Irv & Nancy Chase, Dan & Lynn Bernstein                                                                                                                    

More than 300 guests revelled at the Merage JCC’s annual Celebration Ball June 2 honors founding President/CEO of the Merage Jewish Community Center, Dan Bernstein, for his 16 years of leadership at the Merage JCC. We share our joy and gratitude for his unwavering dedication to the our JCC and to the future of tomorrow.

With a “Most Valuable Player” theme, the celebration included many baseball references, cocktails and appetizers, a “loud” silent auction, performance by Will Champlin, finalist for season 5 of “The Voice”, impromptu dancing and Conga line, as well as fireworks and a congratulatory message from Derek Jeter.

Dan is set to retire July, after spending more than 35 years building community and Jewish Peoplehood within the JCC field, 16 at the Merage JCC. Nationally, Dan was named both as a Mandel Scholar and Israel Scholar. In 2018, the national JCC organization (JCCA) awarded Dan the top executive honor, the Florence G. Heller Award for distinguished professional service. Prior to his JCC career, Dan coached basketball at multiple universities and the U.S. Pan American Maccabi Team winning the gold in Mexico City. A native New Yorker, Dan and his wife, Lynn, have a daughter, Beth, a son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Laura, and a gorgeous granddaughter, Sutton Miriam.

Nancy & Irv Chase, served as the Honorary Chairs, with Wendy Stark as the event Chair. They were joined by an illustrious committee of 78 friends and community leaders.  Together the committee, friends, JCC members and community raised over $280,000 for scholarships for children and families to attend summer camp, preschool, teen and after school programs.

Executive Honorary Committee

Honorary Committee

Scotty, Beth, Dan and Lynn Bernstein