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Bessie Spector z”l Oldest Jewish Americans Celebration thank you edition:
Wow, last Friday was a blast. Everyone seemed in a party mood, and we celebrated like mad. If 95 or more years of life isn’t something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. We dressed up, we wore silly hats, we ate, we danced (well, I did anyway, with Leonard Herman, some 36 years my senior). Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I had that much fun! See all the pics on our website.
We had more than 300 attendees, including 80 honorees, of whom, a dozen were centenarians! As you can imagine (if you weren’t there to see it), this takes quite a lot of love and effort, so I’d like to thank all the amazing people who made this happen.
First, thank you to the family of Bessie Spector z”l who sponsor this event each year, especially Joan Chernoff-Epstein, who is always focused on making sure the honorees enjoy themselves as much as her grandmother did.
Our chairs Jain Lauter, Joyce Berlin Weingarten, and Julie Zussman (we call them the Js), are an incredible team who help coordinate everything from tracking down potential honorees to directing the army of volunteers who show up to help every year.
We have a dedicated committee who show up and pitch in for whatever is needed, including Sharon Alterman, Joan Chernoff-Epstein, Shelli Dorfman, Carol Weintraub Fogel, Dennis Frank, Peggy Frank, Kathy Halliburton, Sharon Kaplan, Andrea Margolis-Stillman, Geri Margolis, Sandi Matz, Hannah Moss, Brett Panter, Alissa Pianin, Heather Salesin, Abby Segal, Carol Sofen, Nancy Solway. The committee also includes representatives of our partner organizations Debi Banooni/Gesher, Rosa Chessler/The J, and Barb Haddad/Jewish Family Service.
The West Wingies, as my colleagues in the Jewish Senior Life Foundation are known, Jo Rosen, Beth Tryon and Nicole Lupiloff, both serve on the committee and do so incredibly much behind the scenes to make this event happen, plus jumping in at set-up and on the day of the event to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Between the set-up and the event, we had more than 70 volunteers and JSL staff helping honorees in, serving drinks, putting on boutonnieres and corsages, and the hundred and one other tasks that add up to an enjoyable event. They include, in addition to the chairs, committee, and staff, Janet Antin, Carol Blender, Stacy Carroll, Sandy Collins, Sandra Eidelman, Anita Fishman, Jen Freedland, Jenni Galazka, Phyllis Gantman, Barb Giles, Wendy Handler, Ilene Harris, Margery Jablin, Sharon Kaplan, Linda Klein, Shira Lauter Wolberg, Rebecca Lauter, Dottie Levitsky, Bunni Lieberman, Bobbie Malin, Jerry Malin, Marcia Mittleman, Rabbi Polter, Janet Pont, Tracey Proghovnick, Megan Pudick, Wendy Robins, Iris Rosen, Barb Saltsman, Phyllis Schwartz, Marcia Seigerman, Charley Silow, Sue Simon, Carol Sofen, Nancy Solway, Addie Sweet, Eileen Terman, Connie Wolberg, and Marcy Zussman.
We are deeply grateful to Adat Shalom Synagogue for being such a warm and welcoming place to host this event, and particularly to Hazzan Daniel Gross for sharing a wonderful performance of Jewish music (hence, the dancing), Rabbi Aaron Bergman for blessing our honorees, and Michael Wolf for making sure the lights were on and answering a million questions.
Thank you to Nancy Glen, President of Jewish Federation of Detroit Women’s Philanthropy for her heartfelt greetings.
And special thanks to Detroit Parade Company for loaning us all the decorations that made this a really fun event, Brett Panter of Brody’s Custom Clothing, Printing & Provisions for his fun graphic designs, and Gerych’s for helping to make our honorees feel special with their beautiful boutonnieres and corsages.
Next, JSL will be throwing a Family Fall Festival on September 22, 1-4pm. This day of fall fun will take place on both campuses and include fall treats, entertainment, and activities for all ages. We will need so, so many volunteers. To sign up, please fill out the online form, call me at 248 592-5062 or email brobinson@jslmi.org.
Beth Robinson
Director
Friends of Jewish Senior Life
248-592-5062
brobinson@jslmi.org
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