{"id":47926,"date":"2019-03-29T16:27:01","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T22:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=47926"},"modified":"2020-01-11T21:37:35","modified_gmt":"2020-01-12T03:37:35","slug":"jef-fetes-sandy-levy-at-annual-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/jef-fetes-sandy-levy-at-annual-event\/","title":{"rendered":"JEF Fetes Sandy Levy at Annual Event"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By NICHOLAS HAMBURGER, <em>Special to the CCJN<\/em><\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, March 28, the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana (JEF) honored Sandy Levy, who announced her retirement from the non-profit corporation last spring after serving as its executive director for 27 years. The event, which was held at the Audubon Tea Room, saw Bobby Garon, a former trial lawyer, publicly accept the position Levy vacated.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_47927\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47927\" class=\"wp-image-47927 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech-1024x730.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/214;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47927\" class=\"wp-image-47927 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech-768x547.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_speech-1024x730.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-47927\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sandy Levy speaking on Thursday night (photo by Nicholas Hamburger)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Under Levy\u2019s leadership, JEF nearly sextupled its assets, with the foundation&#8217;s reserves growing from a total of $10 million at the beginning of her term to more than $59 million when she retired. Levy began numerous initiatives during her almost three decade tenure, such as the Charitable Gift Annuity Program, the B\u2019nai Maimonides Program, and Create a Jewish Legacy, but she may be best remembered for her allocation of funds to emergency aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. \u201cSandy was our guiding light during our darkest hour,\u201d Joyce Pulitzer said on Thursday night.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to JEF, Levy &#8212; a former president of Temple Sinai, the New Orleans Estate Planning Council, and the New Orleans chapter of the National Committee of Planned Giving &#8212; worked as a municipal employee coordinating the issuing of federal grants to New Orleans.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_47928\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47928\" class=\"wp-image-47928 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium-768x1127.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium-698x1024.jpg 698w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium.jpg 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 204px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 204\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47928\" class=\"wp-image-47928 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium-768x1127.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium-698x1024.jpg 698w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Podium.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-47928\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(photo by Nicholas Hamburger)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>But Levy has suggested it was the 16 years she spent on the Historic Districts Landmarks Commission that prepared her to lead JEF. \u201cIt was all about legacy and permanence and preservation,\u201d Levy said in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/sandy-levy-sets-sights-on-exit-from-jef-after-long-tenure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an interview with the Crescent City Jewish News last year<\/a>. \u201cIf you don\u2019t remember &#8212; if you don\u2019t save those things &#8212; you\u2019re not going to know who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Levy, however, had her sight trained on the future when she spoke on Thursday evening. \u201cI know that the endowment\u2019s best days are ahead,\u201d she stated in an address to Garon. \u201cWith your determination and your dedication to our Jewish community, we can\u2019t lose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After 33 years as an attorney, Garon, a former president of Federation and a volunteer long affiliated with a number of local Jewish organizations, assumed the executive directorship of JEF on January 1. \u201cI\u2019ve repeatedly been asked why would I want this job at this stage of my life; why would I leave a practice of law as a trial attorney? And I can tell you that this position is a dream job for me,\u201d Garon said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_47929\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47929\" class=\"wp-image-47929 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE-768x546.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE-1024x727.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/213;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47929\" class=\"wp-image-47929 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE-768x546.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Sandy_Levy_AE-1024x727.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-47929\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(photo by Nicholas Hamburger)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>JEF, an affiliate agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, serves as a repository of funds from which planned donations, grants, and emergency assistance are drawn and then dispersed throughout the Jewish community. At Thursday\u2019s event, Larry M. Lehmann, president of JEF, described it as \u201cthe savings account\u201d of the Jewish community in Louisiana, encouraging attendees to invest in the non-profit corporation and thereby ensure the community\u2019s future financial health.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Rabbi Edward P. Cohn situated JEF within a legacy of philanthropy that harks back to the Book of Leviticus. \u201cThe Torah describes free will offerings, which were completely at the discretion of the giver. And that, you see, very quickly brings us to tonight, to the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana, established in 1967, the origins of which go all the way back to Torah times,\u201d Cohn said. \u201cFree will offerings. \u2018All whose hearts were willing, all whose spirits so moved them.\u2019 That sounds like JEF to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"JEF%20Fetes%20Sandy%20Levy%20at%20Annual%20Event\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":47927,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9674,6237,8790,3029,8788,988],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47926"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47926"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52877,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47926\/revisions\/52877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}