PASSOVER EDITION 5776 SECTION C PAGE 20
Every year the IJN salutes people known or obscure who bring freedom into our lives. Passover, with its message of gratitude to G-d for our freedom, is the appropriate moment to say thank you.
Bryan Hay: Education
Some people are fortunate enough to look back on their school years and remember a teacher or principal who truly made a difference in their lives. For many of the 2,200 alumni of Denver Jewish Day School, that special educator would be Bryan Hay.
In about a month, “Mr. Hay” will retire after 35 years at Denver JDS and its predecessor, Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy. He started as a social studies teacher in 1981. At that time, he was not only a teacher. He was building a fledgling school. He helped coordinate the student council, college counseling and “color war,” which remains Denver JDS’ popular annual intra-school skills competition.
In 1992, when Dr. Ray Anderton retired as RMHA principal, Hay was promoted to lead the school. It was a job that suited him well and enabled him to take the high school to greater heights as it merged with Herzl Jewish Day School to form what is now Denver Jewish Day School, a K-12 community day school.
Bryan Hay is not Jewish, but his respect for Judaism and its values is commendable and appreciated. He has assembled an excellent Judaic studies faculty and curriculum, ever mindful of the school’s mission. He’s also known as a big stickler for boys wearing their kippot in school!
Denver JDS students love Mr. Hay. The teachers collaborate with him. Parents respect him. We thank him for a job well done.
William Silvers: Medicine
Who’s that dashing man about town who seemingly appears at nearly every community event, working the room as if he were running for office —very charming and likely wearing his favorite lime green? It’s William “Dr. Bill” Silvers, allergist, son of Holocaust survivors, all-around good guy.
Since 1982, Dr. Bill has been helping Denverites and mountain dwellers with their wheezing and sneezing with his cutting edge knowledge of the latest and most effective treatments for allergies, asthma and other related disorders.
A ski enthusiast, Silvers not only maintained a practice in Vail, he identified a condition which he coined “skier’s nose” — cold-induced rhinitis. He developed a treatment for skiers whose runny nose got in the way of their total enjoyment of the slopes.
Silvers’ expertise has not been limited to Colorado. Early in his career, Silvers, an ardent Zionist, helped introduce his medical specialty to Israel with the formation of Allergists for Israel. His organization has helped bring the treatment of allergies and asthma up to snuff in Israel through education and networking between American Jewish allergists and their counterparts in Israel.
In Denver, Silvers organizes conferences on bio-medical ethics related to the Holocaust. He is a devoted son to his survivor parents who live in Florida. His leadership is a tribute and testament to them and to the six million.
Janet Sherman: Community
One would never know that Janet Sherman plans big events and complex events. She won’t be the one to tell you about it. Not only that, she’ll tell you that other people were really the ones to get it done. That is the job of the community professional, and Janet Sherman has mastered the art.
We’re not even certain what her exact title at JEWISHcolorado is, but it doesn’t really matter, since she shows up at so many places. The Colorado State legislature. The Jewish community walk for Israel. The Jewish observance of Israeli Memorial Day (Yom Hazikaron). The Jewish Community Relations Council. Choices. Men’s Event. Annual meeting. And we’re sure we’ve left some out.
When all those programs come off without a hitch, when Colorado state politicians from the governor on down enthusiastically appear at Jewish events, when a slew of volunteers show up to invest their time, the chances are that Janet Sherman has made it all happen, or at least made a major contribution. Unobtrusively. Surefootedly. Smoothly. And humbly. As we say, she’ll give the credit to others.
Janet Sherman, like all of us, has her perspective and her agenda. Not necessarily like all of us, she will listen to and consider seriously other viewpoints. Typically, this is not the easiest thing, but Janet Sherman makes it look like the most natural thing in the world. There is a reason JEWISHcolorado has taken off. Janet Sherman is one of the main spurs.
Neal Price: Synagogue
Evidently, Neal Price was one of those rare individuals who knew what he was destined to do with his life while he was in college. His leadership at CU-Boulder with American Zionist Youth Federation and Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry set him on what would be a stellar career path of Jewish communal service.
Just out of college, Price headed an experimental Jewish youth program called “The House,” followed by a stint as a JCC day camp director. He found his calling as a synagogue administrator 40 years ago when he took the role at Rodef Shalom.
Five years later, Price became the executive director of the Hebrew Educational Alliance when it was still on the West Side. He remains at that post today, having seen the congregation dwindle and move from the West Side to a sparkling new building in Southeast Denver and soar to become one of Denver’s largest and busiest congregations.
Neal Price runs the HEA very efficiently. Not one for small talk, he is always equipped with solutions and action plans, always polite, accessible, prompt and helpful.
Price is a mensch in a very special way. In 1998, he attempted to save a nine-year-old boy with leukemia by donating his bone marrow. Price didn’t consider himself a hero, and sadly, the little boy ultimately passed away, but Neal Price’s selflessness and compassion are not forgotten.
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