The Charlotte Jewish News - December 2001 - Page 15
Jewish Family Services
Honoring Those Who Have Made a Difference
By Penny Wagner-Schuster,
ACSW, LCSW, Executive Director,
Jewish Family Services
For those of you who read the
JFS page of the CJN {I hope it
most of you) throughout the year,
we have been honoring our Board
of Directors. Each individual serv
ing on our Board is special and
unique in his/her own way, bring
ing knowledge and dedication to
the agency’s mission.
This article however, is bitter
sweet in that JFS must say good
bye for now to four very special
people. Their tenure on the Board
is up. Another Board Member is
stepping down as the agency’s
Chair. These individuals have
devoted their time, talents and
energy unselfishly, helping to
make JFS the agency it is today.
As lay leaders, these individuals
not only attended monthly meet
ings, they worked hard, serving as
committee chairs, raising funds
for programs, served as Board
officers and even filled in as an
office assistance when the agency
went through a transitional period.
Above all their support and guid
ance has been appreciated more
than I could express.
These individuals did not just
sit on a Board, taking up space;
they provided input and “hands-
on” assistance when needed. What
fine examples of volunteerism
these people are. How much more
can anyone ask of these individu
als?
Marilyn Shapiro served on the
JFS Board for two terms, complet
ing six years of service. During
her Board involvement, Marilyn
was the agency’s Treasurer for
two years. She also served on the
nominating committee as well as
participating on several others.
Throughout her time on the Board,
Marilyn seldom missed a meeting.
Thank you, Marilyn.
Dicky Shapiro also served on
the Board for six years. Dicky also
attended meetings regularly. She
served on several committees dur
ing her two terms. When JFS was
applying for Medicare and was
going through a time of transition,
from what I have heard, Dicky
would be in the office on a regular
basis each and every week, help
ing to fulfill the application
requirements. Today, Medicare
reimbursements for counseling
services has greatly increased our
revenue. Thank you, Dicky.
Nina Lewis has been on the
Board for three years. Nina was
very involved with the agency.
She served as Public Relations
Chair and was instrumental in
helping to spread the word about
the agency. Her monthly CJN arti
cles were informative and cre
ative. Nina also helped with pub
licity about programs and ser
vices. Thank you, Nina.
Tom Rosenberg was also on the
Board for three years. He assisted
with fundraising and attended
meetings regularly. Tom often
brought insight to discussions dur
ing these meetings. Thank you,
Tom.
Last, but no means least is our
outgoing Board Chair, Alan
Goldberg. Alan served as a Board
member for several years before
becoming Chair. During his
tenure, Alan also served as
Committee Chair for the agency’s
Annual Friend’s Campaign. In the
three years as the Friend’s
Campaign Chair, his leadership
ability allowed JFS to double the
revenue, helping to provide the
funds that enabled JFS to grow.
Even more importantly, for the
past three years, Alan has provid
ed the lay leadership for the orga
nization. He has served that posi
tion admirably. Alan has acted as
liaison with other Park agencies,
advocating for JFS and its needs.
Alan has consistently demonstrat
ed his devotion to JFS, its mission
and purpose. Personally, Alan has
been by my side when needed. He
has been supportive, open and
encouraging to me these last three
years. His input has added to the
success of the agency. JFS is for
tunate that he will continue as a
Board member during the coming
year. Thank you, Alan.
JFS will be adding three new
Board Members next month. The
agency will also have a new Board
Chair. In January, I hope to intro
duce them to you as well as high
light other members in coming
months. For now, Marilyn, Dicky,
Nina, Tom and Alan, thank you
once again for being so special. O
Mitzvah Makers
Hot Meal
Program for
November
Susan Applebaum, Evelyn
Berger, Ida Berman, Althea Cole,
Emily Chatham, Ellen Fligel,
Ethel Gordon, Audrey Madans,
Elly Miller, Diggie Pesakoff,
Melissa Raphael, Linda Rothman,
Sara Schreibman, Linda Simon,
Scott Simon, Janni Slotkin
The following
donations were
made in the
months of
October
IN MEMORY OF
Sam Turk from Pat and David
Somerstein
Florrie Bedrick from Samuel
and Raena Siegel, Helen Josephs
A1 Rousso from Marsha and
Harry Smith, Dorothy Schulman,
Irving and Rita Mond, Marilyn
and Mike Tuckman, Shirley and
Eddie Goodman, Lynne and
Morey Sheffer, Linda and Trevor
Goldberg, Ellis Levinson, Morty
and Eleanor Turk
Herman Blumenthal from
Gerry Litwak, Barbara and Joe
Sklut, Shirley and Eddie
Goodman, Irving and Rita Mond,
Marsha and Harry Stem.
