{"id":3448,"date":"2014-05-16T01:59:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-16T08:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=3448"},"modified":"2014-05-14T13:00:28","modified_gmt":"2014-05-14T20:00:28","slug":"eight-over-eighty-celebration-honors-leadership-and-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/05\/16\/eight-over-eighty-celebration-honors-leadership-and-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight Over Eighty celebration honors leadership and vision"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-3448 gallery-columns-4 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/05\/16\/eight-over-eighty-celebration-honors-leadership-and-vision\/may-16-cov-lbjaf-honorees-part-2-serge-haber\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/may-16-cov-lbjaf-honorees-part-2-serge-haber-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"photo - Serge Haber\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3403\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3403'>\n\t\t\t\tSerge Haber\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/05\/16\/eight-over-eighty-celebration-honors-leadership-and-vision\/may-16-cov-lbjaf-honorees-part-2-hayes\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/may-16-cov-lbjaf-honorees-part-2-hayes-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"photo - Dr. Arthur and Arlene Hayes\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3404\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3404'>\n\t\t\t\tDr. Arthur and Arlene Hayes\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/05\/16\/eight-over-eighty-celebration-honors-leadership-and-vision\/may-16-cov-lbjaf-honoress-part-2-korsch\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/may-16-cov-lbjaf-honoress-part-2-korsch-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"photo - Stanford and Seda Korsch\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3401\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3401'>\n\t\t\t\tStanford and Seda Korsch\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2014\/05\/16\/eight-over-eighty-celebration-honors-leadership-and-vision\/may-16-cov-lbjaf-honoress-part-2-belzberg\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/may-16-cov-lbjaf-honoress-part-2-belzberg-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"photo - Samuel and Frances Belzberg\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-3402\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-3402'>\n\t\t\t\tSamuel and Frances Belzberg\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: #555555;\"><strong style=\"font-weight: bold;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em style=\"font-style: italic;\">(Haber, Hayes and Korsch photos by Lorne Greenberg)<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation\u2019s Eight Over Eighty celebration honors eight individuals\/couples who have shown exemplary leadership and vision in the community. Last week, the <em>Independent<\/em> profiled honorees Dr. Marvin and Rita Weintraub, Rita Akselrod, Dr. Jimmy White and Chaim Kornfeld. This week, the <em>JI<\/em> features honorees Serge Haber, Dr. Arthur and Arlene Hayes, Stan and Seda Korsch, and Samuel and Frances Belzberg.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>SERGE HABER<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Zeal and vision<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Serge Haber was born in Romania in 1928. After the war, he spent two years in Cuba, arriving in Montreal in 1949, where he worked in the garment business. Amid growing Quebec nationalism, Serge moved his family to Vancouver in 1978 and bought Kaplan\u2019s delicatessen.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t hard to move West, Serge told the JI. And, he said, \u201cIt turned out that it was the best move I made because my trade took a terrible nosedive two years later; I would not have been able to remain in business. I got out just in time by sheer luck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Telling his wife was another matter. \u201cI came home and my wife almost killed me. \u2018What do you know about the restaurant business?\u2019 So, I told her, I said, \u2018If I survived for so many years in the textile business with the sharpest Jewish people in the trade, I will in the business of restaurants, and I will do well,\u2019 and I did.\u201d He sold Kaplan\u2019s in 1993.<\/p>\n<p>Serge has been involved in synagogue life since arriving in Montreal, where he helped found a Conservative congregation in Laval and held leadership positions in United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. In Vancouver, he joined Beth Israel. \u201cIt\u2019s not just that I find a cause \u2013 I have to love that cause &#8230; [and] feel that it\u2019s needed for the community, for the development of my life &#8230; and, once I got involved, I embraced it totally, in the sense that I ate, slept and drank the organization that I was working for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For 20-plus years, Serge has been leading services at Louis Brier, where he served on the board for 17 years. Serge has also been on the board of Jewish National Fund, Vancouver.