A familiar face in local Jewish communal circles for more than three decades, Beth Land Hecht, senior manager of successful aging at Jewish Community Services, received the Daniel Thursz Distinguished Jewish Communal Service Award on Tuesday, May 25.
The award was presented at the annual Celebration of Professional Leadership event presented by the Darrell D. Friedman Institute for Professional Development at the Weinberg Center.
DFI is a division of Na’aleh: The Hub for Leadership Learning, an agency of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore,
Also receiving awards at the virtual event were Abigail Malischostak, partnerships manager at Jewish Volunteer Connection, who received the Outstanding Jewish Communal Professional Award; Towson Hillel Executive Director Lisa Bodziner, who received the Neely Tal Snyder Community Impact Award; and Mark Sunshine, dish washer at the Pearlstone Center, who received the new H.E.R.O. Award.
The latter award honors an “unsung” employee in the community who goes above and beyond in their commitment and responsibilities.
The Thursz Award recognizes individuals who have worked in the field of Jewish communal service for at least 20 years and demonstrate exemplary leadership and professional skills.
Hecht began her career when she joined Jewish Family Services of Central Maryland, now part of JCS, in the 1980s. As coordinator of the Jewish Outreach Network, a JFS program offered in partnership with the Baltimore Board of Rabbis, she provided programming and consultation to hundreds of Jews and interfaith families to find a sense of connection to Judaism and the Jewish community. She later became JFS’s manager of community outreach and ensured community-based programming.
Hecht also served as program director of matching services at the Jewish Big Brother/Big Sister League, and as a Baltimore Jewish community delegate on social service missions to Israel and Odessa.
In addition, she has taken a lead role on the Jewish Community Critical Incident Response Team and is an integral part of the system-wide team that developed AgeWell Baltimore, a new Centennial initiative of The Associated.
For information about the Celebration of Professional Leadership event, visit associated.org/event/naaleh-dfi-celebration-of-professionals/.
A committed philanthropist and community leader, Russel was president of R&H Motors.
The mother of four was a native of Winchester, Virginia, who spent most of her life in Northwest Baltimore.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.
A St. Louis native, Edelman served as ambassador to the central African nation from 1987 to 1989.