Happy Chanukah - The Jewish Georgian

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Page 4 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN November-December 2011 Happening From page 3 We had lunch the other day at Buckhead Diner with two of Atlanta’s loveliest, smartest, and most charming ladies, Jewish National Fund (JNF) Southeast Board Member Honey Workman and JNF Beth Gluck Southern Zone Director Beth Gluck. They told us all about the invaluable work the JNF is doing in preventing and dealing with water shortages, planting and preserving forests, helping farmers and communities, and protecting wilderness and wildlife. JNF may be up against its biggest challenge ever. For the last few years, Israel has been experiencing a severe drought that could eventually threaten its existence as we know it. In addition to its conservation, educational, and research initiatives, JNF has planted over 240 million trees, to conserve water, provide wildlife habitat, protect natural ecosystems, and beautify the land. JNF is proud that it has also “built over 1,000 parks and recreational areas; educated students around the world about Israel; discovered new means of growing plants under arid conditions, bringing green to the desert; and built over 205 reservoirs and water recycling centers, increasing Israel’s water supply by 12 percent.” Here in Atlanta, JNF has recently named Native Atlantan Noah Pawliger as its Southeast Regional Campaign executive. A graduate of Woodward Academy and Georgia State University, he is a Camp Barney Medintz “lifer” and has led 14 Taglit-Birthright Israel trips. Noah has extensive experience in working with nonprofit groups, most recently with New York’s iVolunteer, a visitation program that provides Holocaust survivors with companionship and assistance. For more info on the fine work being done by JNF, how you can get involved, and what you can do to help, visit www.jnf.org. ANOTHER HONOR FOR JAY STARK- MAN. As we go to press, we have just learned that Atlanta CPA Jay Starkman has been honored with yet another prestigious award. We have been writing about Jay for years, but it’s hard to keep up with all his accomplishments. Jay Starkman Now, he is the recipient of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ 2011 Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award, the highest award given by the accounting profession in the area of taxation. The author of a highly acclaimed and fascinating book on the history of taxes, The Sex of a Hippopotamus, Jay was also one of just two Atlantans named among the country’s top 50 people to represent you before the IRS. If you call the IRS about interest calculations for their tax assessments, they will direct you to Jay’s IRS Tax Interest Calculator at www.starkman.com. It’s the only free IRS tax Interest calculator available, and Jay is the only CPA who writes his own annual 1040 tax preparation program. Though he is too modest to admit it, Jay is one of the most brilliant people we have ever met and is very knowledgeable about Jewish law. He and his lovely wife, Leah, live in Toco Hill and attend Young Israel and Congregation Beth Jacob. PROFESSOR OF COMEDY JOSH HAR- RIS. Comedian Josh Harris has become so successful at doing stand-up, he is now giving comedy classes to aspiring and upand-coming comics. The veteran of TV One’s “Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Comic Josh Harris Jokes,” NBC’s “Stand Up for Diversity,” and Atlanta’s Funniest Person Competition offers an eight-week course of study, after which his students hit the stage to do the real thing. His first graduating class recently performed at Jerry Farber’s nightclub. Jerry said, “If comedy classes were football teams, Josh’s graduates would have been Super Bowl champions. In my 50 years of stand-up comedy and 30 years of seeing comedy class graduations, Josh’s comedy class was by far the funniest!” To sign up for Josh’s comedy classes, contact yourACT Studios at 404-499-4996. Or visit youract.net, click on the Adults tab, and go to Workshops & Intensives. Josh may have inherited some of his talent for performing from his journalist dad, TV correspondent and investigative reporter Art Harris, a veteran of CNN, “Nancy Grace,” “Inside Edition,” The Washington Post, and The Atlanta Journal- Constitution. CDC COO SHERRI BERGER. Dunwoody Jewish Mom Deborah Steinberg is really kvelling these days and could not be prouder of her daughter, Sherri A. Berger, who has been named chief operating officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here in Atlanta. As such, she is responsible for the overall operations of the CDC, including its entire 10,000 staff members, approximately 5,000 contractors, and fiscal resources of $11 billion. In her fifteen years at CDC, she has accrued extensive leadership experience, including protecting the public from toxic substances, diseases caused by air pollution (such as asthma), and other threats to public health and the environment. Sherri grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, graduated from the University of Florida, and received her master of science in public health from the University of South Florida. She has been a volunteer with Jewish Family & Career Services and has a nineyear-old son, Jacob, who attends The Davis Academy. Protecting nature and the public is a tough job in these hard times, but we know Sherri is up to the task, and we wish her the best of luck. Deborah Steinberg, Sherri Berger and son Jacob GLASSMAKER AND ARTIST ANDREW POLLACK. We enjoyed seeing Andrew Jackson Pollack at the Sandy Springs Festival. Andrew is known for his beautiful, unique glass works made on a torch, which include jewelry, sculpture, and functional