Marilyn Benjamin will receive top Lion of Judah award at conference

Marilyn Benjamin Marilyn Benjamin of St. Petersburg will receive the prestigious Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award at this year’s International Lion of Judah Conference, Nov. 7 - 10 in New Orleans.

As the Jewish Federation of Pinellas & Pasco Counties’ nominee, Benjamin will be honored among a select group of women representing their communities as leaders in philanthropy and volunteerism.

“This award honors women who embody the spirit and vision of the Lion of Judah and Marilyn continues to demonstrate that spirit and vision today,” said Women’s Philanthropy Chair Diane Sherman.

The award, inaugurated in 2004, is a tribute to Lion of Judah founders Norma Kipnis-Wilson and Toby Friedland of Miami. The Lion of Judah program was established to recognize women who give a gift to their community Jewish Federation of $5,000 or more in their own name each year.

Benjamin is a long-time Lion of Judah and supporter of the Jewish Federation of Pinellas & Pasco Counties. She has served for a number of years on the Federation’s ONAD Committee (Overseas Needs Assessment & Distribution), and more recently on the Board of Directors.

Marilyn Benjamin, along with her late husband, Dr. Philip Benjamin, was one of the founding members of Menorah Manor, the region’s only Jewish nursing home and geriatric center. She is on the Menorah Manor Foundation Board, is past president of the Menorah Manor Guild and is on the Executive Committee of Philip Benjamin Tower, named for her late husband. She also is co-chair of the Congregation B’nai Israel annual Gift & Craft Show and has served on the board of the synagogue’s Sisterhood. She is a member of American Friends of Magen David Adom, Jewish National Fund, Hadassah, and National Council of Jewish Women. Among her secular community involvement, she is currently a volunteer at All Children’s Hospital.

The Benjamins received the first Yitzhak Rabin Award for Distinguished Community Service from the Jewish Federation of Pinellas & Pasco Counties and were honored by State of Israel Bonds with a Decoration of Independence Award.

* * * The International Lion of Judah Conference will run in tandem with the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America Nov. 7-9 in New Orleans. Both gatherings will feature some of today’s most well-known political and spiritual leaders, authors and thinkers.

The delegation from the Jewish Federation of Pinellas & Pasco Counties in now forming. Jeanie Abelson, chair of the Lion of Judah Division, and Sally Laufer, International Lion of Judah Conference chair, are encouraging members of the community to attend both the Lions Conference and GA.

To attend, call the Federation office at 530- 3223 or go online to www.jewishpinellas. org.