Jeane Vogel, an award-winning photographer and mixed media artist, is now executive director of the Webster Community Arts Foundation. WCAF produces several art festivals, including Art & Air in June, Art on the Town, and other programs to support local art and artists. Vogel was also awarded an Artist Support Grant from the Regional Arts Council, which will allow her to travel to China for the Dare to Touch the Face of God project and lead workshops. The project is in response to religious and ethnic bigotry, hatred and fear mongering.  A member of Central Reform Congregation, Vogel’s work, “Resting” was one of 42 works selected from 581 submissions for exhibition in the Women’s Caucus for Art national exhibit, “Equilibrium,” at the Woman Made Gallery in Chicago from Jan. 17-Feb. 27. 

Michael Kahn, of Olivette, will be joining the Clayton law firm of Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan, P. C. beginning Jan 1. 

Lynnsie Balk Kantor has been named a 2014 Five Star Real Estate Agent. A member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, Kantor is being recognized by the largest and most widely published real estate agent award program in North America for her hard work and dedication.

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) Executive Director and General Counsel Dan Glazier has been named President of the Midwest Executive Directors Association.

Parkway Central High School sophomore, Katie Korein, has joined the Junior Board of The Living Well Foundation. The foundation educates young people to live healthy, happy and productive lives. Daughter of Andrea and Michael Korein of Chesterfield, Katie is an alumna of the Living Well Village Camp. She recently participated in the Living Well’s fifth annual Ugly Sweater Run held at Tower Grove Park in December. The funds raised from the event will be used in the campaign to raise money to build a gymnasium for their facilities located in Imperial. 

Jamie Kolker, a recent Millstone Fellow, was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of Laumeier Sculpture Park. He serves as Assistant Vice Chancellor of Campus Planning, Director of Capital Projects in Facilities, Planning and Management at Washington University. Kolker is responsible for managing the long-term planning, design, and development of the Danforth Campus and its surrounding areas. 

Paramount Mortgage Company has added Melisa Link to its mortgage banking team. As a mortgage loan originator licensed in Missouri, Link will offer first time homebuyers and existing homeowners trouble-free financing with FHA, VA, USDA, conventional, jumbo, reverse mortgages and 203K Rehab loans. She is a member of Congregation B’nai Amoona.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Founder and entrepreneur, Maxine Clark re-enters the furry fray to help launch a line of children’s winter apparel. The local start-up company called Monster Coats was born out of Andy and Frannie Whiteside’s desire to create a product that is unique, fun, fashionable and functional.  They enlisted Clark as one of their advisors and investors. 

J Associates announced its lineup of dancers for their next Dancing in the Loop. The event will take place on March 1 at the Pageant. The St. Louis Stars are: Mark Cantor, partner of Cantor & Burger LLC; Alyson Garland, owner of Dot Dot Dash Boutique; Diane Katzman, owner of Diane Katzman Designs; Ronnie Light, owner of Sam Light Loan Company; Lenore Pepper, owner of Edwin Pepper Interiors; Dr. Larry Samuels, a dermatologist; Julie Sandler, community volunteer and Andy Trivers, CEO of Trivers Associates. 

Former St. Louisan, Scott Ginsberg, aka The Nametag Guy, will join 18 other speakers, entertainment and interactive experiences on Saturday, Jan. 11 for the TEDxGatewayArch Conference at the Sheldon Concert Hall from 9 a.m. – 4:30 pm. Ginsberg has authored 27 books, made over 600 corporate appearances in six countries, and was inducted into the hall of fame of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. 

Ralph W. Kalish, Jr., a partner at Husch Blackwell, was named to the Webster University School of Communications 2013-14 Advisory Board. He is a member of Temple Israel.

Press Club members Ellen Futterman and Alvin Reid were awarded the 2013 Gateway Media Literacy Partners Charles Klotzer Award for Media Literacy at the Press Club’s Nov. 15 forum, which was part of Media Literacy Week. A member of Central Reform Congregation, Futterman is the editor of the St. Louis Jewish Light. Reid is a regular member of PBS’s “Donnybrook.” Futterman also received the storied Catfish Award, given by the Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis, along with public relations honcho Carol Lundgren.

Among the 25 women taking part in Hadassah’s Leadership Fellows program is Carolyn Amacher. The new program gives participants a chance to learn from prominent leaders in the Jewish communities in the U.S. and Israel while building upon their own potential as leaders in the business, education and non-profit worlds. Amacher works as the VISTA Leader in St. Louis where she recruits and trains 40 VISTA members working in 20 non-profits. She currently sits on the national board of Ameinu, the Progressive Zionist Alliance.

Adam Schmitz, class of 2015 at the Missouri Military Academy (MMA) in Mexico, Mo. was appointed as one of two first-ever Duke of York Fellows. Son of Jen and Jeffrey Schmitz of Chesterfield, Adam will participate in a student exchange program, studying abroad at MMA’s sister school, The Duke of York’s Royal Military School in Dover, England. MMA’s president said Adam performed admirably throughout a rigorous interview process and has thus earned a very unusual opportunity to travel to countries including England, France and Belgium. The Schmitz family belongs to Congregation B’nai Amoona.

Lori Ann Halpern, daughter of David and Barbara Halpern of Chesterfield graduated summa cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia on Dec. 13 and was also inducted into the Nursing Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau. She will be working at St. Mary’s Hospital in Jefferson City. Her family belongs to United Hebrew Congregation.

Bob Fox, philanthropist, founder of Casa de Salud and CEO of NewSpace, Inc., will receive the 2014 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission Distinguished Humanitarian Award. The award will be presented at the kickoff program for the celebration at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at Harris-Stowe State University. 

The GL group, Inc. is relocating its Jaffe Book Solution bindery from Steelville, Mo. to St. Louis. This move will bring the bindery division closer to its headquarters in the midtown area. Founded in 1974, the GL group is owned and operated by the Jaffe family, who belong to Central Reform Congregation; Sandy, Founder; Gary,  CEO; Donna, President of Peaceable Kingdom division; and Neil, President of Turtleback Books. This spring, the company will celebrate its 40^th anniversary.

Sheelah Yawitz of Ballwin was recently honored for her efforts, commitment and support of the local and national Multiple Sclerosis Society. Yawitz was one of three nationwide finalists and was recognized in the Healthcare category for the Community All Stars Awards presented by St. Louis based Safety National, the leading provider of excess workers’ compensation coverage. She selected the Gateway Area Chapter of the MS Society to receive a $10,000 donation from Safety National in her honor. A congregant of Temple Israel, Yawitz was appointed to the national organization’s Strategic Response Advisory Committee.