With Scott Halasz, The Dayton Jewish Observer

Mike Emoff is doing his part to help fight the coronavirus. He recently shifted the focus of his longtime promotional product business, Shumsky Enterprises, to provide personal protective equipment for those in need. “At the onset of Covid-19, we realized we had an opportunity to help repair the world,” Mike, Shumsky’s chief vision officer, told Temple Israel’s Courtney Cummings for a profile at the temple’s website.

“Listening to our customers, especially those in the healthcare industry, and what was going on around us, we learned that there was a real shortage of personal protective equipment.” So the folks at Shumsky leveraged their existing FDA registered and global supply chain to go from selling promotional products to face masks, hospital gowns, and hand sanitizers. It was so well-received that Mike received requests from family and friends who needed supplies for themselves and their businesses.

“To accommodate these requests, we made the decision to keep stock and we quickly built an online store for our friends, family and customers, making it simple and easy to get PPE for their employees, customers, members and the community,” Mike told Courtney. “In addition to PPE supplies for small and large businesses, we’ve created an online store to serve your family and friends.” Items are still available at shumskyhealth.com.

University of Dayton Associate Professor of Musicology Sam Dorf has been named a finalist for the outstanding book award given by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education for his 2019 book, Performing Antiquity: Ancient Greek Music and Dance from Paris to Delphi, 1890-1930 (Oxford University Press). The winner will be announced in July.

Last year, I wrote about Ethan Zied’s Boy Scout Eagle project: creating a database of the 2,500 veterans buried at the 25 Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati. The ultimate goal was to be able to place markers and flags at each grave. He has around 1,000 completed.

About half of the Walnut Hills Cemetery was marked last May and another chunk was recently completed. Ethan and a crew of helpers from the Valley Temple Men’s Club and some other Cincinnati-area families didn’t let the coronavirus keep them from getting all of those at Montgomery Cemetery marked in time for this Memorial Day.

Ethan hopes to complete the project by next Memorial Day. There are 23 cemeteries left, but many are near each other and some may only have one or two graves to mark. Ethan’s efforts earned him the Dan Beard Council’s Eagle Project of the Year Award; more than 350 Eagle Scouts are in the 2019 class.

“It’s pretty cool,” Ethan said. “I think mine is meaningful, impactful, long-lasting, and sustainable. I figured it had a pretty good chance of winning.” While marking graves, Ethan and his father, Eric, were approached by cemetery visitors asking what they were doing. “They were definitely moved by that,” Eric said. “People definitely appreciated it.” Ethan also received some serious validation from a fellow scout who had been working on a similar project but stopped because he thought it was too difficult. “When he found out the fact that I won the award, I guess he tried to work on it again,” Ethan said. “That’s pretty neat.”

Adam Guadalupe graduated from Miami University with a degree in music education. During his time at Miami, he enjoyed a summer study abroad experience in Spain and singing with the a cappella group Soul 2 Soul. Adam will be looking for a position teaching a high school orchestra in the fall. He is the son of Melissa and Harold Guadalupe.

Josie Buchanan, daughter of Bonni and Dennis Buchanan, graduated from the University of Dayton with a master’s degree in engineering management. The proud grandparents are Jan and Mel Berman and Joan and the late John Buchanan.

Julia Patterson received the $10,000 Phil and Ruth Sokolof Honor Roll Merit Scholarship under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation. Julia is the daughter of Jenny and Dr. Andrew Patterson of Omaha/Atlanta and the granddaughter of Linda and Dennis Patterson of Centerville. In high school, Julia played flute and piccolo in the concert, marching, and pep bands. She was a member of the All State Band and in 2019, she was chosen for the National Youth Orchestra. She was a member of the Varsity State Championship Soccer Team and in 2020 was named H.S. Academic All State in soccer. She served on the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission and was a National Merit Finalist. Julia initiated a project in Gitwe, Rwanda to provide funds for a women’s and children’s healthcare center. She also secured funding to build a microbiology lab at Gitwe Hospital. Julia visited Gitwe two years after the start of the programs. She plans to attend Dartmouth College studying biophysical chemistry.

Send your announcements to scotthalasz1@gmail.com.

To read the complete July 2020 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.