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Friday March 30, 2007

Faces

Happy birthday x 2

Two rounds of birthday greetings were made in the Westin St. Francis ballroom on March 19 at the Power of One, the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation’s Women’s Alliance annual fundraising gala. The first, spoken (not sung) by Eve Cohen, the group’s president, was in honor of the 50th birthday of the federation’s women’s group. And the second: Keynote speaker Evelyn Lauder (of the cosmetic company) led the 900-plus celebrants in the birthday song for her husband Leonard Lauder (son of Estee), who was 72 that night (if you can believe Wikipedia — Evelyn didn’t say). Lauder told the group that as young newlyweds without a lot of discretionary income, the couple always put their federation at the top of their charitable donation list. As it got easier to give, she said, the federation reaped the benefit.

More Power of One tidbits …

Introducing her mom-in-law, Laura Lauder noted that both Evelyn and her mother Marlyn McClaskey, whom Laura followed into Jewish community leadership positions, were great examples of women power and loving grandmas. Evelyn, she said, had kvelled about her grandson Josh to Barbara Walters and Elton John, her table companions at a fundraising dinner.

In accepting the Judith Chapman Women’s Leadership Award, Barbara Rosenberg joked that she would have addressed the audience in Hebrew, but she was “excused” from Hebrew studies in the third grade when she told the teacher his fly was open, in Hebrew. She credited the late Golda Kaufman for inspiring her to be involved. Finally … Karen Katz, event chair, told the audience that two plaques lauding her grandfather Oscar Katz for his dedication to the community from his federation, dated in the 1950s, hang above her desk and are her inspiration for her Jewish community volunteering.

No explaining needed

Janet Ghent reports that no one seemed to mind that Max Raabe, soloist with the Palaster Orchester (yes, that’s how it’s spelled), pronounced “schon,” as in “Bei Mir Bist Du Schon,” “the German way, which doesn’t rhyme with explain.” Cantor Roz Barak introduced the Berlin group, which entertained a packed house at Congregation Emanu-El in mid-March.

Diversity in action

Rabbi Stacy Friedman of Congregation Rodef Sholom and the Rev. Anthony Jenkins of S.F.’s Calvary United Methodist Church led Marin’s Freedom Seder for Darfur, and guitarist Fred Ross-Perry led the gathering of 100 in traditional (“Dayenu”) and less-traditional (“Blowin’ in the Wind”) Passover songs. Sharon Gordon chaired the evening. Jenkins wife Tiffany Jenkins and mother-in-law Rachel Wahba are members of Rodef Sholom, and his daughter Rebecca Jenkins goes to Brandeis Hillel Day School. Guests at the seder included members of Marin’s African American and Latino communities along with two Sudanese refugees.

Short shorts …

Anne Wilson, Carly Wertheim, Madeline Levine, Rabbi Stacy Friedman, Beth Greer, Debbie Raphael, Kaley Diamond, Tzeira Sofer, Jenn Rosenfel, Pam Levine, Barbara Boxer, Betsy Rosenberg, Laura Scher, Elaine Petrocelli and Cindy Perliss are among the 100+ Magnificent Marin Women honored at the Search for a Cause (a cancer research organization) reception on Wednesday, March 28 in San Rafael.

Roselyn “Cissie” Swig will travel to Jordan in mid-April with 20 American women leaders at the invitation of the wife of the Jordanian ambassador to the United States … Bill Lowenberg is honorary senior vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors. Ingrid Tauber is a member of the group’s national council.

This columnist can be reached at faces@jweekly.com.

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