When Joe Harowitz died in late 2018 at the ripe age of 98, he left behind a legion of admirers at Beth Sholom Village where the Richmond native and longtime Hampton Roads resident lived out the last years of his life.

But that wasn’t all.

When staff cleared out Joe’s room, they found four composition books filled with poems, many of which Joe himself had composed in the 1940’s, before, during and after World War II.

Joel Rubin happened to be in the social work director’s office a few weeks later when she showed him the poems, many of which were quite romantic in nature, odd it seemed for a man who never married. “Apparently Joe was a confirmed bachelor, but I learned he was still quite a ladies man in his youth, and the poetry certainly indicated that he longed for a mate,” said Joel. “His niece later told me Joe didn’t want to burden a wife with his emphysema so he stayed single for life.” Ironically, Joe Harowitz, who worked in auto parts for 25 years but never had a driver’s license, probably outlived every woman he ever met.

Joel told the staff that he was confident he could convince a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot to write a story about Joe for Valentine’s Day. The newspaper agreed, and Katherine Hafner came to Beth Sholom, interviewed the niece and staff members and published a beautiful profile, complete with excerpts of Joe’s verses….on February 14.

Timing is everything when it comes to media relations. But so is creativity and relationships, which Rubin Communications Group put to work on behalf of client Beth Sholom Village.