Editor’s Note: Longtime Jewish Light social columnist Lois Caplan suffered a heart attack on Aug.19. The good news is that she is recuperating magnificently, though she’s not quite ready to resume writing her column yet. In the interim, her daughter, Leslie Caplan, is stepping into her mother’s comfortable but stylish shoes.

Women of Worth

On October 19th, the Older Women’s League (OWL) Women of Worth awards will be held at the Missouri Athletic Club. As usual, the Jewish community is well represented with awards going to Eileen Edelman, Peggy Ross and her daughter Pam Ross Toder.

If I had an entire page I couldn’t list these women’s achievements, so I refer you to owlstlouis.com, otherwise known as Kvell Central for a listing of their accomplishments.

Arlen Chaleff and Ernie Edelmann, two more extraordinarily accomplished women are co-chairing the event and promise an evening of inspiration, as KPLR’s Christine Buck receives a Lifetime Achievement award for more than 30 years of helping local charitable organizations. The evening’s guest speaker will be Rosemary Terranova, Director of Family and Children’s Services for St. Louis County.

OWL seems to fly somewhat under the radar, but believe me, this organization does phenomenal work, advocating for middle-aged and older women on numerous issues, including health care and pension equality. OWL also sponsors Women’s Financial Services, which helps women achieve economic independence and stability as well as a Midlife Divorce Support Group.

For more information about the event and OWL, visit owlstlouis.com or call Barb at 314-725-5862 to make your reservation.

An Evening at the Market

If you haven’t had a chance to tour the new Market at Busch’s Grove, at Clayton and Price roads, you not only can do so on Sunday, Oct. 18, you also can eat, drink and do a terrific mitzvah, all in one fell swoop. Bring your taste buds to “An Evening at the Market: A Gourmet Food and Wine Tasting to Support Our Seniors,” a just-for-fun-and-fundraising evening to benefit the JCC’s Nutrition Program for Senior Adults. No program is planned, so you can nibble on fabulous delicacies, gawk at the gorgeous displays (think mini Harrod’s of London) and kibbutz to your heart’s content. The event, which is chaired by Bette Abeles and begins at 6 p.m., also includes a raffle.

Guest chairs are Marlyn and Alyn Essman and Wilma and Harvey Gerstein, longtime supporters of the JCC Senior Meal Program. FYI: For 33 years this program has been providing daily meals for in-need seniors over 60. Meals are provided at the Covenant House as well as delivered to those who are unable to leave their homes.

For more information on this one of a kind event, contact Susan Kaplansky at 314.442.3148 or at [email protected].

Former St. Louisan publishes new book

For a book that tackles a topic as serious as “redefining American capitalism,” Alan Webber’s Rules of Thumb, 52 Truths for Winning at Business without Losing Your Self ($24.99, Harper Collins), is enormously engaging. Webber, a St. Louis Jewish boy made good, was confirmed at Temple Israel in 1963, graduated from St. Louis Country Day School in 1966 and eventually went on to become the editor of the Harvard Business Review.

Webber left the Business Review to co-found Fast Company, an innovative eCommerce magazine, which created a new paradigm for business publications. After selling the magazine for multiple millions, Webber became an international public speaker, appearing with Nobel Prize luminaries like Muhammud Unus, founder of the Grameen Foundation.

In this age of Madoff, it is a relief to find a book on business that opens with this Talmudic quote: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary.” In Rules of Thumb, Webber lays out his 52 rules for doing business in a way that is creative, effective and highly ethical. His rules are insightful, inspiring, and sometimes downright brilliant. Two of my favorites are the final rules:

* Rule 51: Take your work seriously. Yourself, not so much.

* Rule 52: Stay alert! There are teachers everywhere.

In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that Alan Webber was my eighth-grade boyfriend.

For more information, go to rulesofthumbbook.com.

Regards from Lois

Finally, my mother asked me to relay this message to her beloved readers and if you know my mother, I was not about to argue otherwise.

Here’s what she has to say:

I am absolutely overwhelmed by the response to my illness. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine so many people cared about me. When I thought about it, I realized that the reason you cared about me so much is that I have cared about you. I thought my job at the Light (which I have always adored) was a mission for me to do the best I could for our community and every individual in the community. I can’t wait to get back to work.