Ann Navarra’s commitment to the City of Hope West Coast Golf and Tennis Tournament came full circle this year. In 2001, Navarra was named the first honoree and helped to raise about $250,000 for the cancer treatment and research center. Ten years later, her family’s company, San Diego-based Jerome’s Furniture, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. A former candy-striper at Mercy Hospital, Navarra found comfort helping a cause that hit so close to home. At the end of June, the La Jolla resident will celebrate 20 years as a cancer survivor. “I was one of the lucky ones,” Navarra said. More than a half-million dollars was raised this year for City of Hope, the biggest sum in the event’s history. The annual tennis and golf tournament, held this year on June 7 at Cota de Caza’s Golf and Racquet Club, brings together some of the furniture industry’s biggest rivals each year. “You have [furniture] competitors next to one another, but it’s a day where everyone comes together and the camaraderie is wonderful,” Navarra said. “It is heart-warming because the competition has stopped and you’re just friends for the cause and enjoying the moment. It’s a very special, special day each year.” New honorees are named annually. They serve to rally the community to raise funds for City of Hope. “Each year, everybody works hard, whether it’s a retailer or a manufacturer. [Honorees] could be an individual, it could be a company. This year, they recognized the [Navarra] family and [Jerome’s CEO] Lee Goodman,” Navarra said. City of Hope’s National Home Furnishings Industry Group honored the Navarra family and Goodman for more than 50 hours of community service and philanthropic events over the last five decades. Navarra’s mother and father opened Jerome’s Furniture in 1954 and kept the family in the business. The third generation has just joined the team, though today there are more employees than family working in Jerome’s seven locations. “From the beginning, we tried to create the culture of a company to be family oriented,” said Navarra. “I think we were very successful in doing that.” Ann stepped down as accessory buyer and vice president of finance in 2008, though her brother, Jerry, has remained the face of Jerome’s for four decades. Without Navarra’s commitment to the tournament committee 10 years ago, City of Hope might not have seen such large donations, officials said. Although it has always been active in the community, it was only 10 years ago that the National Home Furnishing Industry Group began raising awareness and funds for City of Hope. Acting as a committee member at the time she was designated an honoree, Navarra knew the group could only get better. “Being the honoree, which is a privilege and an honor, of course, I was really humbled by it,” she said. “Each year we raise the standard. We couldn’t fail [that first year] because all we had to do was go up. It’s part of life to share with others and give back to the community that has helped us so much.”