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was young, I got involved with B\u2019nai B\u2019rith Hillel Foundation and I became the president &#8230; I created an environment in which things can grow and develop from that point on&#8230;. It was not a question of being president or anything else. I felt that we can do something good for the community &#8230; my intent was to help out as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In \u201cretirement,\u201d Serge co-founded and is president of the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver. About community work, he said, it \u201cis a question of ideals and what you want to accomplish in life and how do you want to be regarded in the community in which you live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to his parents as role models. His father, in particular worked very hard, said Serge, \u201cso I had a model to look at and I felt that every community embraced me and gave me whatever I needed, nurturing a common sense of family and community, so I should give back whatever I can, and that\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Serge is particularly concerned with the availability of seniors services and programming. He believes that \u201cthe need of the Jewish seniors in Greater Vancouver will be tenfold greater than what it is today because &#8230; the Jewish seniors community will at least double what it is today.\u201d The time to prepare is now, he said, adding that he would like to see the building of a Jewish seniors centre here like they have in Montreal, Winnipeg and other cities, \u201ca community centre specifically related to seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>About being part of Eight Over Eighty, he said he is \u201coverwhelmed\u201d by the tribute because it was unexpected, and he felt good about his work regardless. \u201cI\u2019m not a person who works for the honoring, that is far removed from my mind &#8230; but I think it\u2019s good in the sense that there are many people in the community that are doing phenomenal work and sometimes the community bypasses them and takes it for granted that they are supposed to volunteer and do all kinds of things without being recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><strong>DR. ARTHUR AND ARLENE HAYES<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Selflessness, Yiddishkeit, devotion<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Art Hayes grew up in rural Alberta. \u201cA few miles away was another small town \u2013 Rumsey \u2013 and it is in this general area where a group of Jewish farmers, mainly from Russia, settled,\u201d he said. \u201cThey built a synagogue, which was in use during Jewish holidays. At one time, they were even able to employ a Jewish teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He spoke fondly of his childhood, and highlighted the special role his grandparents played. They lived close to the one-room school that was eventually built, \u201cand this was our stopping point on the way home. Here, we were treated with love and kindness, and lavished with special treats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter we left the farm, my father was involved in business in small mining towns in Alberta where we were usually the only Jews. I envied the Jewish life my cousins had in Calgary and enjoyed it with them whenever I was able to visit. Fortunately, my grandparents now lived eight miles away and I would spend my weekends with them. I learned about Judaism from my kind zaida, whom I loved dearly. Their love and attention to me was so complete that seemingly I was the centre of their universe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was inspired by both my parents and grandparents \u2013 their selflessness, their Yiddishkeit and devotion to family and their love gave me my outlook on life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Vancouver in 1947 after graduating in dentistry from the University of Alberta, Art pursued specialty training in orthodontics at Columbia University in New York. \u201cWhen I returned two years later,\u201d he recalled, \u201cI found a community that functioned almost entirely with volunteers. There was respect for those who accepted the responsibility to take on the work and high regard if not reverence for the pioneers of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Art highlighted two projects undertaken when he was president of Beth Israel. \u201cThe first was to raise the funds pay off the $50,000 for our share of one-third ownership with synagogues in Seattle and Portland of Camp Solomon Schechter.\u201d The second was providing their assistant rabbi \u2013 who came when their rabbi was on sabbatical \u2013 with a residence. \u201cWe bought a house in excess off $100,000, which we paid for by fundraising over the next year. This same house was recently sold by Beth Israel for more than $2 million and became the largest single contribution to the fund for the reconstruction of the synagogue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Art also co-founded Shaarey Tefilah and has been involved with the Louis Brier, Canadian Friends of Hebrew University locally, Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia, Richmond Country Club, Jewish Federation\/United Jewish Appeal, among others, and day school education. Noting the many attempts to open a Jewish high school, Art thanked Gordon and Leslie Diamond for their contribution to King David High School, \u201can outstanding institution,\u201d and shared that some of the remaining assets of Shaarey Tefilah were used to establish an endowment fund for KDHS with Federation \u201cto assist students who are financially