It seems that dinner season is upon us. It is always such a wonderful feeling seeing deserving honorees recognized for their years of selfless dedication to klal Yisroel.
One noteworthy recent dinner was the Annual Awards Banquet of the OU’s West Coast Region and West Coast NCSY. Galina and Joseph Samuel of Beverly Hills were honored with the Keter Shem Tov Award and Rabbi Jason Weiner of Beverlywood was honored with the OU Rabbinic Leadership Award.
A slew of West Coast NSCYers were presented with Young Leadership Awards: Jonathan Berger (Calabasas chapter president), Jeremy Goldstein (Regional Vice President of Public Relations), Meira Goodfriend (Valley Village chapter president), Judith Greenbaum (Regional President), Michelle Katz (Regional Vice President of Events),Rivka Levine (Valley Village chapter vice president), Adam Markoff (Regional President),Sam Morrow (Valley Village executive assistant), Tova Rohatiner (Regional Vice President of Chesed) and Ruth Volk (Regional Vice President of Outreach).
Additionally, Dr. Steven Tabak was officially installed as president of the West Coast Region of the OU. Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, Director of OU West Coast, praised the incoming president, saying, “We are most fortunate that our good friend and community leader, Dr. Steven Tabak, has accepted our invitation to serve as the new President of our Region, bringing a wealth of leadership experience.” The dinner was a great success and I was honored to have the privilege of installing Dr. Tabak.
Another recent dinner of note was the 50th Anniversary Jubilee Dinner of the Sha’alvim Educational Center, honoring Judy and Allen Fagin, Miriam and Robert Fagin, and Etti and Gavriel Fagin. Allen is a Senior Vice President of the Orthodox Union, who has been a decades-long friend and leader of the OU. He has worn many hats over the years, including six years as chair of the OU’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. It is especially heartwarming to see him, Judy and their family recognized by Sha’alvim, an institution that is dear to them.
I congratulate all of these recent honorees and we thank them for their tireless service to the Jewish people.