Every Tuesday, the Jason Taylor Foundation dedicates the day to spotlighting an individual or organization that has supported its tireless efforts toward building a better future for South Florida’s children in need.
This week we would like to spotlight Ralph Stringer, one of the original and most influential board members of the Jason Taylor Foundation.
In 2003, former Miami Dolphins Tight End and current Dolphins Color Analyst, Joe Rose, approached Jason Taylor to share with him the amazing work he had been doing with Holtz Children’s Hospital at Jackson Memorial Medical Center. At the time, Joe hosted a golf outing that supported the learning center at the Holtz and believed Jason would be a good fit for the work they were doing.
Joe invited Jason to visit Holtz and the learning center. After the visit, Jason became inspired to host a golf outing of his own, which led him to reach out to a handful of people hoping to form a committee that could organize the event. One of the first calls he made was to Ralph Stringer.
Ralph has been the long time marketing manager for Dan Marino, Joe Rose, and Jason Taylor, landing JT some of his most memorable marketing relationships including the McArthur Dairy commercial and Jason’s calendar deal.
Ralph also had vast knowledge and experience in running celebrity golf outings through his time spent overseeing Dan Marino’s golf tournaments. In the creation of the Jason Taylor Celebrity Golf Classic, Ralph played a vital role in securing partners, celebrities, and developing the infrastructure for the event. The event ended up raising more than $150,000, which helped Holtz transform their learning center into the one children utilize today, now called the Jason Taylor Learning Center at Holtz Children’s Hospital.
The achieved success from the event inspired Jason to establish the Jason Taylor Foundation, and Ralph soon became one of the founding board members, along with Joe Rose. Ralph was a perfect fit for the foundation given his expansive knowledge in the non-profit realm from his ten-year stint as a part time volunteer director of Dan Marino’s Foundation.
When Jason first approached Ralph to serve on the board, Ralph agreed without hesitation and immediately connected Seth Levit, the Executive Director of the Jason Taylor Foundation, with Mary Partin, Chief Executive Officer of the Dan Marino Foundation.
“Mary was exceptionally knowledgeable and could not have been more helpful in helping to provide me with strategies, structure, and policy that should exist at the core of any foundation,” stated Levit. “Personally, being new to the non-profit world, that information was critical to us getting off of the ground and starting something on the right foot. We would not have had that immediate access to Mary if it wasn’t for Ralph making it happen.”
Currently, Ralph remains an extremely active member of the board, consistently supporting its events and programs. If you know Ralph Stringer then you have probably purchased a raffle ticket from him in the past for the Foundation’s traditional car give-away at the Celebrity Golf Classic thanks to JM Family Enterprises and Southeast Toyota Distributors.
“From day one, Ralph has believed in Jason and his ability to impact the community,” expressed Levit. “We are truly fortunate to have someone of his character, and with his knowledge and expertise as part of the JTF family.”