glass-like goblets. Andrew’s work is available at galleries across the U.S., including The Museum of Art and Design Shop, The Contemporary Jewish Museum, and The National Museum of American Jewish History. Each piece is a signed, one-of-a-kind work of art. Andrew grew up in Atlanta and attended Loyola University in New Orleans. Though predominately self-taught in glass, he has received numerous scholarships to prestigious centers. He took glassblowing classes at the New Orleans School of Glassworks and Printmaking Studios, one of the South’s largest non-profit educational facilities dedicated primarily to glass art. As a faculty member at the New Orleans School of Glass, Andrew was coordinator of the Lampworking Department for over ten years. Andrew has been sort of busy lately. He is working on a large installation at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center. And he and his lovely bride, Tiffany, have a seven-month-old baby girl, Rosy Ann. Andrew is the son of art aficionados Robin and Mark Pollack, from whom he learned his love of all things artistic. You can check out his work at andrewjacksonpollack.com. Andrew, Tiffany, and Rosy Ann Pollack HADASSAH SEEKS LIFE-CHANGING STORIES. Our favorite estate sale organizer, the tireless and terrific Judy Viness, is chairing Hadassah’s Centennial celebration. She tells us exclusively that they are looking for “real life stories about how Hadassah changed your life and what impact Hadassah has had.... Has it transformed you or a loved one in any significant way?” Hadassah is collecting the stories for a book to be called Thin Threads. The title refers to “a moment, event, setback, crossroads, or encounter that has connected you to a person, place, or opportunity that changed your life for the better.” It also refers to “decisions we make in our lives
November-December 2011 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN Page 5 that lead us to new insights, people, or possibilities, altering the course of our lives for the better.” Hadassah will accept stories through November. For details and to submit a story, visit hadassahstories.com. Visit thinthreads.com to read some sample stories. Ina Altman, VP Southeastern Region, Savannah; Paula Zucker, VP Southeastern Region, Atlanta; Judy Viness, VP Southeastern Region and Centennial Chair, Greater Atlanta Hadassah; Larry Warnick, and Ruthanne Warnick, President, Southeastern Region PHOTOGRAPHER BOBI DIMOND. Remember how beautiful professionally taken photographs used to be? Now, many people can hardly recall what these images looked like, with virtually unlimited numbers of digital and cell phone shots so readily available. Photographer Bobi Dimond But renowned Atlanta photographer Bobi Dimond won- ders, “How do you display digital photos around your home and pass them on to future generations, when they’re mainly on cell phones?” Bobi feels so strongly about preserving family pictures that she exclusively shoots her family portraits with film. And for charity auctions, she will donate a free portrait sitting with one 8x10 photo, which will last forever. If your charity wants a great gift item donated, call Bobi at 770-937-0007. Supporting the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Billy and Julie Levine invited friends to be their guest at a private screening of the movie Moneyball on September 23. The Levines hosted the event to heighten awareness of the fight against Multiple Myeloma and make people aware of the activities to fight this disease by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Julie and Billy Levine Below are just a few of the many guests who came to support Billy and Julie and enjoy a great movie Irene Mason, Henry Grady and Jenny McCartney Edye Summerfield, Karen Kerness, Susan Jacobson, Mark Jacobson, Rabbi Peter Berg and Rabbi Steven Rau Joel Lowenstein, Liz Levine, Miriam Botnick and Eric Robbins RENAISSANCE WOMAN ROCHELLE SOLOMON. At his new nightclub next to the Landmark Diner in Buckhead, comic Jerry Farber features a variety of amateur and up-and-coming talents. One of our favorites is the lovely and vivacious Rochelle Bari Solomon, who says, “I have been singing since the age of four in my garage. My curtains were my mother’s white sheets that were drying. Yes, I charged a penny or a nickel for my friends to come in.” Later, she was named “Female Singer of the Year” from the Entertainer’s Club of Jacksonville. A native of Florida, where she worked in the jewelry business, Rochelle has had an amazing career, much of it spent helping others. She has co-hosted a local television show and worked variously as a writer, producer, performer, and much more. Her many projects include the single’s guide Single Monthly; Rochelle’s Little Book of Clichés for Business, a guide to treating employees well; The Magical Flower, a story that was made into a well-received ballet by a local company; several children’s stories; the self-help book Soul Searching; a book on isometrics; and a cookbook. Rochelle received the Educator of the Year award from her local chapter of The American Diabetic Association and, most Rochelle Solomon important of all, received a special award from K & C Pet Rescue for raising funds for food and shelter for dogs, cats, and rabbits. Our kinda gal! Today, Rochelle spends much of her time volunteering to take elderly people on errands and, much to the delight of her audiences, singing at various locations around town. Rochelle can be reached at rochelle2068@yahoo.com.
Page 1 and 2: Happy Chanukah Jewish THE Georgian
Page 3: November-December 2011 THE JEWISH G
Page 7 and 8: November-December 2011 THE JEWISH G

Happy Chanukah - The Jewish Georgian

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?