Dr. Robert Hoffman of Northwest Pediatrics was awarded the Maurice J. Keller, M.D. COPE Preceptor Award by the Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The award is given to an “outstanding preceptor who has served as an excellent role model and teacher of primary care.” Hoffman is a member of Congregation B’nai Amoona.

St. Louis Rotisserie, a restaurant and catering company, celebratedits 20^th anniversary in August. Husband and wife team Jennifer and Drew Sterling are the founders and owners of the restaurant at13029 Olive Boulevard in Creve Coeur. In honor of its anniversary, the restaurant began making and bottling hot sauces. More than 15 years ago, it created a work program through a partnership with St. Louis Arc, a nonprofit agency that provides services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Jeremy Feldstein was recently elected president of Hillel at Purdue University, where he is majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Jeremy, son of Hershey and Gail Feldstein, is a member of Congregation B’nai Amoona.

Dr. Richard Rosenthal, formerly of St. Louis, was honored with EmCare’s 2014 Commitment to Care Award as its Emergency Physician of the Year event. EmCare is a national practice management company. Rosenthal is Tucson Medical Center’s emergency department medical director and received the award because of his commitment and dedication to improving care for the community.

Leah Greenbaum is the new outreach coordinator/communications associate for Central Reform Congregation. Her main responsibilities are community engagement and advocacy, especially with young adults. Greenbaum is a resident of NextDorStl, where she helps facilitate programs and events for Jewish young adults.

Sharon Greenstein, a certified geriatric care manager and director of client services for Home Care Assistance of St. Louis, has been named foundation board president of the Mid-East Area Agency on Aging. The foundation helps raise funds to support the agency’s various elder care programs. A member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, Greenstein is a founding member of the St. Louis Home Care Alliance.

The Jewish Federation of St. Louis recently welcomed Nate Rosenblum as the senior associate of community development and Amy Pakett as communication manager. Rosenblum’s main responsibility is to engage young Jewish adults in the community and help find their passion with Jewish life. Pakett, formerly with Build-a-Bear, is responsible for all press releases and media relations. She is also the special events coordinator and handles all social media.

Stacy Abeles has joined the March of Dimes Missouri Chapter as director of special events. She will direct and oversee all aspects of select special events for the St. Louis division. Abeles also will recruit top volunteer leadership to fill key committee positions and work with program staff and volunteers to ensure that every event spotlights the March of Dimes mission, programs, services, and benefits for mothers and babies. Abeles attends Kol Rinah.

Keith Levey has joined the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission as its director of corporate/tradeshows. He will assist the vice president of sales and director of sales in producing leads and bookings for St. Louis city and county hotels, with emphasis on citywide and America’s Center convention business.

Nishmah welcomes Ann Fingerhood as the new Sharsheret Supports coordinator. Sharsheret Supports is a collaborative project of Nishmah and the national Sharsheret organization and is sponsored by the Jewish Community Center. Sharsheret, Hebrew forw chain, is a national, not-for-profit organization that supports young women of Jewish backgrounds facing breast cancer and strives to increase awareness in the general community and the Jewish genetic risk around breast cancer. Fingerhood attends Congregation Shaare Emeth.

National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) welcomes Heather Paperner Silverman as program director and Alyssa Shyken as marketing associate. Silverman will work with NCJW’s community service programs Project Renewal, which addresses the needs of underserved women by providing clothing and resources for employment and Wife-Widow-Woman support group. Shyken is responsible for NCJW’s newsletters and social media. Both women attend Congregation Shaare Emeth. 

Lary Baker was elected to the Clayton School District Alumni Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Educator for 2014. One of only three teachers to be honored, he taught history and economics at Clayton High School from 1966 to 2002. Baker attends Nusach Hari B’nai Zion.

St. Louis native and historical fiction author Stan Spector has released his third novel, “Redemption: The 50 Day Crucible of Antipathy in Budapest.” It is an emotional novel told primarily through the diary of a 10-year-old Hungarian Jewish girl forced into the Budapest ghetto during World War ll. The book is available on Amazon.

Saul Mirowitz Jewish Day School welcomes Rabbi Scott Slarskey as director of Jewish life and Hilary Benjamin as librarian. Both are members of Congregation B’nai Amoona. Kara Dudley has joined Mirowitz as business assistant, and Rabbi Tracy Nathan will work with students on preparation for Torah reading.

Community School fourth-grader Noah Kleinlehrer organized a toiletry drive at school and at  Temple Emanuel to benefit Magdalene St. Louis, a home for abused, homeless and previously incarcerated women. Son of Temple Emanuel Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh and Robert Kleinlehrer, Noah collected more than 800 items that will be used in their street and prison outreaches. Noah gave a PowerPoint presentation at school to emphasize that today’s homeless are yesterday’s neighbors.

Cindy Frank joins World Pediatric Project in the role of executive director. Her mission is to further its vision in which “every child, regardless of geography, has access to quality, critical care so that they can live full and productive lives.” Formerly with Gateway to Hope as executive director, Frank is a member of Congregation Temple Israel.

Florence Schachter, Crown Center’s director of resident and community services, has been chosen by LeadingAge Missouri to receive the 2014 Employee of the Year Award in the management category. This award is presented to an employee who has made an outstanding contribution to the mission and philosophy of a LeadingAge Missouri aging services organization and/or has demonstrated unusual commitment to preserve the dignity, well-being and independence of older Missourians. Schachter, a past recipient of the JProStl Chesed/Kindness Award, attends Traditional Congregation.

David A. Goldfarb received the Best of Maryland Heights award from the Maryland Heights Chamber of Commerce and Community News as the best accounting firm in Maryland Heights. Nominees for award are submitted by members of the community. Goldfarb is a member of Temple Israel.

Brooke Sissman Roseberry recently opened the Purple Martin restaurant at Shenandoah and California avenues in the Fox Park neighborhood of south St. Louis. Specializing in Mediterranean/Greek fare and cocktails, dinner is served Tuesday through Sunday nights. Roseberry is an assistant vice president of U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp.

Dr. Todd P. Margolis has been named the new Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor, and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine. With the new appointment, Margolis is the ophthalmologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He also was awarded a $115,000 grant by Research to Prevent Blindness to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding diseases.

Matthew Frischer has joined the FOCUS St. Louis board as a youth member. A recent graduate of FOCUS’ Youth Leadership St. Louis program, he is the son of Helene and Phil Frischer. Matthew is a senior at Parkway Central High School where he is editor of the school newspaper. The Frischers attend United Hebrew.

Michael Oberlander has been elected president and chairman of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis board of directors. Oberlander is senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of  Brown Shoe and is a member of Bais Abraham Congregation and Young Israel.

Editor’s Note: Announcements regarding attorneys being recognized in the “Best Lawyers” publication must be submitted to the Light by Sept. 22 to be considered for inclusion in the Jews in the News page.