Meta Morrison (Mother of
Susan Appelbaum) from Selma
Melasky
Dr. Peuow (Father of Karen
Piassick) from Marcelle & Allen
Oxman
Steve, son-in-law of Libby
Mages, lost 9/11 from Trudy
SPEEDY AND COMPLETE
RECOVERY
Irving Bienstock from Florence
and Ben Jaffa, Irving and Evelyn
Hochstat
Florrie Bedrick from Audrey
Madans
Bea Kantor from Selma
Melasky
Sara Heskin from Shirley and
Eddie Goodman
Howard Schwartz from Gerry
Litwak
Ruth Rifkin from Gerry Litwak
Diane Plochl (Mother of Susan
Rothman) from Marcelle and
Allen Oxman
Sandie Rousso from Marilyn
and Mike Tuckman
Hugo Rosenberger from Evelyn
and Leonard Berger, Florence and
Ben Jaffa
Amy Mullen from Tony, Brian,
Maggie and Zeke Meitner
Syd Rakatansky from Joyce
Mabel
Margot Moritz from Trudy
Packard, Selma Melasky, Jessie
Simon, Ena Stern, Renee
Buxbaum, Elizabeth Klein, Ruth
Rifkin
Mary Wojnowich from Ruth
and Allen Goldberg
Abe Slutsky from Lynne and
Morey Sheffer
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Abe and Betty Bober from
Julius and Ruth Silverstein
BIRTH OF GRANDCHIL
DREN
Ed and Arlene Karp (birth of
Lilly Hannah Karp) from Eleanor
and Morty Turk
MISCELLANEOUS
Audrey Madans (Congratula
tions on being honored by
Hadassah) from Marilyn and Mike
Tuckman
Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Jacobs
(Sympathy on loss of sister Elsie)
from Florence and Ben Jaffa
DR. JOSEPH STEINER
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South Park Mall
4400 Sharon Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28211
(704) 364-7982
Carolina Place Mall
11025 Carolina Place Pkwy.
Pineville, NC 28134
(704) 541-8232
Independent Doctors of Optometry Adjacent to Lens Crafters
Blumenthal
(Continued from page 11)
other hand, wanted to know every
thing about the people he met,
because he was genuinely interest
ed. He couldn’t understand why
some folks kept a polite space
from him. He had a gentle sense
of humor. And was the wisest man
I have ever met: once after regal
ing him in a story about the foibles
of one of my colleagues in the
Jewish community, he looked me
in the eye and pronounced that he
was well aware of all I was telling
him, and that so-and-so didn’t
need any help from us in making
sure he or she eventually would
dig his or her own hole and be
swallowed up in it, professionally
speaking. Which entirely altered
my attitude from that day forward
into seeing an ogre turned into the
naked emperor.
I will miss Mr. Blumenthal ter
ribly. I have many wonderful sto
ries to remember about him that
will bear telling with time. I met
many interesting people through
him, and opportunities opened
because I knew him. I moved to
North Carolina from Tennessee
because my husband took a new
job here, Peking and screaming
all the way, which few people
know about me. Having the privi
lege of knowing Mr. Blumenthal,
was, I think, a bashert encounter
in my life which gave me the
chance of a lifetime to build a
Jewish educational agency from
the ground up, and somehow miti
gated lingering feelings of person
al displacement. No one thinks
about CAJE until they need it:
that’s what resource centers are
all about. Someone succinctly
summed it up: CAJE just is. I
think Mr. Blumenthal would have
relished that description.
Jewish education lost its
strongest supporter. The greatest
gift that we as a community could
give to the memory of Herman
Blumenthal is to continue to sup
port and enhance Jewish education
for adults and children in this
community. May his memory be
for a blessing, and his legacy live
on in all of us.