MAZEL TOV — Three dedicated staff members at Jewish Family Services are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year and the three together combine for 50 years of service to the social service agency.
Susie Hurst is celebrating her 30th anniversary with JFS, starting in 1986 as the adolescent specialist for the new CHAI (Channeling Heathy Adolescent Interaction) program in response to a number of suicides and suicide attempts in the Jewish community. Over the years she has worked in a variety of areas, adding director of family life education to her list of accomplishments in 2006.
Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick became the Jewish Community Chaplain in 2006. In addition to being an ordained rabbi, he has trained in clinical pastoral education at the Midwest CPE Program and is board certified by Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains. He first worked at JFS in 1988 as a resettlement specialist, working with new immigrant families from the former Soviet Union.
Sondra Atherly is also celebrating 10 years with JFS working her way from receptionist to operations manager of the JFS Older Adults Initiatives, managing the Help@Home and JET Express programs. She first became associated with JFS as a volunteer.
AMERICAN MASTER SERIES FEATURES NORMAN LEAR — Largely responsible for the explosion of bold American television in the 1970s, writer/producer Norman Lear’s name is synonymous with the sitcom. With unprecedented access to Lear, his work and his massive personal archives, “American Masters -- Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You” combines stories from his turbulent childhood and early career with his groundbreaking TV success (“All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times,” “Maude”) and social activism. The documentary also features colorful stories from Lear’s family, friends and collaborators, including John Amos, George Clooney, Alan Horn, Bill Moyers, Rob Reiner, Phil Rosenthal and Russell Simmons. Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady show how a poor Jewish kid from Connecticut became one of TV’s most successful showrunners. Bringing provocative subjects like war, poverty, and prejudice to 120 million viewers every week, Lear proved that social change was possible through an unlikely prism — laughter — and created some of the greatest moments in television history. The show premiers nationwide Tuesday, Oct. 25, 8-9:30 p.m. on PBS (locally KCPT). It is also available the same day on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD via PBS Distribution.
