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Jackie Kott Selected to Receive The Nachson Award

By Toby Ehrlich
The Oscar and Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living is pleased to announce that Jackie Kott, Director of Recreation at Stein Assisted Living, is this year’s recipient of The Nachson Award.
JProNJ (formerly the New Jersey Jewish Communal Service Association) bestows The Nachson Award annually to a professional who has taken an outstanding leadership role in the development or implementation of creative, innovative programs or services that exemplify Jewish values.
Although Jackie has done so much to enhance the life of the residents of Wilf Campus for over 26 years, one of her proudest accomplishments was the campus’s 2012 trip to Israel, “Fulfilling the Promise Tour,” in which she showed true leadership, creativity and courage.
According to JProNJ, which extended Mazel Tov to Jackie for her achievement, in the Torah, Nachshon was Aaron’s brother-in-law. And, according to Midrash, he initiated the Israelites passage into the Red Sea during their escape from Egypt by walking in head-deep until the sea split.
In Yiddish there is a saying “to be a Nachshon” or be in an initiator and Jackie Kott has been praised for initiating the “Fulfilling the Promise” 2012 Mission Tour to Israel, which has had a profound impact on the Wilf community, bringing 12 seniors ranging in age from their mid-60s to 97 years old for a 10-day once-in-a-lifetime tour of the land of Israel.
As stated in her nomination form: “Jackie Kott knows how to make dreams come true. She was the vision, the voice and the vigor behind the Wilf Campus residents’ trip to Israel. Jackie led the planning, implementation and tremendously successful execution of the tour. With Jackie at the helm, they traveled from the top of Masada to the waters of the Dead Sea. They prayed at The Western Wall, but more importantly, they touched The Western Wall with hands wrinkled by many years of living. Our group included Holocaust survivors for whom this was likely the last opportunity for them to set foot in the State of Israel; we can only begin to imagine the emotions they felt during this journey. Accompanied by eight staff members including nursing staff, a doctor and a Rabbi, our residents achieved what many, including Jackie herself, thought impossible; they visited Eretz Yisrael.”
Jackie said, “I was pleasantly surprised that I was nominated by my boss, Anna Simmons Executive Director , our Marketing Director, Toby Ehrlich, our Chief Executive Officer, Susan Harris, and Rina Richards, Chief Administrative Officer.”
“I had never heard of this award, but I also think all those who helped me execute the trip to Israel deserve it with me, especially my boss, Anna, who pushed me to do it,” she added.
Please join us in congratulating Jackie Kott on this remarkable achievement. Mazel Tov to Jackie, as she continues to lead us and our residents with her creativity, courage, and innovative ideas. From Strength to Strength.
The award ceremony will be on Friday, May 30, 2014 at the JProNJ Annual Meeting at the Kaplen Jewish Community Center in Tenafly, New Jersey.
The Oscar and Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living which is comprised of The Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence which includes Jaffa Gate Memory care neighborhood, The Martin and Edith Stein Hospice, The Lena and David T. Wilentz Senior Residence, Wilf Transport, Wilf At Home, and The Foundation at the Wilf Campus. For more information contact us at (732) 568-1155, [email protected] or visit www.wilfcampus.org.