June 2016 | Iyar-Tamuz 5776, Vol. LXXI, No. 5 JEA Annual Meeting, Children & Camp Assistant Director Wednesday, June 15th Named Popcorn! Peanuts! Cracker Jacks! seeing a 15% increase in enrollment Come join team JEA when it “plays” for summer camp over the previous Candle Lighting Times its 104th Annual Meeting on Wednes- year. The department also just hired day, June 15th, at 7pm. President Joel a new assistant director, see the ac- Friday, June 3 8:09pm Greenberg will present a mid-term companying article. In addition, JEA Friday, June 10 8:13pm assessment of the state of the organi- Preschool Savannah also saw a 13% Mary Mazza Saturday, June 11 9:14pm zation, new Board members will be increase in enrollment for its sum- Sunday, June 12 9:15pm installed and retiring Board members mer program over last summer. The Mary Mazza is joining the th Friday, June 17 8:15pm will be honored. building, pools and playgrounds will JEA on June 14 as Assistant Di- rector for Children and Camp. Friday, June 24 8:16pm Retiring members of the JEA’s be filled with the sounds of many Mary brings more than 13 years Friday, July 1 8:17pm Board of Directors — Carole Cohen, happy children for weeks to come! Sandy Goodman, Vicky Halperin, The JEA is continuing its invest- of experience in youth program- Friday, July 8 8:16pm Allison Konter and Arnold Young ment in the organization’s property ming including roles as a camp Friday, July 15 8:14pm — will be recognized for their years and facilities and anticipates that counselor, specialty camp direc- of service and improvements tor, after school site coordina- In this Issue new Directors will continue tor, and Recreation Supervisor Four Questions, p4 will be in- for the foresee- for Winter Garden, FL, where Vital Statistics, p4 stalled. Also to able future as a for eight years she oversaw all Executive Director’s message, p5 be cited are the master plan is youth programming and events, Federation President’s message, p5 recipients of developed. including summer day camp and I on Israel, p8 the Kaye Beck- The JEA holiday camps. Most recently, JEA Centerpiece er Israel Schol- continues to Mary taught second grade in Or- It’s a Funny Thing, p13 arships, which be the hub for lando for Orange County Public Lasting Legacies, p14 this year are community Schools. Her career is dedicated Condolences, p14 being award- life. Special to providing safe, quality and ed to Shani programs in engaging programs for school Also Featured Locker and Uri May includ- age children. She holds a BA in Locker. ed the com- Sports Management from Flagler Our Mazel Tov Graduates — The meet- munity-wide College and a Graduate Certifi- annual tribute to high school and ing, which all observance of cate in Event Management from college graduates; pp6, 7 members are Yom HaShoah Florida State University. asked to attend and a special Israeli NGO’s Compassion and is open to related exhib- Spotlighted — Susan Weiss shows us the great assistance and the communi- BBYO teens spruce up the JEA grounds on a it in the Art humanity being shown by IsraAID ty, also will be recent day of service Gallery with The next issue of the in the refugee crisis; p9 an opportuni- student visits; ty for Greenberg to present special a celebration of Yom HaAtzma’ut; the Savannah Jewish News will be President’s Awards. The honorees rejuvenated Food for Thought lunch our combined July/August this year include Cierra Selby and series; a book reading/signing; and issue. The deadline for all Danielle Gusby of Just Paint, who much more. th PAID were responsible for the outdoor mu- The community is invited to submissions is June 17 . PRSRT STD PRSRT ral project that beautified the wall of share in the excitement of the JEA’s U.S. POSTAGE Please send all materials PERMIT NO. 2840 JACKSONVILLE, FL the JEA’s outdoor basketball court. achievements and the investiture of For the sixth year in a row, the the new Board members at the An- to [email protected]. Children and Camp department is nual Meeting on June 15th at 7pm. A Publication of Savannah Jewish Federation Federation Jewish Savannah of A Publication Street 5111 Abercorn Georgia 31405 Savannah, www.savj.org ServiceAddress Requested Local Klezmer 42 had everyone on their feet at the JEA’s Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration. 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Financing Woof! may qualify for a federal tax credit. Savannah, GA 31404 Available JOHN "JACK" KAYTON Interviewed by Harriet Meyerhoff 19 June 2001 I don’t know much about [the Kayton house on Drayton Street, now known as the Mansion] except . my mother, the family lived there, and my mother in particular enjoyed it. It was a ballroom where they had dances. I do know that when my mother passed away, she died in New York, and we brought her down here. My son Jim was at the time in the army on his way to Viet Nam. He came over, met me in Atlanta, and we came over here. He expressed the desire to see the inside of the house. So I said, “Let’s see if we can get in.” We went to the entrance, and when we went inside we were asked what we wanted, and I explained that it was my grandfather’s house, and that we just wanted to look at it. They said, “Go right ahead. You can go upstairs if you want. If you see somebody move, don’t get excited.” The collections of the Savannah Jewish Archives are held at the Breman Museum • 1440 Spring St. NW • Atlanta, GA 30309 • www.thebreman.org Savannah www.savj.org jewish news June 2016 | Page 3 What does PJ stand for? Who is eligible to register? What’s the cost? Pajamas! We know those special Families with children 6 months to Thanks to our generous local donors, times of reading, dancing and 8 years old and at least one Jewish PJ Library® is free when your child singing together happen when your parent in the household, currently is enrolled in the program. children are wearing their pajamas. residing in the Savannah area. One subscription per child. Sign up TODAY at www.savj.org We had such a great year for PJ Library with so many events around holidays and fun! We’re glad that you were able to join in and we look forward to celebrating many more events in the future! Please keep a lookout for some exciting news about events in the fall! Have a wonderful summer!!! PJ kids having fun at community events! PJ families listening to a story at our Puppet Party in collaboration with Shalom School Check out PJ Our Way™ the Newest Chapter of PJ Library® Sign up TODAY PJ Our Way offers the gift of exceptional books with Jewish at www.PJOurWay.org themes to kids ages 9-11 – Books that they choose themselves! Choose your FREE book each month What does Reviews and synopsis of authors and books PJ Our Way Leadership with creating kids quizzes, offer? polls, and video blogs The Savannah PJ Library is made possible through generous support from For more information about PJ Library, please contact Devra Silverman, the Savannah Jewish Federation, Jane Slotin, Nancy & Leon Slotin, and Community Engagement Coordinator at [email protected] or 912-355-8111. the Ceceile Richman JEA Fund. MISSION: To create a pluralistic community of Jewish high school teens. More Jewish Teens, More Meaningful Jewish Experiences. Beneficiary Agency Your Campaign Dollars at Work Recent Events Savannah BBYO has had a lot to celebrate in the past month! On April 18 they celebrated their Year End Awards Banquet at the JEA where outstanding teen leaders were recognized and our graduating seniors were honored. On May 1 our teens took part in a J-Serve Teens accepting community service project at the JEA. Teens leadership awards helped plant flowers and paint benches at the BBYO teens planting flowers and painting benches at the JEA. and being inducted basketball court. into their chapters. Contact Devra Silverman, Community Engagement Coordinator at [email protected] or 912-355-8111 Thank you so much for a great year of BBYO Connect events! Have a great summer!!! MISSION: To create a community of Jewish 5, 6, 7 and 8 graders through social and meaningful experiences that will serve as a gateway to continued involvement in Jewish life. For more information about BBYO or BBYO Connect, please contact Devra Silverman, Community Engagement Coordinator at [email protected] or 912-355-8111.