This program is for the State of Israel Commendation Dinner to recognize E. Parry Thomas as a distinguished Citizen of Nevada in 1977. The dinner was held at the Dunes Hotel.
In 1979, Eileen Brookman was honored as a Distinguished Citizen of the Year by the National Conference of Christians and Jews for her continued service to the community. The program includes highlights of her accomplishments.
Throughout this interview, Blaine shares stories of his father, Alvin Benedict. Al owned and operated Benedict and Remy Plumbing Business for a few years before entering into casino management. He is considered to be the first college educated executive and had an illustrious executive career at the MGM. He also was a co-founder with Susan and Irwin Molasky of Nathan Adelson Hospice.
In this interview, Molasky discusses her parents, Irwin and Susan Molasky, and growing up in Las Vegas as a member of Temple Beth Sholom. She attended Sunday school and Hebrew school, but is not particularly religious as an adult.
Beth Molasky-Cornell is a partner, shareholder, and an active member of the board of directors of the Molasky Group of Companies, which was founded by her father Irwin Molasky. She is a founding partner and a core member of the board of directors of Ocean Pacific Companies, a high-end real estate development firm founded by her husband Ken Cornell in San Diego, California. Molasky-Cornell contributed to numerous Molasky Group building projects, including the Bank of America Plazas, the Winterwood Corporation land development, and the Park Towers luxury condominiums. Molasky was born in Florida; however, her family moved to Las Vegas before her second birthday. She graduated from Valley High School in 1968, and started college at the University of Southern California at the age of seventeen. After spending a couple of years in Rhode Island, where she had her children, she moved back to Las Vegas in 1975. In this interview, Molasky discusses her childhood experiences in Las Vegas, especially as a member of the Jewish community, and reflects upon changes that influenced her children?s upbringing in the city.
Flora Mason (1940- ) is a Las Vegas, Nevada philanthropist and community leader. She was born Florica Esformes to a Sephardic Jewish parents who emigrated from Greece to New York. This Mediterranean influence can be seen in the meals she serves for the Jewish holidays. Flora?s grandfather had a pushcart business in New York and her father became a produce broker, which led the family to Miami, Florida. She graduated from high school in Miami and also met Stuart Mason there. The young couple married in 1958. They had been married for 58 years when Stuart passed away in 2012. In this oral history, Flora recalls her life?from witnessing signage that read: no blacks, no dogs, no Jews in the South to meeting her husband while a teenager to raising her three children in Las Vegas. Along the way, she has always found time to form fast friendships and to inspire productive community organizations. v For example, Flora and Stuart founded the Las Vegas Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation in 1970. It was a disease that their daughter Deborah had suffered from. They also established the Mason Undergraduate Peer Coach Program at University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries in 2006. Flora was the first woman elected by the general membership to serve on the Temple Beth Sholom Board of Directors. She has served on the National Board of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, been involved with the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, the Anti-Defamation League among many other Jewish and non-Jewish community organizations. Flora?s college education began at the University of Miami and focused on completing both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UNLV, where she majored in English literature. She then became a lecturer in the UNLV English department from 1985 to 1993. Flora and Stuart Mason had three children: sons William and James who joined the family?s successful three-generation commercial construction business Taylor International, and daughter Deborah. In this oral history, Flora shares the joy of being a grandparent, her love of travel, and the opportunities of meeting Israeli dignitaries over the years. She also candidly reflects on dealing with grief and the Jewish rituals surrounding death.