Jewish Long Beach honors outstanding leaders and volunteers at the 2023 Annual Meeting

Jewish Long Beach honors outstanding leaders and volunteers at the 2023 Annual Meeting

Jewish Long Beach Staff

Jewish Long Beach was proud to continue the tradition of honoring volunteers and leaders with a series of time-honored awards at the 2023 Annual Meeting on January 24, 2024.

The Robert Baldwin Community Service Award recognizes dedicated volunteers for years of outstanding service through Tzedakah, Responsibility, Support of community, and support of Israel. The award was established by the family of Bob Baldwin in recognition of how Bob’s life epitomized these principles. This year’s Baldwin honorees are none other than Dr. Matt Davis and Dr. Mark Dressner. Matt and Mark are both esteemed family physicians in Long Beach. Mark is a past president of Temple Israel Long Beach, former board member of JFCS, and member of the Jewish Long Beach nominating committee. At the time of the Annual Meeting, he has just returned from a mission to Israel, volunteering in the neglected kibbutzim near the Gaza border and in nearby hospitals. Matt is a past president of Alpert JCC and former chair of the Medical Advisory committee, which steered our agency through the worst of the pandemic.

The Stanley Goldin Senior of the Year Award is given in memory of long-time leader Stanley Goldin. It is awarded to a senior adult who displays leadership and commitment to the Alpert JCC senior adult program. This year the award is given to Ila Patterson. Ila was the Core Captain in the kitchen for senior luncheons throughout 2023. She has been proactive in solving organizational challenges, helps lead the service teams, and is a dedicated and hard-working volunteer to support senior and other programming events. “She is a joy to work with,” says Anneleise Thompson, Adult Programs and Volunteer Manager.

The Neuburger Leadership Development Award was established by the family of Fred Neuburger, to honor his memory by nurturing young, future leaders. The recipient must have a vision for strengthening our Jewish community and the desire and ability to motivate others to become active in the Jewish community. This year’s Neuburger awardee is Vicki Scherwin, Ph.D. Vicki is a leadership consultant specializing in executive coaching and developing leadership curricula. She is also an adjunct professor at UCI Merage and CSULB College of Business. Vicki has two sons who both went through the Alpert JCC ECE. She is a graduate of the Alpert New Leaders Forum and Lentzner Fellows, is a current Jewish Long Beach Board Member, and serves as the Chair of the Grants Committee.

The Tess Wohlstattar Hineni Award is presented annually to a volunteer who has gone above and beyond in their role. We are honored to present this award to Ken Schlesinger based on his tireless work as the chair of the Advocacy & Education Committee. Ken Schlesinger is a firstgeneration American and grandchild of Holocaust survivors Julius and Judy Schlesinger. Ken’s life in the Jewish Community began as a K’ton Ton camper at the Alpert JCC. He received his formal Jewish Education at Temple Beth Shalom & The Hebrew Academy. He is currently a member of Shul by the Shore. Ken serves on the boards of Beach Hillel and Jewish Long Beach. He currently chairs the Community Yom HaShoah Committee and the Advocacy & Education Committee. Ken says, “It is an honor and privilege for me to follow in the path of my parents and uncle as a leader in the Long Beach Jewish Community. I am truly grateful.”

We are also proud to honor the following volunteers with Chai Awards for exceptional service in a variety of roles:

• Barbara & Ben Alhadeff

• Kathy Dwyer

• Juliene King

• Gina & Jack Rosenthal

• Daniel Shere

• Natasha Galpin

• Sara Linden

• Linda Waltzman

• Kristina Shafton

• Anna Salusky

• Sheryl Stewart

• Danielle Van Divort

• Ami Guy

• Yael Marcus

• Lena Shupper

• Al Rudis

Additionally, earning Chai Awards are the outgoing Board Members retiring after seven years of service to our community:

• Alan Brawer

• Genevieve Brill-Murphy

• Dr. Aaron Kern

• Matt Paretsky

• Amber Vera Mendoza