FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact
Shiela Steinman Wallace
Communications Director
(502) 238-2703
swallace@jewishlouisville.org
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF LOUISVILLE HONORS RETIRED COURIER-JOURNAL ASSOCIATE EDITOR MERVIN AUBESPIN
At their Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 24, at 10 a.m., the Jewish Community of Louisville (JCL) will present the prestigious Blanche B. Ottenheimer Award to trailblazing retired Courier-Journal Associate Editor Mervin Aubespin for helping define tolerance in the city, creating opportunities for minorities and educating Louisvillians about the Black community from the city’s west end to Senegal and South Africa.
Aubespin marched to Montgomery, AL, with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965. In Louisville, he covered the 1968 riot and became the C-J’s first black reporter. He fought for equal opportunity for all, created scholarships and provided mentoring for Black students, and much more. (A full profile of Mervin Aubespin is available online).
Other JCL honorees include deserving recipients of various young leadership, volunteer and teen awards. (See list below.)
Dr. Karen Abrams, chairperson of the JCL Governance Committee, will present this year’s slate of nominees for Board members and officers. They include Board Chair, David Klein; Vice Board Chairs, Joe Hertzman and Jay Klempner; Secretary, Karen Abrams and Treasurer, Laurence Nibur. Klein and JCL President & CEO, Stu Silberman, will be providing updates on the JCL and a review of the broad range of programs and services the organization makes available to the community.
Babysitting is available. For reservations and information about the Annual Meeting, please call Frankye Gordon at 238-2735 or email fgordon@jewishlouisville.org. Photo opportunities will be available.
Complete list of honorees:
Blanche B. Ottenheimer Award: Mervin Aubespin
Lewis W. Cole Young Leadership Award: Ariel Kronenberg
Joseph J. Kaplan Young Leadership Award: Seth and Heather Gladstein
Julie E. Linker Community Relations Young Leadership Award: Bryan Mathews
Ronald & Marie Abrams Volunteer of the Year Award: Harry Geller
Elsie P. Judah Award: Margot Kling
Ellen Faye Garmon Award: Rachel Bass
Stacy Marks Nisenbaum Award: Sophie Reskin
Stuart Pressma Student Leadership Awards:
Rachel Klein
Ben Humphrey
Andrew Segal
Joseph Fink Award: Andrew Segal
About the Ottenheimer Award
Each year, the Jewish Community of Louisville presents the Blanche B. Ottenheimer Award to a person who has significant accomplishments that positively impact the greater Louisville community and beyond, in memory of the award’s namesake who devoted her life to tikkun olam, the repair of the world through advocacy for the disadvantaged.
About the Jewish Community of Louisville
The Jewish Community of Louisville builds on the programs and services of its predecessors, the Jewish Federation of Louisville and the Jewish Community Center, by serving as the collective body to preserve and enrich Jewish life and values in Louisville, Kentucky. The JCL connects people to the State of Israel and strengthens Jewish identity by providing the services and resources that meet the educational, recreational, social and cultural needs of individuals and organizations. The JCL has earned Charity Navigator’s 4-star rating for three consecutive years.
