KIO-BBYO Celebrates Teen Achievements

The Kentucky Indiana Ohio (KIO) Region of BBYO celebrated regional and local achievements recently, including individual, chapter and city awards, during the annual New Member Weekend and Columbus Awards Banquet.

During the banquet, Aliah BBG # 368 Awards were given to: Aliah Sisterhood Award to Emily Smith; Spirit of Aliah Award, Molly Igdaloff; Aspiring Young Leader Award, Carly Herman; and M.I.T.- Outstanding Member in Training, Leah Polster.

The Heart of Ohio AZA # 55 Awards were given to: Heart of Ohio Athletic Award, Ben Kleppel; Buzzy Kanter Spirit of Ohio Award, Josh Klaben-Finegold; Heart 55 Award, Andrew Igdaloff; Seth M. Chodosh Award Favorite Pops, Andrew Bloch; and A.I.T. - Outstanding Aleph in Training, Elliot Snay.

The Pops Dworkin/Saul Kaufman AZA #155 Awards were given to: Phillip M. Goldberg Memorial Athletic Award to Jake Miller; Saul Kaufman Memorial Award, Danny Bloch; Dr. Marvin Zuravsky Spirit Award, Jake Topolosky; A.I.T.- Outstanding Aleph In Training, Josh Gewirtz; Pops' Favorite Heart of Ohio Award, Andrew Igdaloff; and Pops Dworkin/Saul Kaufman AZA Dedication Award, Daniel Bush.

The Ziv BBG #1102 Awards were given to: Dr. James Tannenbaum Memorial Award for Sisterhood to Rachel Brickey; Ziv Blossom Award, Sarah Hecht/Sarah Fedner; and Purple Elephant Award, Hannah Blau.

City Honors awarded to Columbus teens were: Howard Cabakoff/Doug Lee Outstanding Brotherhood Award to Pops Dworkin/Saul Kauffman for Frisbee Night
Howard Cabakoff/Doug Lee Outstanding Cultural/Jewish Heritage Award to Pops Dworkin/Saul Kauffman for Movie Niight
Howard Cabakoff/Doug Lee Outstanding Social Program Award to Heart of Ohio for the Toga Party
B'nai B'rith Women Outstanding Creative Award to Aliah for Miss AZA
B'nai B'rith Women Outstanding Jewish Heritage Program Award to Aliah for Army Simulation
B'nai B'rith Women Outstanding Social Program Award to Aliah for Iron Chef

The Most Improved Chapter Award was given to Ziv BBG #1102, and Molly Igdaloff received the Merrilyn Frank Tree of Life Award.

The Phyllis and Saul Sokol Outstanding Member Award, which carries a $100 scholarship, was given to Andrew Igdaloff, who also won a $136 scholarship as Senior Aleph of the Year. Also receiving $136 scholarships were Senior BBGs of the Year, Kara Hansell and Rachel Peck.

Regional honors were given to Eighth and Ninth Grade Columbus during the recent New Member Weekend, for their individual growth during that retreat. They were: Jake Miller - Sam Beber Award, in honor of the leadership legacy of AZA's Founder, Sam Beber; and Sam Kastan - Cheerleader of the Convention, in honor of his spirit and enthusiastic participation.

KIO BBYO has chosen its coordinators for its fall 2008 conventions, Fall Kickoff and Regional Convention. Sophomores Jeff Goodman and Jenna Samuelson of Cincinnati will coordinate Fall Kickoff, to be held Sept. 5-7 at Camp Kern. Juniors Daniel Ensign of Louisville, Ky., and Sami Pavlofsky of Dayton will coordinate Regional Convention 2008, to be held in Louisville, Dec. 19-22. All BBYO member-teens from Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio are invited to attend both events.

Columbus BBYO's last program of the year will be a city-wide pool party held at a member's house in Blacklick on Sunday, June 1. For more information, visit www.b-linked.org or to RSVP, contact Amy Dicker at (614) 231-2731, ext. 378.