At the 25th Anniversary Gala for Homefull on Sept. 19, 12-year-old Max Mader shared his personal experiences about Homefull and his program, Storytime With Max. Homefull works to end homelessness by providing housing, services, advocacy and education. During Storytime With Max, he brings in snacks and reads children’s books from his personal collection to children at St. Vincent de Paul’s Gateway Shelter for Women and Families. He then donates the books for the families to read together. Max hopes to collect 500 new children’s books, to provide each child housed at St. Vincent de Paul for the rest of 2013 with a new book to read. Max is the son of Jenifer and Joe Mader of Dayton and the grandson of Anita Wilson of Sarasota.

Hillel Academy sixth-grader Ethan Zappin earned a spot on the seventh- and eighth-grade rowing team of the Greater Dayton Rowing Association. He competed in his first regatta on Oct. 5 at Island MetroPark and won a second-place silver medal. Cheering for him on the shore are parents Hilary Zappin and Jamy Holliday, grandfather Dennis Zappin, and great-grandmother Hannah (Sugar) Zappin.

Sara Fishbein was selected as the Civil Air Patrol’s national cadet of the year for 2012. Sara, a freshman at the Air Force Academy, joined the CAP when she was 13. Sara’s proud parents are Cassie and Donn Fishbein. Cassie recently started her new practice as a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. She has joined the practice of Dr. Karen Smith and Abigail Fischer, CPNP, in Sidney. Cassie is the recipient of the 2012 Graduate Council Scholar award from Wright State and will start in the doctor of nursing practice program this January.

Sam Lauber’s photo of the Berlin Wall as it was being demolished will be on display at Womanline Gallery on Nov. 1, 5-10 p.m. The public is invited to attend this open house. Womanline Gallery advocates on behalf of women slaves who are exploited for illicit drugs and/or sex. The theme for the evening is Freedom.

Bob Kahn celebrated his 90th birthday on Sept. 30. The following weekend, 26 family members gathered in Dayton to celebrate with him and his wife, Gert, including all of his children, Susan, Karen, and Ron, and their spouses, his grandchildren, a cousin, several nieces and nephews, and his best friend from Dayton. Bob worked for several years on a family tree that was revealed over that weekend. The family tree measures 12 feet long and dates back to 1745, covering nine generations. As part of the celebration, Bob’s children arranged for him to receive more than 140 birthday cards from friends and family, including one from President Obama. His wife and children will also present Temple Israel with a Torah curtain in his honor to be installed for Temple Israel’s ark. Bob says he never expected to live to 90. And he still plays tennis twice a week.

On Sept. 27, Franklin T. Cohn, a Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War, participated on a caravan trip to Washington, D.C. of five RVs as part of the Honor Flight program to see the national war memorials.

Mike Garfunkel, owner of Family Bridges Home Care in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Northern Kentucky, has received the Best of Home Care award once again, for 2013. This is the third consecutive year Family Bridges has received this award, presented by Home Care Pulse, the industry standard for third-party surveying for non-medical homecare agencies.

Kevin Bressler, CFP, a financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial and currently ranked in the top two percent of Ameriprise Advisors, recently scored 98 percent on overall client satisfaction in the Ameriprise Financial Client Relationship Study. His proud wife is Karen Bressler. Their youngest daughter, 6-year-old Ava, is quite the pianist. This summer she placed second in the finals of the Miami Valley Youth and Teen Talent Show’s 12 and under division. At the end of September, Ava performed in front of more than 1,000 people for So You Think You Can Play the Schuster, a showcase of local talent honoring the 10th anniversary of the Schuster Center. She was the youngest performer in the show.

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To view the print version of the November 2013 Observer, click here.