Job Opening F/T Social Worker Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga hiring F/T Social Worker. Case management, visitation, assessments, referrals, advocate, some supervision and more. Experience required. Competitive salary with benefits & moving expenses. Resumes & letter to Michael Dzik mdzik@jewishchattanooga.com
Dr. Lanny Lesser Dies
Cardiologist Laurence “Lanny” Lesser, the father of Congregation Bet Haverim Rabbi Joshua Lesser, died at home in Snellville on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 72. Lesser was the first board-certified cardiologist in Gwinnett County, helped open Snellville’s first hospital, the Gwinnett Community Hospital, in 1979, and co-founded the Gwinnett Community Clinic in 1989. With volunteer physicians, nurses and pharmacists, GCC provided primary care services to people without health insurance for 26 years. Lesser was a longtime volunteer physician at Camp Big Heart in Fort Valley, which served people with special needs, sponsored by the Civitan Club of Georgia. He was honored in 2016 with the creation of the Laurence Martin Lesser, MD Graduate Medical Education Endowment at Gwinnett Medical Center. In addition to Rabbi Lesser, survivors include his wife, Sandra, and his daughter, Mishele Elizabeth Lesser. Sadly, Lesser is at least the third father of an Atlanta rabbi to die this summer. Sidney Kunis, the father of Congregation Shaarei Shamayim Rabbi Mark Hillel Kunis, died June 29. James Filson, the father of The Temple Rabbi Loren Filson Lapidus, died July 4. ■
Atlanta VOL. XCII NO. 31
WWW.ATLANTAJEWISHTIMES.COM
AUGUST 11, 2017 | 19 AV 5777
Jewish Pole Vaulters Soar in Atlanta By David R. Cohen david@atljewishtimes.com
Recent Weber School graduate Becky Arbiv took first place in the pole vault at the U.S. Track and Field national junior championships July 30 with a jump of 13 feet, 1.5 inches, but she’s not the only elite Jewish pole vaulter in Atlanta. Some of the best vaulters in the city are Jewish, and Jewish athletes hold the all-time records at North Springs, Dunwoody and Riverwood high schools. Many started pole vaulting while at the Davis Academy or the Epstein School. Matthew Berry, who coaches track and field at Davis and the club Pole Vault Atlanta and still holds Riverwood’s rec ord, said there’s no big secret. “We just have a good system in terms of how we coach the pole vault,” he said. “We have a pole vault pit at Davis. Epstein has a pit, and Weber has one. We all have an interconnected circle of coaches who know the pole vault. The kids get introduced to it because their athletic directors know the pole vault, and they stick with it and end up being pretty good.” Epstein Athletic Director Jim Battag lia and Weber assistant track coach Hal Fairbanks vaulted together in high school and college. Fairbanks started PVATL in 2006 and with Berry and Weber Athletic Director David Moore has created an elite pole vaulting pipeline. Arbiv, who starts at Duke University on a pole vaulting scholarship this fall, isn’t the only star in her family. Sister Ariel, a Weber junior, recently finished third in the nation in the 15-16-year-old division with a vault of 12-1.75 in the national tournament Becky won. “Ariel has what it takes to be a na-
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Riverwood freshman Nick West has a chance to break Matthew Berry’s decade-and-a-half-old school record.
tional champion just like her sister,” said Fairbanks, who coached the sisters at Weber. “She has two more years and the work ethic to do it.” Other elite Jewish pole vaulters include Jake Rubin at North Springs, Rachel Sinclair at Dunwoody, recent Dunwoody grad Coleman Gordon and Riverwood freshman Nick West. Each of them has come through PV-ATL. Aside from West, all hold their school records. Rubin, Sinclair, Gordon and West all attended Davis and started jumping there with Berry. The Arbiv sisters started jumping at Epstein. Another elite jumper, Adam Mendel, attended Davis in the early 2000s when Fairbanks was the track coach there. “Jake Rubin placed third in the Georgia state meet last year, and he’s got a chance to win it this year,” Berry said. West “has a legitimate chance to break
my school record of 13-7.75. I’ll be coaching him this year, and I really hope to be out there when he breaks it. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached.” “Nick West is kind of the next big thing coming up,” Fairbanks said. “He has a great work ethic. Anyone that has seen him jump can tell you that he’s got it.” West won the middle school state championship in the pole vault with a jump of 11-10, which is second all time for Georgia middle-schoolers. He is ranked third in the nation in his age group. Since PV-ATL was founded 11 years ago, the club has produced 14 state champions, 21 state runners-up and 19 state third places in Georgia High School Association pole vaulting. None of the jumpers had more than two years’ experience before reaching the elite state level. The club now has more than 65 members from ages 10 to 73. ■
INSIDE
EDUCATION, 18-25
Candle Lighting �������������������������� 4 Israel News �����������������������������������6 Opinion �����������������������������������������9 Business ��������������������������������������16 Sports ������������������������������������������ 26 Obituaries ���������������������������������� 27 Marketplace ������������������������������ 28 Arts ���������������������������������������������� 29 Crossword ����������������������������������� 31
• A Breman exhibit celebrates 140 years of aid from JELF and its predecessors. Page 18 • Birthright Israel participants can stretch their fashion sense with an extension. Page 21 • Jewish students are drawn to a Presbyterian university in the heart of Charlotte. Page 22