Jewish Federation of St. Louis has announced the recipients of several awards to be presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 1 at Busch Stadium. The Fred A. Goldstein Award for Professional Leadership and David N. and Roselin Grosberg Young Leadership Awards will be presented.

Jean Cavender, Director of the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center, will receive the Fred A. Goldstein Award for Professional Leadership, which recognizes an outstanding professional among those who work in a St. Louis Jewish organization. The award honors individuals who excel in their field, have a significant track record over time, have introduced important innovations, and are perceived as role models by other professionals and volunteers.

Jean Cavender has broadened the reach of the Museum’s message and earned the respect of community leaders over her 13 years as Director. Jean has overseen monumental projects during her tenure, such as the “Change Begins with Me” exhibit that highlights recent hate crimes and keeps the lessons of the Holocaust relevant, the Art & Writing Contest, and the Museum’s 20th Anniversary dinner in 2015 with over 650 guests. The Museum welcomes more than 30,000 visitors to the Museum each year and continues to create a safe and meaningful environment for continued education around not only the Holocaust but bias and hate. Despite the loss of survivor speakers, she has championed the recruitment of second generation and child survivors to bring individual experiences to alive. The work of the Museum under Jean’s leadership has been recognized in 2015 by Focus St. Louis with the What’s Right with the Region Award and a 2016 Transformational Leadership Award from Cultural Leadership. Jean is also a past president of JProStl, is on the Board of the Diversity Awareness Partnership and represents the Museum as a member of the Association of Holocaust Organizations.

Angela Flotken and Burt Garland will be presented with the David N. and Roselin Grosberg Young Leadership Award, which recognizes young adult volunteer leaders who demonstrate active leadership in the Jewish community.

Angela Flotken has been active on a variety of committees at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis and specifically Women’s Philanthropy. Her journey began with the Young Professionals Division and led her to Women’s Philanthropy, where she has been on the board since 2011. More recently, Angela  accepted a Vice Chair position in the area of engagement and is currently overseeing  an upcoming Women’s Philanthropy Community event, leading a committee of more than 80 women. Her positive spirit and broad outreach in the community have helped Women’s Philanthropy with their engagement efforts. As Co-Chair of the first L’Chaim event, Angela showed herself to be a leader and a visionary. Her creative skills in defining the event were only surpassed by her ability to lead the committee of 90 women and help recruit over 650 attendees. Angela also serves on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Auxiliary Foundation for Jewish Aged. Outside of the Jewish community, she is also involved with the Clayton school district where her children attend school as well as a number of non-profit organizations in the community.

Burt Garland is on the Jewish Federation of St. Louis Board of Directors with a major role as Chair of the Planning and Allocations Subcommittee – Enhancing St. Louis’ Attachment to Israel. In this role, Burt leads a committee to strategically allocate over $500,000 towards programs and services in the community that build a stronger relationship with the State of Israel. Burt is also a Fellow in the Wexner Heritage program, a prestigious two-year program designed to develop and strengthen the skills of current and future Jewish community leaders. Only 19 other community leaders have been given this unique opportunity and Burt was selected for his commitment and respect across the spectrum of Jewish life. Burt’s experience on The Rubin Israel Experience in 2010 led to an ever-increasing commitment to Israel and the Jewish community. Additionally, Burt is an alumni of Millstone Fellows, was involved with the JCC Maccabi Games as a volunteer, was a Board Member of Temple Israel and Jewish Family & Children’s Services, and has been active with AIPAC. Professionally, Burt is a shareholder in the St. Louis office of Ogletree Deakins, where Burt exclusively represents Company’s dealing with labor and employment issues, and continues to provide pro bono legal services to various Jewish organizations in St. Louis.

These individuals were selected from a diverse pool of nominees, all of whom were well deserving of recognition for their accomplishments. The awarding committee, made up of community and professional leadership, praise Cavender, Flotken and Garland for their distinctive contributions to the community.

To register for the Annual Meeting, visit BuildJewishSTL.org/Heroes.

Sam March
Author: Sam March