unable to pay full tuition. In this way, Shaarey Tefilah will continue to be an influence to further Judaism in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leadership \u201cevolves during participation in the work of the community to the best of one\u2019s ability,\u201d Art said. \u201cAnything that is achieved in the community is the result of the efforts of many people working together in harmony. Leadership is historically inherent in Judaism, which emphasizes the need to create a tolerant Jewish society with a very deep concern for all its members, the old and young, the rich and poor, the sick and well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI grew up in a wonderful Jewish community in Regina, Sask. I was very fortunate, indeed,\u201d Arlene Hayes said of her early years. \u201cI had an idyllic childhood filled with a good elementary and secondary education system, a rabbi, a shul and an active Young Judaea movement, which played a huge part in my life. We even had a Young Judaean summer camp for six years in a row. My wonderful parents saw to it that I attended every one. Who could ask for anything more?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI attended the University of Saskatchewan for three years in Saskatoon, met my husband-to-be on a summer visit to Vancouver, was married six weeks later and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Vancouver, Arlene worked as a lab technician while Art got established.<\/p>\n<p>Art said of Arlene\u2019s commitment to the community, \u201cAt the time, we were just starting out and, with three young children and a household to manage without help, Arlene was on her own many nights of the week. There was never a complaint from her, only encouragement and interest in the work being done. It was Arlene alone that it made it possible for me to participate and she is equally if not more responsible for whatever was accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think is important to recognize people who have been community leaders for two reasons,\u201d said Arlene. \u201cOne, it is the right thing to do. Secondly, one hopes these deeds will motivate others to \u2018step up to the plate.\u2019 I hope that, going forward, succeeding generations will learn from the examples of their predecessors. People of Art\u2019s generation, and the preceding generation, have been true \u2018chalutzim.\u2019 They have given unstintingly of their time \u2013 after a full day\u2019s work \u2013 to build their community. They believed in the teachings of Judaism: be generous, be kind, help the disenfranchised, share, build Israel, reinforce Jewish life in our own community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of her hopes for the community, she said, \u201cIf successive generations follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, the community will continue to flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><strong>STANFORD AND SEDA KORSCH<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>From the ground up<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>While Stan Korsch was born and raised in Vancouver, Seda was born in Winnipeg and raised in Calgary before coming to Vancouver. Stan met Seda at a Beth Israel youth dance and they married in 1948, a week before the synagogue opened at Oak and 27th.<\/p>\n<p>After moving around a bit, they settled back in Vancouver and into the family business, which was real estate. Stan was inducted as a fellow of the Real Estate Institute of Canada in 1958 and, today, is its oldest continuous member.<\/p>\n<p>Seda\u2019s involvement with Hadassah is longstanding and she has held many roles within the organization, including being a founding member and president of Shalom chapter, assisting with the bazaar\u2019s silent auction, and serving as vice-president, card-chair and men\u2019s youth aliyah chair on the council. Her kitchen was the annual headquarters for the baking of kiffles for the bazaar. She was also a member of the Beth Israel Sisterhood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started a chapter of Hadassah in 1947 and we did a lot of money raising,\u201d said Seda, later sharing, \u201cOn our first trip to Israel, we toured all the Hadassah projects and I realized that we just had to keep on doing this because there was such need. It was very gratifying to see some of the accomplishments we had done in Israel through our money raising. Hadassah was my main forte.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stan\u2019s Jewish community involvement began before the Second World War. Over the years, he has held leadership positions with Young Judaea, Beth Israel Synagogue, the Menorah Society student group at the University of British Columbia, B\u2019nai B\u2019rith Lion\u2019s Gate Lodge, Jewish Community Fund and Council (Federation\u2019s predecessor), Canadian Zionist Federation, Lion\u2019s Gate Building Society, Louis Brier Home and Weinberg Residence. He still is an active member of his synagogue, especially in its daily morning minyan. For his work with the Lion\u2019s Gate Lodge, in 1999, he was awarded a Tikkun Olam Award for exceptional service to the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had three major influences in my life,\u201d Stan said. \u201cThey were all something to do with being Jewish. Israel has always been in my heart, and right from my high school days, before Israel was there. We wanted to provide a homeland for the