Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. He is married to Mary Ellen, whom he met in 1990 at the Philadelphia International Airport, where she was employed. The couple was married in August 1991. Charity Along with his wife, Steve Javie started the Javie Foundation for Charity to raise money for the homeless, disabled, abused and neglected children. He hosts an annual fundraising golf tournament to support a variety of causes in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The two-day event, which also includes dinner, dance, and silent auction, has raised US$1 million since its inception. In 2007, he participated in a summer clinic at Don Guanella High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania, along with four other NBA officials, teaching developmentally delayed boys the rules of basketball and how to signal violations. Baseball umpire After his baseball playing career was over at age 22, Javie began working at Johnson & Johnson in their baby products line. Becoming uninterested in his job at Johnson & Johnson, he decided to pursue an occupation within sports, and became a baseball umpire in 1978. Having no prior experience as an arbiter, Javie attended an umpire school operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire Bill Kinnamon. Upon completion of training, he was selected to work in the Florida State League. Looking to be promoted to the Class-AA Eastern League, he was denied entrance into the league due to scheduling conflicts and later a players' strike. In June 1981, after two and a half years in the Florida State League, Javie left the organization over disagreements with executives due to the lack of promotion opportunities, and being forced to split from an experienced umpire crew that included Jerry Layne, who later worked in the major leagues. Basketball referee CBA career While serving as an umpire, Javie had officiated basketball games at the high school level in Pennsylvania during the baseball off-season. In addition, he was invited to NBA camps for prospective officials. Within a week of return home following the end of his umpiring career, Javie contacted his father's friend, NBA referee Earl Strom, who assisted Javie in reaching then-CBA supervisor Cecil Watkins about the possibility of working in the CBA. After officiating games in Philadelphia's Baker League, he was hired by the CBA in the fall of 1981. He arrived to the CBA with a "baseball mentality" and had to make quick decisions on the court because of the league's reputation for