Cleveland Pops Orchestra 21st Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration The Cleveland POPS Orchestra with Carl Topilow will welcome 2017 with its 21th annual celebration at Severance Hall. The two-hour concert starts at 9 pm and consists of an exciting and wildly popular evening of Broadway favorites performed by singing sensation and American Idol winner Melinda Doolittle. The two-hour performance consists of a sparkling selection of Melinda’s favorite Broadway songs, contemporary pops and jazz hits, along with a tribute to some of the great American soul singers, like Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, Gloria Gaynor and Marvin Gaye, to name a few. The concert is followed by dancing to two different bands in two locations in Severance Hall. Carl Topilow and an ensemble of Cleveland POPS Orchestra members will provide the dance music in the Grand Foyer, while Rock & Roll music will be provided by the No-Name Band (lawyers playing music for dancing from the 60s, 70s and beyond) in the Smith Lobby. Further amenities include cash bars, a midnight balloon drop, desserts and coffee. The festivities continue until 1 am. Tickets may be purchased at the Severance Hall box office by calling 216.231.1111 or visiting www.clevelandpops.com. Group discounts are available by calling 216.765.7677. 45th Annual ORT America Brunch Trish and Mark Adler received the 2016 ORT Maimonides Award for Community Service when they were honored at ORT America – Northeast Ohio’s 45th Annual Brunch on Sunday, October 30, 2016. “We are pleased to honor Trish and Mark with this award,” ORT Northeast Ohio President Gary S. Desberg said. “Both Trish and Mark have made valuable contributions to our community in many ways, and have an impressive commitment to and involvement in the Cleveland Jewish Community, to Israel, and to education. The impact of their dedication and commitment to the greater community can be felt in many of our institutions.” Funds raised at the event will be designated to the renovation of the Science Building at the Kfar Silver Youth Village, the newest addition to the World ORT Kadima Mada network of programs in Israel. For additional information about Kfar Silver and how you can support the effort to renovate the Science Building, visit the website at www.ORTohio.org, or email ohio@ortamerica.org. Roni Wallace Recognized and Thanked ORT Ohio Region Director Roni Wallace was recognized and thanked for her 31 years of service. Wallace will retire at the end of the year, after devoting herself to the success of ORT and ORT students in Israel, the former Soviet Union and around the world. Wallace’s passion, dedication and commitment have enabled ORT to provide the tools necessary for countless students to achieve success. Char Rapoport Nance has been named to succeed Wallace as the new region director. A classroom in the Science Building at Kfar Silver will be named in Wallace’s honor, as a gift of the ORT leadership with whom she has worked over the years. A video, “Roni is…” was also shown at the event, giving current and former ORT leadership an opportunity to thank her for all her work on behalf of the organization. Event co-chairs were LuAnne and Ron Fisher, and Sue and Mitch Frankel. Vice-chairs were Lori and John Herman, Michele and Bob Lee, Shari and Michael Perlmuter, Susan and Steve Rubin, Joan and Chuck Whitehill, and Ellen and Dan Zelman. ORT America supports World ORT, whose global innovative educational framework enables thousands of youths and young adults to develop skills for careers in an increasingly high-tech society. ORT spans the socio-economic divide, and with optimal teaching environments and targeted instruction, ORT graduates embark on paths to success. Thanks to the generosity of donors, ORT shapes the world for a better future, facilitated by the fundraising efforts of ORT America. Trish and Mark Adler, recipients of the 2016 ORT Northeast Ohio Maimonides Award. Roni Wallace was recognized and thanked for her 31 years of service as the ORT Ohio Region Director. County Executive Budish Issues Statement on Election We have just come through a sea change in the governance of the country, one that will certainly deliver challenges to many of our residents. Today the services that local governments deliver have never been more important. Your Cuyahoga County government remains focused on helping each and every resident to have a chance at prosperity in a thriving region. We appreciate our diversity as a community for people of all backgrounds, and we will never leave behind the most vulnerable. That’s why we remain laser-focused on our three strategic priorities: • Economic growth and opportunity, creating opportunity for our residents to get good jobs. • Fairness and equity, being a place where all voices are heard and respected and where our residents are treated fairly; and • Government that gets results, administering a government that works for our residents and that delivers great services. We know in the coming months we will face new challenges but we are ready because of the strong partnerships we have forged throughout this community. Together we can achieve whatever we set out to do. We have the energy, the focus and the drive to make our diverse county a place where all have the opportunity to prosper. 42 Beachwood Buzz n December 2016