N OT T I N G H I L L of W EST B LOOMFIELD essay » AQUATICS THERAPY POOL Notting Hill of West Bloomfield is focused on short-term in-patient rehabilitation, with the goal of transitioning back home. We are happy to announce the opening of our Aquatics Therapy pool. Aquatic Therapy uses water’s naturally therapeutic properties of buoyancy, resistance and warmth to enhance the therapy experience. Since not all people respond well to traditional gym exercise programs, many people find aquatic therapy less stressful, preferable to traditional methods...and FUN! Why Choose Aquatic Therapy? Gently builds strength and muscle tone Increases blood circulation Improves range of motion Decreases joint stress “Weightless” Rehab Mandell and Madeleine Berman at his election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2013 Reduces pain Minimizes swelling Delivers better joint position awareness Develops core strength 6535 Drake Road , West Bloomfield , MI 48322 phone 248.592.2000 | www.cienafacilities.com 2098600 IMMIGRATION LAW FIRM Bill Berman: No Ordinary Fellow ANTONE, CASAGRANDE & ADWERS, P.C. R Representation in all areas of family and business immigration law. N. PETER ANTONE JEFFREY S. PITT www.antone.com or email at law@antone.com 8.JMF3E 4UFt'BSNJOHUPO)JMMT .* Ph: 248-406-4100 WE MOVED!! Fax: 248-406-4101 House Calls on Grandfather Clocks 2142450 2 Off $ Any Battery Installed (Except Lithium) Expires 1-31-17 3 Off $ t8BUDI3FQBJS t$MPDL3FQBJS Any Watchband in Stock t+FXFMSZ3FQBJS t#BUUFSJFT*OTUBMMFE8IJMFi6w8BJU Expires 1-31-17 ALL t"MM5ZQFTPG-FBUIFSBOE.FUBM8BUDICBOET t$JUJ[FO&DP%SJWF8BUDIFT (Never Needs a Battery) In Stock Citizen, Bulova Watches & Clocks on Sale t)PVTF$BMMTPO(SBOEGBUIFS$MPDLT 27867 Orchard Lake Rd. Orchard 12 Plaza (NW corner of Orchard Lake & 12 Mile Rds., corner store behind Starbucks) Farmington Hills, MI 48334 248-553-7720 NEW LOCATION (formerly on Orchard Lake, S. of 13 Mile) watchbandsplus.com FREE Repair Estimates on All Watches and Clocks (excludes house calls) Feature your business with OyWhataDeal to acquire quality and eager new customers via risk-free and highly-targeted marketing. By running an offer with OyWhataDeal, your promotion will be e-mailed to thousands of loyal subscribers who will read about your offer, visit your website, share your business with their friends and follow you on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. 32 January 5 • 2017 ooted in the American Revolution, the honor sounded impressive enough. But it took a while before Mandell “Bill” Berman understood just how select being elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences was. The Academy honors highly notable contribu- tions in science, scholar- ship, public affairs and the arts. Dean of Detroit Jewry’s philanthropists, a phil- anthropic pillar of Jewish education and Jewish Robert Sklar demographic and archival Contributing Editor research, an ambassa- dor for building a better Detroit and a man beloved by so many young Jewish leaders, Berman earned the prestigious election from the Academy 3½ years ago — still communally active then though a few steps slower at age 95. “I’m immensely flattered,” the Franklin resident said as we chatted after he had become a Fellow. “I’m very proud.” He quickly turned the focus toward work that still needed to be done on behalf of the less fortunate. The Academy notified Berman of his election in April 2013. He achieved the distinction of Fellow primarily because of his humanitarian work, in Jewish and non-Jewish sectors, through the Mandell and Madeleine Berman Foundation he created with Madge, his wife of 66 years. ILLUSTRIOUS GROUP The Academy inducted its 2013 class of 198 honorees at House of the Academy in Cambridge, Mass., in October of that year. “I’m joining a pretty significant group,” Berman, a Harvard University alumnus, acknowledged in our conversation. It’s a group that numbers just 4,900 American Fellows. The 600-member for- eign honorary roster includes Winston Churchill, Stephen Hawking and Abba Eban. Academy founders included such early political and intellectual giants of our country as John Adams, James Bowdoin, Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Soon, they were joined as Fellows by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Over the centuries, the distinc- tion of Fellow was bestowed upon Daniel Webster, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John J. Audubon, Charles Darwin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alexander Graham Bell and, in more recent times, Albert Einstein, Woodrow Wilson, Henry Cabot Lodge, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Margaret Mead and Jonas Salk. Since chartered in 1780 by the Massachusetts Legislature, the Academy has sought to “cultivate every art and sci- ence” with the potential “to advance the interest, honor, dignity and happiness of a free, independent and virtuous people.” UPWARD, ONWARD After serving in the Pacific as a naval officer, Berman partnered with brother- in-law Bert Smokler in 1946 to pursue a career in housing and apartment development. Later, Berman oversaw giving from his Southfield office, MLB Investments. Paul Zuckerman, who founded Velvet Peanut Butter and became a major phi- lanthropist before his death at age 73 in 1986, is the only other Detroit Jew elect- ed a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The Academy cited the Berman Foundation for wide-ranging relief, activist and support efforts — in Metro Detroit, in Israel and nationally. Amid the expanse of his storied com- munal service, Berman took delight in helping imagine the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit’s Jewish Experiences for Families (JEFF), a pro- gram that evolved into a national model. He told me with great pride, “I just enjoy what I do.” That remained his driving force, to the good will of so many others, until the day he died on Dec. 21 at age 99. Every once in a while, someone comes along whose legacy is truly tran- scendental. Bill Berman was such a person. *