At a dedication ceremony of the karate studio at the Owings Mills Jewish Community Center, Jen and Doug Lake were recognized July 29 for their commitment to instilling confidence, building character and teaching martial arts skills to students at the JCC of Greater Baltimore for more than three decades.
The Lakes’ company, Comprehensive Survival Arts, was started in the 1970s by Jen Lake’s father, Doug. Over the years, the Lakes traveled to different schools and gatherings to teach martial arts.
In the summer of 1991, CSA began its partnership with the JCC by bringing their program to Camp Milldale, the JCC’s now-defunct offsite day camp. After that summer, the Lakes were invited to instruct classes at the Weinberg Park Heights and Rosenbloom Owings Mill JCCs, which would be the beginning of the “ride of a lifetime,” said Jen Lake.
CSA grew from one week of camp during its first summer at the JCC to four weeks, and then eight weeks in the following two years.
During its longest-running summer, CSA karate camp ran for 13 weeks and served thousands of campers.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CSA offered programs during the school year at the JCC and more than nine locations around Baltimore metropolitan area, running 40 classes and reaching over 1,000 students each week. (CSA closed in late 2021.)
CSA’s objective was to nurture every student according to their individual needs and abilities, providing tools for life while also training students in martial arts,” said Jen Lake.
“We weren’t trying to make little warriors,” she said. “We were trying to help make good people.”
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.