Includes meeting agenda and minutes along with additional information about the admendments to bylaws and appointments. CSUN Session 14 Meeting Minutes and Agendas.
Interview with Jerry Countess and Dorothy Eisenberg by Barbara Tabach on October 28, 2014. Countess discusses his childhood and military life. He became involved in the United Jewish Appeal in Las Vegas and started the Jewish Reporter newspaper. Dorothy Eisenberg is also involved in the interview to discuss the Jewish Federation and the Jewish community.
Jerome Countess, known as Jerry to most, was born on December 22, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in the borough's Jewish neighborhood, and he developed a reputation for being a skillful handball player and a great dancer. Though he was not allowed to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard due to colorblindness, Jerry was eventually drafted into the army during World War II. With very minimal combat training, Jerry was sent to North Africa as an infantryman, and was later stationed in Italy. After three years of service, Jerry returned home and married his childhood sweetheart, Rachel, in 1945. Using the G.I. Bill, he enrolled at New York University to study writing, though he quit just shy of graduation as his wife was expecting. After briefly working in the television broadcasting industry, Jerry landed a job with the United Jewish Appeal. In 1975, following in his desire to move west, Jerry took the job of executive director of the Combined Jewish Appeal in Las Vegas, what would soon be renamed the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas. Under his leadership, the federation started the Jewish Family Service as well as The Jewish Reporter, a monthly publication to promote engagement of the Jewish community. Jerry served as the executive director of the federation for many years, serving at the pleasure of many board members and presidents, including the first female federation president, Dorothy Eisenberg.
The Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA), founded in 1977, provides professional social services to clients in need, including counseling, senior services, adoption, a food pantry, and emergency financial aid. Its focus is on the Jewish community, but the JFSA serves families and individuals regardless of their religion, race, age, disability, sexual orientation, or national origin. Services are provided in a confidential setting, and many are offered free of charge or on a sliding scale.
Robert Frank List is a former governor of Nevada from 1978 to 1983. He was born September 1, 1936 in California to Frank Way List and his wife. He attended Utah State University for his undergraduate degree, and the Hastings College of Law at the University of California for his law degree.
Valerie Wiener is a former Democratic Nevada State Senator who represented Clark County District 3 from 1996 to 2012. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1948, she is the daughter of prominent local attorney Louis Wiener, Jr. After Valerie Wiener graduated from Las Vegas High School, she earned bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Missouri and a master's in contemporary literature from the University of Illinois before attending the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific.
Naomi Goynes was born as Naomi Jackson on October 30, 1933 in Memphis, Tennessee to a minister father. Her first job was as a maid, but she had dreams of attending college. When Goynes attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, she received her teaching degree in home economics. Goynes met her future husband, Theron Goynes, in Nashville, Arkansas where they both were young teachers in 1956.