Marleen Forkas

	Dee Dee Myers

While the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s Lion of Judah Luncheon has celebrated and inspired women for nearly three decades, 2010 is a year of firsts. The season’s premiere event in Jewish women’s philanthropy features a groundbreaking speaker, as it celebrates one woman’s singular vision and generosity.

 

The first woman and the youngest person to serve as White House Press Secretary, Dee Dee Myers, will keynote the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s annual Lion of Judah Luncheon at 10:30 am on February 11, 2010 at the Polo Club of Boca Raton.

 

Marleen Forkas Chair of Contemporary Jewish Issues Established

 

And ensuring this powerful event’s top distinction for years to come, Marleen Forkas has become the first to endow a Chair which will generously underwrite the cost of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County’s Lion Luncheon speakers in perpetuity.

 

The establishment of the Marleen Forkas Chair of Contemporary Jewish Issues will help to develop and grow this prestigious program by bringing in a high profile speaker to educate the Lions on important current Jewish concerns every year. Due to budget cuts, it is only through this generous gift that the Federation will be able to consistently bring in a high quality speaker, worthy of such a powerful and knowledgeable group of women philanthropists.  This groundbreaking “Chair” will guarantee, now and into the future, that the Federation’s most loyal and committed women donors will be exposed to nothing but the highest caliber and cutting edge speakers within the Jewish and political worlds.

 

But Marleen Forkas has long been a woman of “FIRSTS.”  The first woman to graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology's management engineering division, she has been well-recognized for her 40-year career as a fashion designer and beading and embroidery manufacturer. In 2005, Marleen and her late beloved husband of 25 years, Harold, named and funded Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) first-ever alumni center. 

 

“I am a Jewish woman and Jewish women know the importance of both Tzedakah and education. It is our responsibility to give back and help support our Jewish community to achieve these goals,” said Forkas.

 

In addition to the Federation and FAU, Marleen is involved in numerous other charitable organizations including the Boca Ballet, Boca Raton Community Hospital and Foundation, Jewish Women’s Foundation of South Palm Beach County, Debbie-Rand Memorial Service League, Boca Raton Museum of Art, The George Snow Scholarship Fund, 211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast, Horses and the Handicapped, The Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education at Florida Atlantic University and B’nai Torah Congregation. 

 

“It is especially fitting that our Lion of Judah luncheon speaker this year is Dee Dee Myers, who was the first woman to serve as White House Press Secretary and author of the bestseller Why Women Should Rule the World,” said Anne Jacobson, Women’s Philanthropy Chair.

 

	Janet Sherr and Jill Deutch, Lion of Judah Luncheon Chairs

For 28 years, the annual Lion of Judah luncheon has been recognizing those women who make generous individual gifts at the $5,000 level and above to the Federation’s Annual Campaign. Nearly 800 local women are part of this international sisterhood of 16,000. Jill Deutch and Janet Sherr are Co-chairs of the 2010 event. The luncheon couvert is $65, with a minimum Lion-level gift required to attend.

 

In addition to Marleen Forkas’ generous underwriting of the speaker, the event is generously sponsored by Marta I. Rendon, MD/The Dermatology & Aesthetic Center, the Sandelman Foundation, and IVAN & Co. Fine Jewelry. The Boca Raton Observer is Exclusive Media Sponsor. The Dorothy Seaman Department of Women’s Philanthropy is sponsored by Boca Raton Community Hospital and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

 

For more information about the Lion of Judah Luncheon, or to learn how you can become a Lion in South Palm Beach County, please contact Jill Hagler, Associate Vice President of Women’s Philanthropy, at jillh@bocafed.org or 561-852-5015.