Jewish people&#8230;. We were good at what we did. We had the youth group, which was active and, by that, I mean we also communicated with other Jewish young people in other Canadian cities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy goal was always to keep Israel in mind, and the other one was housing. Because I was realtor, I realized there was a need \u2013 not cooperative housing \u2013 but for housing for those who are financially in need. I\u2019ve always been a part of that in the community here; that\u2019s why I was on the oversight committee and it took a lot of our time and effort those big projects,\u201d including Haro Park, which took some 10 years to come to fruition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was the only time in Canada that three levels of government were able to work together,\u201d Stan said. \u201cIt was very difficult because each time the government changed, you had to start again with the new government. It was a miracle that we managed to build Haro Park. And we built some others. That was one of the main parts of my activities. The other one, of course, is the synagogue&#8230;. My parents were part of the group that formed the charter members. Right from day one I was involved&#8230;. I was there the day they opened, their first installation, back in the old Jewish community centre days, and then we moved onto 27th and Oak and now, today, we are now just completing a new facility on 27th and Oak. It\u2019s quite gratifying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stan said he\u2019s seen many changes in the community over the years, and he is optimistic about its future. Seda is also positive: \u201cI feel that the young people are taking over, which is great,\u201d she said. \u201cI know my daughter is quite active in Hadassah. I\u2019m happy to see that, and it\u2019s time the old people step back and enjoy it!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both are honored to be one of the Eight Over Eighty. However, said Stan, \u201cWe don\u2019t do these things for kavod. We can see the need and we are not just talk. We see the need and we get out there and do it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeda and I believe that when one joins a society, one should be active in it, and that\u2019s the way we\u2019ve lived our life.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4><strong>SAMUEL AND FRANCES BELZBERG<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Combining business with philanthropy<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>International businessman and philanthropist Sam Belzberg was awarded the Order of Canada, as well as an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser University in 1989. He received the Governor General of Canada Award in 1992 and, in 2002, was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2009, he was awarded the Order of British Columbia for his extraordinary philanthropy and community leadership.<\/p>\n<p>Investing leadership, time and resources, Sam helped found the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles in 1977 with a donation of $500,000. He is also the founder of both the Canadian and American Dystonia Medical Research Foundations.<\/p>\n<p>As an Action Canada co-founder and co-chair of the board, Sam is called \u201cone of British Columbia\u2019s most forward-thinking philanthropists\u201d who \u201cspecializes in ambitious and innovative solutions to pressing issues, focusing his prodigious efforts on causes that appeal to his deep caring for humanity.\u201d In addition to his many other accomplishments, Sam led and inspired SFU\u2019s first fundraising campaign, which raised $68 million. His company, Gibralt Capital, today owns and manages real estate and capital investments.<\/p>\n<p>Frances Belzberg was raised in Los Angeles. Also involved with Action Canada, Fran is noted for her early involvement with racial issues as well as her early commitment to the state of Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Frances and Sam married in 1950 and settled in Edmonton, where Fran was involved with several charities and became active in amateur theatre. The family moved to Vancouver in 1968 and Frances sat on the boards of Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver Playhouse and Vancouver Children\u2019s Hospital. She was awarded the Order of Canada in 1995.<\/p>\n<p><em>To attend Eight Over Eighty, call 604-261-5550 or visit <a href=\"http:\/\/thelouisbrierfoundation.com\" target=\"_blank\">thelouisbrierfoundation.com<\/a>. To read about the other four honorees, see \u201c<a title=\"Help Louis Brier celebrate a generation with Eight Over Eighty\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/help-louis-brier-celebrate-a-generation-with-eight-over-eighty\/\">Help celebrate a generation<\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Haber, Hayes and Korsch photos by Lorne Greenberg) Louis Brier Jewish Aged Foundation\u2019s Eight Over Eighty celebration honors eight individuals\/couples who have shown exemplary leadership and vision in the community. Last week, the Independent profiled honorees Dr. Marvin and Rita Weintraub, Rita Akselrod, Dr. Jimmy White and Chaim Kornfeld. This week, the JI features honorees [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1004],"class_list":["post-3448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local","tag-eight-over-eighty"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}