JN SourceBook READERS' CHOICE AWARDS for Jewish Detroit Here's your chance to tell us what you like best about our community. Use official ballot on page 106 -or- vote online: www.detroitjewishnewsnews.com 1. 4 6/7 2002 100 Ballots due June 20 Balancing Act National Council of Jewish Women chooses busy, unassuming Lauren Meklir as youth award winner. all honors classes in mathematics and English and also college-level anatomy and physiology. Her plan is to study pre-law and business at hough she's an honor stu- Michigan State University in the fall. dent and active in both Musically inclined, Meklir has music and her religious played piano for 12 years and violin school, Lauren Meklir of for seven. She played both instru- Oak Park still didn't count on being ments with the Berkley High selected for one of Detroit Jewry's Symphony Orchestra and was a sec- top youth awards. tion leader last year. Meklir, the daugh- She also plays both ter of Sherry and the instruments in solo late Jules Meklir, is and ensemble compe- the 2002 first-place titions and gives vio- winner of a scholar- lin lessons. She takes ship in the National dance lessons at the Council of Jewish Center for Advanced Women Greater Studies in the Arts. At Detroit Section's Temple Emanu-El, annual Jewish Youth she was active in the Awards. NCJW took youth choir. over the project in Her volunteer activ- 1994, after. the former ities included tutoring sponsor, the League of Detroit public school Jewish Women, dis- banded. -High school students. She volun- teered at Jewish seniors that apply for Family Service for the an award are judged Lauren Meklir last three years, on their scholastic spending time with achievement, formal Jean Erdos, a senior citizen. When Jewish education and participation Mrs. Erdos died in 1999, Meklir and involvement in both the Jewish honored her memory by creating the and secular communities. concert series "Piano and I," where "I was very surprised to find that I she plays the piano and entertains had won," said Meklir, a 2002 residents at the Margot and Warren Berkley High School graduate who Coville Apartments in Southfield. also graduated from Temple Emanu- Meklir held as many as four part-- El's religious high school. Meklir time jobs at once during her high said she did not expect the honor school years. One of the goals she since she was not a class valedictori- achieved was saving money over an and "not very religious." three years and making arrangements She said, "There were other appli- for her mother's lifelong dream: a cants [30 applied this year] that I trip to Paris. Meklir and her mom, thought had a better chance, Sherry, went last December for her although I felt that I had a good mother's 50th birthday. interview." Sherry Meklir tells how proud she Five judges from the Jewish com- is of her only child. "The award munity chose Meklir for the top showed all aspects of her life com- honor. The award co-chairs were mitments to Judaism and her volun- Linda Klein of Bloomfield Hills and teer work. It really painted a picture Joyce Sherman of Southfield. of who Lauren is." At Berkley High, Meklir belonged Betty and Grant Silverfarb of West to the National Honor Society and French National Honor Society. As a Bloomfield, Congregation B'nai David members, have endowed the peer mentor (and also board mem- Jewish Youth Awards for the last 14 ber), she was among those who helped incoming freshmen with their years. Betty Silverfarb said she got transition to high school. She took LISA FEIN Special to the Jewish News T involved in the award program after her now-grown son became a winner many years ago. "I took a day off of work to see him collect his award and all he received was a certificate," she said. "He wasn't disappointed; he was too young to know the dif- ference, but it hurt me deeply." She said she and her husband decided to offer a $500 scholarship the first year, but since then have given $1,000. There is one big win- ner, like Meklir, but every applicant is given a financial award. "When the applicants are present- ed with the reward at the ceremony, you'd think they were the first-place winner, with all their cheering," Betty Silverfarb said. "Those kids are fantastic," she added. "I don't know how they And the time to do all they do. When involved with the community, it teaches them to be compassionate." "It was very honorable of the Silverfarbs," Lauren Meklir said. "They are very nice people to give me the scholarship." ❑ NCJW'S Honor Roll The group of applicants for this year's NCJW Jewish Youth Awards were Ruth Adler, Ypsilanti; Amy Anspach, Beverly Hills; Jodi Beals, West Bloomfield; Marina Belyayev, Flint; Amanda Benkoff, Farmington Hills; Audrey Bloomberg, Farmington Hills; Ari Brandes, Bloomfield Hills; Amy Dunayevich, Farmington Hills; David Dworin, Bloomfield Hills; Sara Eber; West- Bloomfield. Also, Joshua Foster, West Bloomfield; Michael Glazier, West Bloomfield; Jared Goldberg, West Bloomfield; Daniel Horwitz, West Bloomfield; Sara Levey, West Bloomfield; Sara Levin, Farmington Hills; Miriam Levine, Huntington Woods; Anne Lieberman, Farmington Hills; Jeff Lutz, Bloomfield Hills; Zoya Mavashev, Oak Park; Jason Pesick, West Bloomfield; Chad Rochkind, West Bloomfield. Also, Dena Roth, Farmington Hills; Zachary Roth, West Bloomfield; Joshua Scafe, Rochester Hills; Shira Schrieber, Oak Park; Daniel Solomon, West Bloomfield; Daniel Storchan; West Bloomfield; Sarah Wolkinson, Southfield.