The Charlotte Jewish news. (Charlotte, N.C.) 19??-current, December 01, 2001, Image 15

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. 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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.