T
he 41st annual Stephen
B. Zorn Memorial Golf
Classic put on by the B’nai
B’rith Great Lakes Region includ-
ed a special anniversary celebra-
tion this year.
It was the 10th year for a college
scholarship program, also run by
the Great Lakes Region, that began
modestly in 2013 and has gained
momentum through the years.
That year’s scholarship recipi-
ents are honored each year at the
Golf Classic, which is the major
annual fundraiser for the Great
Lakes Region.
This year’s scholarship winners
were 2023 North Farmington
High School graduates Sara
Goodman, Sam Melder and
Raphael Weinstein, and 2023
Berkley High School graduate Iris
Macaulay.
Rick Sherline came up with the
idea for the scholarship program
because he wanted to help stu-
dents and their families with the
high cost of college education.
He has been the scholarship
program co-chair with David
Lubin since Day 1. They’re run-
ning the program on their own
these days. Through the years,
they’ve gotten help from Stuart
Novick, Sid Roth and Zorn.
“We started with $0 in the
bank,
” Sherline said. “Now we’ve
had about 40 scholarship recipi-
ents over the 10 years and given
out more than $120,000 in schol-
arship money.
“We gave out $2,500 scholar-
ships each year to three or four
high school graduates during the
first nine years of the program.
This year, in recognition of the
10th anniversary, we gave out
$5,000 scholarships to four high
school graduates.
”
Some Golf Classic proceeds and
a raffle held during the golf outing
phhelp fund the scholarships. So
do shows.
Two of the featured artists in
the scholarship shows through
the years were Ethan Bortnick, a
young pianist who has performed
on The Tonight Show, and Oz
Pearlman, better known as Oz the
Mentalist. He finished in the third
place on America’s Got Talent in
Season 10 in 2015.
A selection committee picks the
scholarship winners. Sherline said
he knows the committee chair, but
not its members, who often are
schoolteachers. Lubin and himself
are not involved in the selection
process.
“I’ve never read an application,
”
Sherline said.
Scholarship recipients don’t
have to be Jewish, but they must
have involvement with a Jewish
organization or in the Jewish com-
munity.
Criteria for earning a scholar-
ship includes mainly academic
achievement, plus need, and com-
munity service or involvement.
All four of this year’s scholar-
ship recipients attended the Golf
Classic, held June 12 at Tam-O-
Shanter Country Club in West
Bloomfield.
Goodman said she’s friends
with the other scholarships recip-
ients. She was in BBYO (B’nai
B’rith Youth Organization) with
Melder, she went to Hillel Day
School with Weinstein, and she
was a JCC camper with Macaulay.
Her involvement with BBYO
opened the door for her receiving
a B’nai B’rith Great Lakes Region
scholarship.
“I learned about the scholarship
through a BBYO newsletter,
” she
said.
She was in the Emunah Chapter
in BBYO for five years and served
on her chapter and regional
boards.
The Farmington Hills resident
is headed to Grand Valley State
University to study exercise sci-
ence and start on a career path to
be a physical therapist.
The B’nai B’rith Great Lakes
Region scholarship means a lot
to her, she said, because it comes
from a Jewish organization.
“I’m looking forward to using
the scholarship to further my edu-
cation,
” she said.
There were 26 teams of four
golfers at this year’s Golf Classic.
The team of Mitchell Folbe,
Howard Eisenstadt, Michael
Fishman and Keith Sotiroff led the
way with a 65. Dale Taub, Gary
Klinger, Howard Meyers and Steve
Lotzoff finished in second place
with 66.
The B’nai B’rith Great Lakes
Region includes Michigan, Fort
Wayne, Indiana and Toledo, Ohio,
with most of the activity in the
Metro Detroit area.
Zorn, a longtime B’nai B’rith
member, served as Great Lakes
Region president for many
years.
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38 | JUNE 29 • 2023
From Zero to Six Figures
College scholarship recipients honored at B’nai B’rith
Great Lakes Region Golf Classic.
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SPORTS
Jeff Tackel (left), B’nai B’rith Great Lakes Region president, and Rick Sherline (right), scholarship program
co-chair, with scholarship winners Iris Macaulay, Sam Melder, Sara Goodman and Raphael Weinstein.
B’NAI B’RITH GREAT LAKES REGION