Women of Achievement, in their infinite wisdom, have selected two outstanding Jewish women to honor at their annual luncheon on Tuesday, May 15 at 11:45 a.m. at the St. Louis Ballroom of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. They are Sunny Glassberg and Ronni Handelman, both big achievers but in entirely different fields. Sunny will be recognized for creative philanthropy. There could never be a more appropriate award for her as her contribution to the St. Louis community, starting with fanciful and fun filled Turtle Park and the beautiful restoration of the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park, bring pleasure to thousands. Add to these the pavilion in Greensfelder Park and the otter habitat at the St. Louis Zoo, a source of amusement and amazement for those watching the otters through their glass enclosure. Sunny’s generosity has also benefited the City Museum, KETC Channel 9, Barnes Jewish Hospital, Washington University, and the St. Louis Scholarship Foundation where she has funded six Designated Scholar loans just to pinpoint a few.

Ronni Handelman has been selected for her contribution to social responsibility. Known and beloved in the Jewish community for her tireless dedication to the Women’s Division of the St. Louis Jewish Federation of which she served as president and distinguished herself as a super fundraiser, she is also a life member of the board of the American Jewish Committee and a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).

Ronni is the co-founder and immediate past Chair of the Board of Cultural Leadership St. Louis, a program for African-American and Jewish high school students. In 1995 she coordinated the Bosnian Relief Project St. Louis and chaired the Global Anti-Semitism Committee and the Refugee Connection Committee for the JCRC. Trained as a social worker, Ronnie is a perfect choice of a woman whose social responsibility comes naturally. Chair of the event is Lenore Pepper and co-chair is Nanci Bobrow, both outstanding women in the Jewish community and also Women of Achievement.

Reservations for the Women of Achievement Luncheon may be made by sending your check for $50 per person to Women of Achievement, 891 North Second Street, St. Louis MO 63102-2520.

IT’S A JAZZY AFFAIR, according to Dr. Jordan H. Ginsburg, Medical Director of UnitedHealthcare and a member of the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDRF) and Sanda Rosenblum. On Friday, May 11 at the Kemp Auto Museum, 16955 Chesterfield Airport Road, there will be a fun fundraiser for JDRF, an organization founded in 1970 by parents of children living with diabetes which has provided $1 billion in research funds. Former US Ambassador to Hungary, George Herbert Walker III and the late Senator Tom Eagleton will be honored, the former for his community involvement and philanthropic generosity. Individual tickets are $300. For details on how to have a great evening while helping find a cure for juvenile diabetes, call 314-726-6778.

ORLI SHAHAM, THE FIRST LADY OF THE SAINT LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA and the wife of music director David Robertson, will be the soloist next weekend at the SLSO concert at Powell Symphony Hall. Conducted not by her husband but by Robert Spano, Orli will play the glorious Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini while the orchestra is to play the Sibelius Symphony No. 1 and Orion by Kaija Saariaho.

An hour before each concert, April 27 and 28 at 8 p.m. and April 29 at 3 p.m. there will be a pre-concert perspective with Peter Henderson. Orli Shaham, sister of famed violinist Gil Shaham, was born in Jerusalem to Sabra parents who brought her to New York at age seven. A gifted pianist, she studied at the Juilliard School and made her mark as a soloist with most of the major orchestras of the world. For tickets call Powell Symphony Hall at 314-534-1700.