The Arlene B. Pritcher Award
Shelley Friedman

Shelly became active in NCJW about nine years ago. She began volunteering with Judaic Outreach, which holds six events a year for adults with chronic mental illness eventually assuming the chairmanship of this service. The clients look forward to these events, which highlight the various Jewish holidays.
Shelly’s warm and caring interaction encourages clients to open up and talk about their fond memories of family holidays. She shares Judaic items with them to bring an element of Yiddishkeit to the event. Shelly also encourages the group of about 20 clients to care about others and she helps them create greeting cards for residents of Montefiore and for those in their group who may be ill.
In addition, Shelly volunteers for Reader’s Theatre, Done in a Day, Play it Safe and the Volunteer Recognition event.  She also chairs the dressing room for Designer Dress Days.
“ I help out with almost anything, and I do as much as I can,” says Shelly.  “I love NCJW because it’s so hands-on.”
Her other NCJW passion is Advocacy. Her other NCJW passion is Advocacy.  This year, Shelly co-chaired the Lois Zaas Annual Memorial Advocacy lecture on the judicial vacancies.
In addition to NCJW, Shelly was also very active with the Jewish Childrens’ Group home, which disbanded, and she taught at the Metzenbaum Center for mentally retarded and developmentally disabled children and young adults. Shelly is currently on the board of directors of Friendship Circle and is involved in the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.  She and her husband, Harry, have three children and three grandchildren.

NCJW Esteemed Service Award

Marian & Dr. Joseph Seder		Myrna Arlen Bloch

Myrna Arlen Bloch

Myrna became a Life Member of Cleveland Section 30 years ago and has actively participated in our organization ever since. When she retired from her job as Guidance Director at Regina High School, she knew she would turn her energies to volunteering.
Serving on the Board of Directors for 10 years, Myrna has held many leadership positions. She has served as co-chair of volunteers for Designer Dress Days (DDD) with Marian Seder.  She went on to become a Co-Vice President for DDD along with Annette Paley and Rosean Schmidt, a position she held for five years.  Myrna says that working on DDD gives her much pleasure, not only from seeing the excitement of the customers in search of a fashion “find” but from knowing that this sale continues to be Cleveland Section’s most important fundraiser.
Myrna has also served as Co-Vice President of Membership with Karen Golovan.  A “cheerleader for NCJW” over the years she has recruited several of her friends who have then become leaders in our organization. Myrna has been a member of the Grants Committee and the Nominating Committee, and has chaired the Awards Committee. In addition, she volunteers for Judaic Outreach and is an endower of Cleveland Section.
Myrna and her husband Kurt, both widowed, have been married for five years.  They are the parents of six children and twelve grandchildren.
Kurt jokes that their ketubah (wedding contract) includes a special clause requiring he work at DDD in Wrap ‘N Pack.
A native of Cincinnati, Myrna is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and has a Masters Degree in Secondary School Counseling from Cleveland State University. She also has served on the Park Synagogue Board of Trustees.

Marian & Dr. Joseph Seder

Congratulations to the dynamic duo: Marian and Dr. Joseph Seder. Both are Life Members of NCJW and have been volunteering for many years.
Marian, a graduate of Penn Hall, Ohio State University and Katherine Gibbs School of New York, came to Cleveland in 1966, when she and Joe married.  She was one of the first board members of the Wives Committee of the Cleveland Clinic.  She volunteered in the Beachwood Schools library and later was employed there as a library/media specialist. Joe, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine, spent four years in the United States Army Medical Service Corp.  He is a past president of the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine Alumni Association and The Ohio Podiatric Medical Association. The couple has two daughters and two grandsons.
When Marian retired in 1997, she joined NCJW and began working on Designer Dress Days, first as co-chair of volunteers, and then co-chair of the fine jewelry department. That same year Joe retired from the Cleveland Clinic, so Marian "dragged” him to DDD to work in various capacities.
Thirteen years later and the Seders still work at DDD; they are indispensable in helping to organize and set up at the sale. Every Monday the pair can be found at Thriftique or the NCJW warehouse, arranging items that need to be sorted. In addition, Marian and Joe did a fantastic job of setting up the bookroom at Thriftique.  Joe has also become "Mr. Fix-it" at our office and warehouse. NCJW is so fortunate that these two have decided to devote so much of their time and energy to our organization.