United Jewish Federation (UJF) will host its “Year-End Celebration and Annual Meeting ‘’ on Mondayevening December 19 at Temple Beth Elin Stamford. The guest of honor will be David Gordon, outgoing
UJF president. The Harvey A. Peltz Award will be given to Greg Waldstreicher. Volunteer of the Year
awards will be presented to Dignity Grows™ and 3SQUAREvolunteers. Chairs of the evening are Stephne
and Kerrin Behrend. The Annual Meeting, including election of the incoming UJF president, Michael R.
Schlessinger, and new and continuing Board members, will begin at 7:30 pm followed by a dessert
reception. The event is open to the entire community at no cost. Diane Sloyer, UJF CEO, shared the
following. “David has a unique sense of community and philanthropy and cares deeply about the Jewish
people both locally and around the world. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with David these
past three years. David was in the right place at the right time serving our community well during both
the COVID-19 and Ukrainian crisis. He guided Federation through a strategic plan that will lead us for the
years ahead.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve as Federation’s president for these past three years”, said
David. “I am very grateful for the outstanding work of the Federation staff, led by our CEO, Diane Sloyer,
as well as hard-working and dedicated Boards of Directors that have permitted our Federation to have
large positive impact on our Jewish community.”

The guest speaker will be Sigal Kanotopsky, Regional Director of the Northeast for the Jewish Agency for
Israel, who will share her family’s story of immigrating from Ethiopia to Israel. Sigal Kanotopsky was
bornin a small, rural village in Ethiopia. Although her family had a good life there, in her own words,
“Coming to Israel, to Jerusalem, wasn’t an option, it was our lifetime mission.”
Kanotopsk will share her personal and professional journeys, the issues facing the Ethiopian Jewish
community today and her commitment to changing the way Ethiopian Israelis are viewed and treated.
The evening will also single out this year’s Peltz Award winner, Greg Waldstreicher, recognizing him for
his commitment and leadership. Greg has served on the UJF board for four years on the data, analytic
and marketing committee and is active in UJF’s PJ Library and NextGen programs. The evening will also
honor outgoing board members Nan Gordon, Jonathan Ostroff, Tara Shapiro, and Sherry Steiner.
“Every organization is built on the backbone of volunteers. These awards enable UJF to recognize
community members who give of their time on behalf of UJF. Their commitment to the Jewish
community of Greater Stamford has had a positive impact on us all,” said Diane Sloyer.
Register at www.ujf.org/annualmeeting22 to attend the Year-End Celebration. For more information
contact Diane Sloyer at dianesloyer@ujf.org. (203) 321-1373