The St. Louis Men’s Group Against Cancer has honored Michael Staenberg with its Men’s Group Man of the Year award. He was recognized for his civic and business leadership. The group raised more than $400,000 at its November gala with proceeds going to 31 local cancer-related charities.

Former St. Louisan Joy Fisher is development coordinator at the United Jewish Federation of Utah. She assists with database maintenance, women’s programming and fundraising events throughout the year. 

Jared Busch and Tyler Gilmore have been honored with the Martin Kodner Sportsmanship Award. This award is given to two athletes who display qualities of sportsmanship, fair play and leadership on and off the field during the JCC Maccabi Games. Tyler, a junior at Parkway West High School, is the son of Kim and Brad Gilmore. Jared, a junior at Marquette High School, is the son of Jennifer and Greg Busch. Both families attend Congregation Shaare Emeth. 

Sports journalist Myron Holtzman has been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. He is chairman of the St. Louis Baseball Writers dinner and serves as public relations director for the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. Also in November, the Jewish Community Center inducted Holtzman into the St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, along with nine other individuals. Holtzman attends United Hebrew Congregation.

Michael Lourie has joined the board of Jewish Family & Children’s Service. A member of United Hebrew Congregation, he is the director of marketing and communications at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Josh Packman is a new financial adviser with LifePlan Investments & Retirements Planning Services, serving the Anheuser-Busch Employees Credit Union and its divisions. He will provide financial planning, investment and retirement planning, and risk management and insurance planning services to members and their families. A second-generational financial adviser in the credit union industry, Packman attends Congregation Temple Israel.

Missouri Lawyers Media has honored attorneys with its In-House Counsel awards, recognizing their successes in navigating complicated contract negotiations, steering high-stakes litigation and defending their companies’ assets. Jewish Light board president Steve Gallant was honored in the Private Company With Annual Revenues Over $500 million category. A member of Shaare Emeth, Gallant is the executive vice president and general counsel at Maritz. Caryn Fine, director and assistant general counsel at Ameren Services Co., was honored under the Public Company category. She attends Central Reform Congregation.

Dr. Marcos Rothstein has received the Neville Grant Award for Clinical Excellence from the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Medical Staff Association. A member ofTemple Israel, he is a  professor in the nephrology department. He is also a driving force behind the Guatemala CKD MesoAmerican Nephropathy Project, which involves a partnering of a group of Washington University researchers, residents, fellows and staff with the Guatemala Social Security Institute hospital system and Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala City. The project is working toward improving patient outcomes and understanding an epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Latin America. 

Susie Epstein and Linda Kraus have been honored with Congregation Temple Israel’s Pillar of the Temple Award. Epstein, an educator at Temple Israel for 25 years, received the award for her involvement with many aspects of education. For 21 years, Kraus has been chair of the Kahn Foundation, which provides aid, assistance and relief to the elderly within the Temple Israel community. David Chassin, vice president of facilities, received the President’s Award for Continuing Excellence. He was honored for his more than 20 years of dedication and service in his many roles as a Temple Israel lay leader. 

Mark Platt is one of five inductees in this year’s U.S. Tennis Association Missouri Valley Hall of Fame Class. The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have served the game of tennis through their play, dedication to volunteerism and their passion for improving the game. Platt is the founder of Beginner’s World Tennis and has program and events at more than 25 facilities across the St. Louis area. 

Shira Berkowitz is the new communications manager for the nonprofit organization PROMO, whose mission is to advance equality and protect the welfare and civil rights of the LGBTQ community in Missouri. She is a founding board member of MaTovu, a Jewish neighborhood center in St. Louis.

Area lawyers who have been chosen for inclusion in the 2019 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” and/or “Missouri Super Lawyers 2018” publications are: Rick Eisen, Charles Elbert, Gerry Greiman, Gary Growe, Alan Kohn, Cary Mogerman, Norman Pressman, Wendi Pressman, David A. Rubin, Richard Sher, Mark Temkin, Richard Tishler, Bradley Winters, Alexander Wolff, Alvin Wolff  and Allan Zerman.

Jews in the News is the Jewish Light’s compilation of local Jews’ newsworthy professional and academic accomplishments. Submit your news to Editorial and Development Associate Elise Krug: [email protected]. Call 314-743-3671 for more information. Jews in the News is published the first edition of each month.