’s own pace and interest.
Skiing is one of the great passions of Ira Riklis’ life. That may seem surprising considering since, in his words, he’s “a fat, middle aged, non-athletic, New York Jew,” but even more surprising is how good he is at the sport. He credits his skill to his determination and to his ski-instructor turned close friend, Mike Bartasuis. Mike is one of only a handful of people to hold the dual record of skiing over 100 miles per hour and jumping over 200 feet.
Mike’s a pretty determined person as well. His ski gear once consisted of heavily weighted, fifteen-foot long speed skis and skin-tight Teflon ski suit. Realizing that the skis had no provision for turning and the suit would provide no traction on the snow, Ira Riklis asked Mike what would happen if he fell. Mike’s response was that they’d find “pieces of him two or three counties away.” Ira then asked him how he planned to insure his safety. Mike told Ira he had a simple, but most effective plan: “I don’t intend to fall.”
If you’re looking for ideas for last-minute gifts children ages 5 through 14 who love to ride bicycles, Ira Riklis has one for you. Get them a good, properly fitted bicycle helmet. Of course, that’s a good idea for any loved one (including yourself!) who rides a bike. But it’s especially important for kids, who ride far more often that older riders and who suffer nearly half again more bicycle-related injuries.
Now, as far as injuries go, scuffed elbows and knees and even a broken bone now and then are one thing. Traumatic head injuries are quite another—they account for more than 50% of all deaths from bicycle accidents.
Ira Riklis became aware of these statistics some years back when a child safety organization in Charlotte, North Carolina, approached him to ask if he’d be willing to provide helmets for local kids. Once he learned of the dangers of riding without helmets, he was more than happy help. He and the group did some planning, and on a fine spring day more than 5,000 kids were fitted for free helmets in the parking lot of a local YMCA.
Ira Riklis is not short on praise! He wrote a letter to Jim Craig an Olympic Gold Medalist in the 1980 U.S. “Miracle on Ice” Hockey Team. Ira loved the speech so much that he reached out to Jim to let him know. It was a thoughtful touch. Not an email mind you, a letter….
This is what Jim Craig’s web site says:
[excerpt from letter Jim Craig received following his participation in a Sutherland Capital Management business round] “To say that you contributed to their ‘education’ would not properly state the case. I feel that you got through to them on a level which I will never be able to reach. They hung on your every word. I must say that I loved the way you challenged them ? I really understand the quote from Herb Brooks at the end of the movie when he talks about his proudest moment being as he watched the 20 men who were willing to give so much of themselves receive their gold medals.”
Ira Riklis, CEO, Sutherland Capital Management