ears of Inspiration
Young essay, poster contest winners tell how
extraordinary Jews have benefited America.
KERI GUTEN COHEN
Story Development Editor
W
hat inspires our youth? Which
Jewish figures, famous and
those known only to a few,
offer life lessons for them to emulate? In
honor of the national celebration of 350
years of Jewish Life in America, the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, through its Alliance for Jewish
Education and the Detroit Jewish News
held a contest for area students from
grades 6-12 — Jewish and non-Jewish.
Under the theme, "350 Years of
Extraordinary Jews in America," students
answered the question: How did one
American Jew contribute to our country
and what is the lesson for me?
Subjects varied widely, from members
of their families to important Jews in the
fields of politics, science, sports, religion,
the arts and American history.
First-place high school winner Yitchok
Radner of Oak Park, a student at Yeshiva
Gedolah, wrote about his late
grandmother Sonja
Feigenbaum, a Holocaust sur-
vivor who fueled his dedication
to Jewish American life.
First-place middle school win-
ner Summer Krinsky of
Bloomfield Hills, a student at
Congregation Chaye Olam Religious
School, sang the praises of composer
Irving Berlin, who managed to turn his
tragedies into popular tunes that cheered
a nation.
The first place poster depicted the con-
tribttions of filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
These are printed
. in their
here
entirety.
y.
Other top finishers wrote about such
notable Jews as President Truman's busi-
ness partner Eddie Jacobson, the late
astronaut Judith Resnik and military hero
Mickey Marcus, while others wrote about
local Jewish heroines, such as private-
school founder Annemarie Roeper and
businesswoman-grandmother Anne
Newman. Other top posters dealt with
the lives of author Judy Blume and base-
ball great Hank Greenberg. The essays are
excerpted here, with full text at
www.JNOnline.com
Off To New York
Grand prize winners in each division
(grades 6-8 and grades 9-12) won a trip
to New York City with an accompanying
adult that will include a tour of Jewish
sites. Second-place finishers won $500
Israel Bonds, while third-place winners
won a $100 Israel bond. All contest par-
ticipants, their families and their teachers
will be treated to a pizza and ice cream
awards dinner June 16.
Contest judges were Jim August of
Bloomfield Hills, Michael Daitch of the
Jewish Community Council of
Metropolitan Detroit, Diana Lieberman
of Bloomfield Township, Elaine
Schoenberger of the Jewish
Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit, Alaine
Waldshan of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, and Michelle Sider,
Paula Zaks and Lynne Avadenka,
all of Huntington Woods.
Diane Klein of Southfield chaired the
contest committee. Members were
August, lllana Greenberg of the Jewish
News, Roberta Madorsky of Bloomfield
Hills, Alan Schenk of Detroit and
Mindy Soble of West Bloomfield.
The contest was underwritten by the
Stephen S. Schulman Millennium
Fund. Schulman was a law professor at
Wayne State University in Detroit; he
left a bequest to Federation to be used
to provide Jewish programs and oppor-
tunities to reach young people in our
community. ❑
SPE CIAL
REP ORT
Phoro from The Library of Congress
350TH wiNNERs on page 56
6/16
2005
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