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Tapping The Tappers
Hillel's top honor goes to family;
Goodmans to receive Segal Award
H
illel Day School will honor the
Tapper family with the school's
annual Dream Maker Award at a
dinner on Tuesday, May 15, at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
Howard, Susan, Patti and Steven Tapper,
with their children Marla and Brian Young,
Leora, Mark, Julia, Shayna and Alex Tapper, are
known for their generosity and commitment
Susan and Howard Tapper
to Jewish education as well as improving the
lives of others through such causes as Tapper's
Coats for Kids and Kids Kicking Cancer.
Howard Tapper of Bloomfield Hills is
founder and CEO of Tapper's Diamonds
and Fine Jewelry. He served as Hillel board
president from 1990 to 1992. He and his
wife, Susan, served Hillel in many areas to
aid the school's growth and mission. They
Steven and Patti Tapper
also have served at the Jewish Community
Center, Jewish Senior Life, Hebrew Free Loan,
Frankel Jewish Academy and the Fresh Air
Society.
Steven Tapper of Orchard Lake is Tapper's vice president and brings his talent
in art, design and customer service to the company. His wife, Patti, is Tapper's
visual merchandise director. Steven is currently president of the West Bloomfield
Chamber of Commerce.
The brothers are joined in business with their sister, Barbara Tapper.
Their enthusiasm for improving the world has been passed to the next gen-
eration of Tappers, all Hillel Day School graduates, who are engaged in busi-
ness, medicine, technology and volunteerism. Their innovation is evident in the
programs they have created for the family business, including the adoption of a
Detroit public school, creating a "Tapper's University" and developing Tapper's
estate buying business as well as their involvement in Federation young leader-
ship programs and Hillel Day School.
Rob And Jodi Goodman
Jodi and Rob Goodman left a powerful and
positive imprint on the history of Hillel Day
School. Their efforts and generosity support the
late Rabbi Jacob Segal's vision for outstanding
Jewish and secular education in Metro Detroit.
For this reason, Hillel will honor the Goodmans
with the Rabbi Jacob Segal (z"1) Award.
The Goodmans both grew up in the Detroit
area. They have three daughters, Rachel,
Jodi and Rob Goodman
Jessica and Emily, who attended Hillel from
kindergarten through eighth grade. During
those years, while the girls were in class, the pair worked on the school's behalf.
Rob served in many capacities at Hillel and became board president. He
also has contributed to the larger community, chairing the Jewish Theological
Seminary Metro Detroit Cabinet and serving at Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
Frankel Jewish Academy, the Endowment for Surgical Research to benefit
Children's Hospital of Michigan, BBYO, Federation and the Middle East Peace
through Medicine, Michigan Chapter.
Jodi was an active PTO member. She also has served as a vice president of
the Jewish Community Relations Council as well as a member of Federation's
Missions Committee and Jewish Education Division, and the Women's
Department board.
She has co-chaired Super Sunday and Federation's Women's Mosaic Mission to
Israel, and is the co-founder of Bookstock (which began as an idea in the Hillel
parking lot), a project benefiting literacy and education. She also is a recipient of
Federation's Sylvia Simon Greenberg Young Leadership Award.
To RSVP, contact Cheryl Schanes, director of development, at (248) 539-1488 or
cschanes@hillelday.org.
❑
22
May 3 • 2012
Cindy Babcock is
one of 13 teachers
honored with 2012
Michigan Youth Arts
Touchstone Awards
for excellence in arts
education at the
Michigan Youth Arts
Babcock
Festival. Babcock has
been working as a
therapist for 40 years in creative arts
therapies and as a registered dance/
movement therapist. She has served as
president of the VSA Board, an inter-
national organization on arts and dis-
ability, and has recently joined the
board for a second time.
Gabriella Burman
of Huntington
Woods has been
elected to the board
of directors of
United Cerebral
Palsy of
Metropolitan Detroit,
the leading source of
information on cere-
bral palsy and other disabilities and
an advocate for the rights of all people
with disabilities. Follow Gabriella on
Twitter @gabriellaburman.
Gilda's Club Metro
Detroit is pleased to
announce the hiring
of Debbie Taxe of
Bloomfield Hills as
the development
director. She over-
sees fundraising
Taxe
efforts for the orga-
nization. She served
on and chaired committees for the
first several Gilda's Family Walks.
Frankel Jewish Academy junior Abbie
Ginis, daughter of Sheri and Dan
Ginis of Farmington Hills, has been
accepted into the Kenyon Review's
Young Writers Workshop in Gambier,
Ohio, a two-week intensive workshop
for high school students.
Adam Zureick
of Bloomfield Hills
Andover High
School was honored
to perform with the
National High
School Honors
Orchestra in
Zureick
Atlanta, Ga. Zureick
was selected as one
of three trumpet players in the
nation to perform at the American
String Teachers Association National
Conference held in March.
Samantha
Schuman, a fresh-
man at Andover
High School, has
been awarded a sil-
ver medal for her
ceramic and glass
piece entered into
Schuman
the National
Scholastic Art and
Writing Awards of 2012 at Carnegie
Hall in New York. She also has been
awarded a gold key and a silver key
for pieces entered in the 2012
Eastern Michigan Regional
Scholastic Awards. She is the daugh-
ter of Lauri and Robert Schuman of
West Bloomfield.
Stephan Sharf, a Holocaust survi-
vor and retired Chrysler executive,
has given Oakland University $21
million. The gift includes a $14
million planned portion, which
will be directed to the School of
Engineering and Computer Science,
the Oakland University William
Beaumont School of Medicine and
the OU women's golf team. The
remaining $7 million in planned
and cash gifts will go to campus and
operational needs.
The Women of Wayne Alumni
Association annually present the
Headliner Awards, given to Wayne
State University alumnae whose
achievements have made headlines
during the preceding year. The
award calls attention to the fact that
Wayne State women are making a
significant mark in society. This
year, one of the honorees is Linda
Yellin, clinical social worker and
founder of Detroit tour company
Feet on the Street.
B'nai B'rith International has
bestowed the 2012 Great American
Traditions Award upon the interna-
tional law firm of Miller Canfield
in recognition of its commitment
to diversity, education, community
service and philanthropic involve-
ment in the Great Lakes region
and beyond. The firm established a
Multicultural Committee to involve
the firm in various ethnic communi-
ties, working with local groups and
businesses to give community mem-
bers a voice for advancement, as well
as developing a Women of Miller
Canfield initiative.