By Sharon Wisch-Ray

I learned earlier this week that Janine Pulman’s last day at Jewish Family Service was yesterday, May 9, after 22 amazing years.
Janine has been the volunteer coordinator there and I’m sure has interacted with many of you as she has with my family from planning JFS centerpieces for your simchas to coordinating your volunteer efforts.
A new staff person has not been hired yet, so for any questions that you had directed to Janine in the past, those can go to Cheryl Stein at 972-437-9950 or cstein@jfsdallas.org and she will direct you to the right person.
Janine has been a tireless worker for our community and I know she is going to enjoy planning the August wedding of her oldest daughter, Alecia, and spending time with husband Charles and daughter Jodi.

Levine Academy honors Shapiro at annual gala

State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, was honored for her commitment to achieving excellence in education during Ann and Nate Levine Academy’s annual gala April 29 at the Westin Galleria Dallas.

The event, which was attended by 420 people, raised more than $300,000 for the school from sponsors and a silent auction.
Levine Academy’s gala also recognized the following teachers, administrators and staff for 25 or more years of service: Beverley Lewin, Sandra Cantor, Wende Weinberg, Deborah Lan, Shirley Green-King, Kathryn Hill, Estella Raphael, Nonie Schwartz and Betty Kenner.
Fred and Kay Zeidman and Frank and Helen Risch served as honorary chairs for the event, while co-chairs Dana Eisenberg and Carrie Sternberg, along with auction chair Nina Goodman. made sure everyone had a wonderful time.

RickyJoel places ‘Dead Flowers’ video on YouTube

Dallas musicians Joel Alhadef and Rick Devincent of RickyJoel have recently added another music video to YouTube. It’s an old Rolling Stones cover called “Dead Flowers” and can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRtfsTZOPEM or by entering “RickyJoel, ‘Dead Flowers” in the search engine.
Incidentally, their first video, “How’s Your Life Today,” which was released about one year ago this month, is approaching 3,000 views. The song was also the featured backdrop music for the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas’ Women’s Event campaign video. That very moving video can be seen on YouTube as well.

JFS receives Dallas Psychological Association honor

JFS was honored with the Pam Blumenthal Community Service Award from the Dallas Psychological Association Sunday.
This award was created following the untimely death of Pam Blumenthal, an outstanding young psychologist and mental-health advocate.
Criteria for this award include serving as a local DFW person/organization/program dedicated to the welfare of children, families, or the community as a whole; serving underserved/most vulnerable populations; promotion of the profession of psychology through work/programs; and working to promote the best interest of people in Texas.
Mazel tov to JFS on receiving such a distinguished award from this professional community organization.

The Legacy at Preston Hollow earns deficiency-free rating

The Legacy at Preston Hollow has received a deficiency-free healthcare inspection rating for the second year in a row from the Texas Department of Aging and Disabilities Services.
In achieving this exceptional rating, the community has reached a milestone in continuing the 60-year legacy of exemplary care.
The inspection process lasted four days and included a team of surveyors from the Texas Department of Aging and Disabilities Services.
The full continuum of nursing care was inspected, including: dining services, laundry services, environmental aspects, administrative practices and human resources.
Interviews were also conducted with residents, their family members and team members. According to the Texas Department of Aging and Disabilities Services, the average nursing home is cited with seven deficiencies.
“Receiving a deficiency-free inspection is difficult the first time, but receiving this honor a second year, continues to set the bar of excellence within the healthcare field,” said Jerry McDonald, executive director of The Legacy at Preston Hollow. “This truly shows that we not only have reached the highest level of performance, but it is something that we work extremely hard to maintain through extensive training of team members, performing audits and increasing the number of positions when needed.”
The Legacy at Preston Hollow has deep roots in the community dating to its beginning as The Dallas Home for the Jewish Aged, a non-profit that opened in 1953 and has continuously served seniors and the Jewish community since its inception.
The original home was located on the Golden Acres Campus and transitioned to its new location in August 2007. After an extensive renovation to the existing community, the name was changed to the Legacy at Preston Hollow to reflect its corporate ownership and their standard for service, amenities and the quality of care.
Dr. Mark Fleischer is the medical director of the Legacy Preston Hollow.

Interfaith Journey Through Israel

Recently, as part of the interfaith mission to Israel, Dallas’ Temple Emanu-El and Wilshire Baptist Church spent a morning picking potatoes for distribution to Israel’s needy with Leket Israel-The National Food Bank.

The Temple Emanu-El and Wilshire Baptists Church trip picked 6,000 pounds of potatoes that will help feed 800 families in need.
Serving as Israel’s leading food rescue network, Leket Israel (www.leket.org) reclaims food from hundreds of food suppliers (restaurants, catering halls, farms…) and delivers it to over 300 nonprofit organizations serving Israel’s needy; feeding 60,000+ people daily.