18 January 24 • 2019
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Pillars of Vibrancy
The Community House to honor those who impact
the community at annual Bates Street Society Dinner.
T
he Community House (TCH)
— a nonprofit resource and
destination for personal,
professional, recreational and phil-
anthropic pursuits — will hold its
fourth annual Bates Street Society
Dinner, hosted by the Community
House and the Community House
Foundation Boards of Directors,
on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 6:30 p.m. in
the Community House’
s Wallace
Ballroom in Birmingham.
The annual event, presented by
PNC Wealth Management, is a cele-
bration of service and philanthropy.
The evening will be highlighted by
the recognition of TCH’
s annual
“Pillars of Vibrancy” and an inspi-
rational keynote address by Cynthia
Ford.
The Community House’
s Pillar
Society is a network of exceptional
individuals who have dedicated sig-
nificant time and talent to helping
build a more vibrant community.
Each year, inductees are individuals
who have made extraordinary con-
tributions in one of four essential
areas: culture, education, wellness
and philanthropy.
The 2019 Bates Street Society
Dinner will recognize eight new
Pillars of Vibrancy this year, three of
whom are Jewish.
Arthur Horwitz,
publisher and exec-
utive editor of the
Detroit Jewish News,
as well as found-
er and president of
Detroit Jewish News
Foundation, is one
of those pillars. The Foundation,
through its William Davidson
Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit
History, captures, preserves and tells
the story of Detroit and its Jewish
community. This free and easy-
to-search archive comprises more
than 330,000 pages from the Jewish
News and its predecessor publica-
tion, the Detroit Jewish Chronicle.
The archive is part of the University
of Michigan’
s Bentley Historical
Library permanent collection.
Horwitz serves as chair of the
board of Detroit Public Television,
director and audit chair for the
National Yiddish Book Center in
Amherst (Mass,) and as director
of Detroit PAL (police athletic
league). Previously, he chaired the
Michigan Civil Rights Commission
and Detroit’
s Agency for Jewish
Education.
Another pillar
is Mitch Albom, a
nationally acclaimed
sports journalist at
the Detroit Free Press
since 1985, where he
became and a well-
known media figure in
radio and television as
well. He currently hosts a daily talk
show on WJR radio (airs Monday
through Friday, 5-7 p.m. EST) and
appears regularly on ESPN Sports
Reporters and SportsCenter. He’
s the
best-selling author of several books,
including Tuesdays with Morrie,
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
and Have a Little Faith. His most
recent titles, The Time Keeper and
The First Phone Call from Heaven,
both debuted at #1 on the New York
Times bestseller list.
Albom has founded several char-
ities: Detroit Dream Scholars, A
Time To Help, and S.A.Y Detroit, an
umbrella organization for charities
dedicated to improving the lives of
the neediest, including the S.A.Y.
Detroit Family Health Clinic.
The third Jewish pillar is Dr.
Jeffrey Fischgrund, chairman of the
Orthopaedic Department at William
Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak. He
is also the physician lead of the
Orthopaedic Clinical Care Program
for Beaumont Health, overseeing
an eight-hospital system. He is
currently the associate chief medi-
cal officer for Beaumont Hospital,
Royal Oak and the program director
of the Orthopaedic Surgery Spine
Fellowship. Dr. Fischgrund has
been on the Beaumont, Royal Oak
staff for more than 25
years, focusing on spine
surgery. He holds a
faculty appointment as
professor and chairman,
Oakland University
William Beaumont
School of Medicine.
As a leader in spinal research,
he has designed and led dozens of
clinical trials nationally and inter-
nationally. He has authored more
than 100 peer-reviewed papers and
book chapters on spine patholo-
gy. He is the editor-in-chief of the
Journal of the American Academy
of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Global
Research and Reviews. He is in pri-
vate practice and has performed
more than 7,000 spinal surgeries.
Other pillars being honored Feb.
2 include Ric DeVore, PNC regional
president, Detroit and SE Michigan;
Jennifer Granger, co-founder of
Fashion x Philanthropy and com-
munity advocate; Amy and Dan
Loepp, president of Tattrie Strategies
and president & CEO of Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Michigan; and Bill
Roberts, owner of the Roberts
Restaurant Group.
“The Bates Street Society Dinner
offers the leadership and staff of the
venerable Community House the
opportunity to once a year take a
pause from its own philanthropic
and service endeavors to recog-
nize, be inspired and to celebrate
extraordinary individuals, pillars
in our community, making a true
and lasting difference,” said William
D. Seklar, president and CEO of
the Community House and the
Community House Foundation.
In addition to the evening’
s
awards and recognitions, the Bates
Street Society Dinner will include a
seated three-course meal, wine and
cocktails, and live entertainment by
the Ben Sharkey Quartet. Tickets for
the black-tie optional event begin
at $250 per guest and are on sale at
communityhouse.com. ■
jews d
in
the
JACKIE HEADAPOHL MANAGING EDITOR
Horwitz
Albom
Fischgrund
Course Tackles
Criminal Justice
With criminal justice reform cen-
ter stage in the U.S., Chabad Jewish
Center of Bloomfield Hills, in
partnership with the Jewish Bar
Association of Michigan (JBAM),
presents “Crime and Consequence,”
starting Feb. 6, a new six-series course
by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute
exploring 3,000 years of Jewish per-
spective on crime and criminal reha-
bilitation.
The recent public focus on the
“First Step Act,” signed into law on
Dec. 21, 2018, has brought the debate
about criminal justice into sharp
focus. Americans are now discussing
the value of tougher versus smarter
reforms, fairness of mandatory mini-
mum sentencing as opposed to judi-
cial discretion, and whether prison
accomplishes its reformative (and not
just punitive) purpose.
“Crime and Consequence” will
tackle these and other questions
from a Jewish perspective, addressing
topics such as “What’
s the purpose
of prison: punishment, deterrence
or rehabilitation?” “What’
s Judaism’
s
position on the death penalty?” and
“Can criminals ever make amends
and, if so, how?”
The course draws deeply on ancient
Jewish sources, while using contem-
porary materials to give a modern
context to the discussion.
“The debate over the First Step Act
shows that Judaism’
s timeless truths
and insights about human nature,
society and wrongdoing are as rel-
evant today as ever
before,” said Rabbi Levi
Dubov, course instruc-
tor.
The course, open
to all, is designed for
people at all levels of
knowledge.
The course begins
Wednesday, Feb. 6, and runs for six
consecutive weeks. The classes are
offered Wednesday mornings 11 a.m.-
12:30 p.m. at Jewish Family Service in
West Bloomfield; and Wednesday eve-
nings 7:30-9 p.m. at the Bloomfield
Hills High School.
For more information, visit
bloomfieldhillschabad.org/crime or
contact Dubov at (248) 949-6210 or
rabbi@bloomfieldhillschabad.org. ■
Dubov