The Men’s Clubs of Congregation B’nai Amoona and Kol Rinah will honor their respective Man of the Year and Youth of the Year at a luncheon on a date to be determined. All honorees have demonstrated a commitment to a primary objective of the Men’s Club: the involvement of Jews in Jewish ritual practice.

B’nai Amoona’s honorees:

• Jeff Weis is a past president of the Men’s Club who served for three years. It was during that time that he was instrumental in getting the club reinvolved with the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs and bringing it to new heights.

• Ethan Wallerstein, a senior at Marquette High School, is the son of Amy and Eric Wallerstein. He will study mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas in the fall. Ethan has participated musically in the life of the congregation, beginning with the children’s choir and then with Zamarim, the choir for eighth- through 12-graders. He has also worked as a teacher’s assistant at the religious school and is an active participant with Jewish Student Union.

Kol Rinah is honoring:

• Maurice Guller for his many contributions and his  longstanding support and passion for Jewish continuity. He has served as the president of Shaare Zedek (former name of Kol Rinah) and the Solomon Schechter Day School (now Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School). Guller is honorary co-chairman of Kol Rinah’s capital campaign.

• Jane Kalina is vice president of her United Synagogue Youth (USY) chapter. She has planned a majority of KRSTL’s lounge night programs and other events. Jane attends Clayton High School, where she balances varsity field hockey and an assortment of honors classes. She spends her free time riding and taking care of the horses at Kennedy Farms Equestrian Center. Jane is the daughter of Ellen Levine and the late Richard Kalina.

Harvey Schneider, Frances Levine and Julia Mendelow will be honored with the 2020 Jewish Community Relations Council’s Tzedek Awards.

Schneider will receive the Batya Abramson-Goldstein Legacy Award for his part in building strong relationships in the interfaith community. He attends Shaare Emeth.

Levine, president and CEO of the Missouri Historical Society, will be honored with the Norman A. Stack Community Relations Award. She has been active in the partnership between JCRC and the Missouri Historical Society and understands the value in working with community partnerships. Levine is a member of Temple Emanuel.

Mendelow, a member of Shaare Emeth, has been a board member of JCRC for several years and is part of the On-Board program. She will receive the Michael and Barbara Newmark Emerging Leader Award. The JCRC’s Michael and Barbara Newmark Institute for Human Relations is celebrating its 10th anniversary of supporting a diverse and pluralistic community.

The awards ceremony will take place next year. Videos of the honorees will be posted on the JCRC Facebook page and website.

The USY EMTZA region recently elected new officers. David Smith, son of Jennifer and Matt Smith, was elected social action/tikkun olam vice president. He is a sophomore at Parkway Central High School. Ellior Rose, daughter of Rabbi Carnie and Paulie Rose, became religious education vice president. Halle Wasserman, daughter of Renee and Rob Wasserman, is the new membership/kadima vice president. Ellior and Halle are sophomores at Whitfield School. All are members of B’nai Amoona.

The St. Louis chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America will honor Drs. Sue and Gregg Berdy and sixth-grader Sam Cooper at its 30th annual Orchid AAFAIR, A Lasting Breath. The event will take place Aug. 29 at the Last Hotel. Berdy, a recently retired allergist, is a former board president of AAFA-STL and has been a supporter of the organization for 10 years. She has been helping guide its programs to find the best ways to connect services to the communities who need them most. Sam, son of Carly and Jeff Sparks, is the child ambassador of AAFA. A pupil at Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School, he is helping the organization raise awareness and money to accomplish its mission. Berdy and Sam attend Congregation Shaare Emeth.

GiftAMeal, a company founded and directed by Andrew Glantz, has won first place and $20,000 in the Suren G. Dutia & Jas K. Grewal Global Impact Awards. Hosted by the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the award supports the vision and passion of Washington University students, postdoctoral researchers and recent alumni who are creating ventures that are scalable and sustainable and are making a social impact through business. Glantz, GiftAMeal’s CEO, is a Washington University alumnus. GiftAMeal is a mobile app that helps provide a meal to someone in need each time a user takes a photo at a partner restaurant. More than 200 restaurants participate, and more than 400,000 meals have been donated.

Josh Goldman is the new director of community outreach at the St. Louis University School of Education. His responsibilities are to leverage the university’s assets to make a difference in urban education in St. Louis and in targeted global locations. Goldman is working with colleagues at the university to build programs and partnerships that can make an impact and provide value to students. Goldman is a member of Central Reform Congregation.

Alice Handelman, Jewish Light Board member, has won three first place awards in the Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) annual communications contest. The three features were published in 2019 in her Movers & Shakers column in the Ladue News. MPC is an affiliate of National Federation of Press Women. The awards were for her personality profile on Joe Pereles, the new chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council; feature article on social issues about Vicki Dolan, and an online feature story about Linda Powers. Handelman, a Temple Israel member, is a past president of Women of Achievement and the St. Louis Press Club and was community relations director at Jewish Center for Aged for 18 years.

Missouri Lawyers Media has chosen Cynthia Garnholz to receive one of three General Practitioner Awards, honoring the “women who, as attorneys, do it all – handling multiple practice areas with skill.” She will be honored at the Women’s Justice Awards event set for June 26 at the Four Seasons Hotel. These awards recognize women across Missouri who have demonstrated leadership, integrity, service, sacrifice and accomplishment in improving the quality of justice and exemplifying the highest ideals of the legal profession. Garnholz is a founder of Garnholz Sparks Family Lawyers based in Clayton.

University of Miami junior Shirley Gelman has been elected vice president of the student government’s executive board for 2020-21. She also was selected to join the inaugural LEAD Scholar Class by the Florida Latinx Hispanic American Student Union and the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. As one of the top 30 Florida Hispanic/Latin student leaders, Shirley has exhibited excellence during her academic and leadership career. LEAD hopes to celebrate Hispanic/Latin individuals for their educational pursuits as well as their abundance of ambition and drive. Pursuing a double major in international finance/marketing and management, Shirley is the daughter of Mercedes and Miguel Gelman and attends B’nai Amoona.

Newsmakers is compiled monthly by Editorial & Development Associate Elise Krug. Contact Elise at: 314-743-3671 or [email protected].