Sponsored by the Benjamin and Anna E. Wiesman Family Endowment Fund AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
Federation to honor This Week Volunteers of the Year April 27, 2012 5 Iyar 5772 Vol. 92 | No. 32
Great motivator challenges, inspires Page 7
Holocaust Film Series concludes at Sokolof Theater Page 9
by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha They are energetic, supportive, dependable, resourceful and enthusiastic about their work. They are our community volunteers; the heart and soul of what makes Jewish Omaha tick. On Monday, June 4 at 7 p.m., the Jewish Federation of Omaha will honor the 2011 Volunteers of the Year during a Shirley Cemaj Debbie Denenberg Terry and Joanie Bernstein special presentation at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Annual Meeting. The entire community is invited to attend and celebrate with our award winners who volunteer tirelessly and selflessly to make our Jewish community the best it can be. This year’s Volunteers of the Year are: Joanie and Terry Bernstein Jewish Social Services Joanie and Terry Bernstein Debbie Friedman Mark Javitch Margaret Kirkeby Mark Martin have been dedicated volunteers for Jewish Social where Joanie leads a lively discusBoth volunteer countless hours together as a team, have escorted Services for over twenty-five years. sion on current events and hot top- towards yearly celebrations in con- residents to concerts, prothey Every Tuesday morning, they can be ics. They stay for the day and after junction with National Nursing grams, and activities too numerous found escorting Blumkin Home res- lunch, lead a sing-a-long program Home Week. Terry takes residents to mention. idents to the Radio Daze program and participate in tea time. fishing and to baseball games and, Continued on page 2
Teens do it all by SHERRIE SAAG Communications Specialist, Jewish Federation of Omaha The challenge to do all and be all is well known to high school students and their parents. The pressure to impress on a college application is its
New Temple Israel’s Sacred Space is a dream in progress Page 12
Inside Point of view Synagogues In memoriam
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Next Week Mother’s Day See Front Page stories and more at: www.jewishomaha.org, click on Jewish Press
Kevin Adler own kind of stress. This year’s Federation Teen Leadership Award winners are no different; as their
resumes read like a community activities calendar. One could get eye strain just reading the list of accomplishments these young men have accumulated. So, I was prepared to interview them and hear tired, frenzied and clipped responses. My experience was the exact opposite. Kevin Adler and Brad Kutler, this year’s Robert and Ellen Gordman T e e n Leadership Award winners, were composed, Brad Kutler relaxed, confident and thoughtful. They embody the very ideals on which the award is based. Through their respective involvement in community activities, both exemplified program management skills, leadership abilities and served as role models to those around them. Brad was president of the Mother Chapter of AZA #1 during the 20102011 school year, and during his tenure he increased membership and changed the way programming was done. He initiated different and Continued on page 2
Education is Amy Friedman’s mission by ANNETTE VAN DE KAMPWRIGHT Editor of the Jewish Press On May 15, when the primary elections are held, there will be a familiar name on the ballot for Millard residents. Amy Friedman, who will retire as Millard Public School spokeswoman on May 31, has thrown her name in the hat for a position on the “super board:” the Learning Community Coordinating Council (LCCC), a political subdivision created by the Nebraska legislature in 2009. Friedman has been in public relations for about 30 years, the last 17 as the face of the Millard Public School district, and she is ready for a new challenge: “My job at Millard was a 24/7 occupation, I am used to working hard,” she says. “I feel very strongly about the value of public education, and believe education is such an important area to support. It is what has made our nation great; you can be whatever you want to be only through quality education, and I look forward to being a strong advocate for all children in our community.” The Learning Community con-
cept was first introduced in 2006, and revised in subsequent years, in order to resolve educational and boundary issues among school
Amy Friedman districts in the Omaha metropolitan area. 18 voting members from six districts meet once per month, and since its inception in 2009, the LCCC has developed plans for elementary learning centers for children and families in high poverty areas and funded summer pilot programs to help close the summer learning gap. The LCCC Continued on page 2