The Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore will recognize local leaders Annette and Michael Saxon at its eighth annual J Live event at the Gordon Center on March 5. The couple will receive the Bezalel Leadership Award for their volunteer work within the Baltimore Jewish community and in Israel.
“This year, we are recognizing Annette and Michael Saxon, who are both past chairs of the JCC, the only husband-and-wife couple that have both been chairs,” said Esther Greenberg, chief advancement officer of the JCC of Greater Baltimore. “We’re recognizing them…for what they’ve done for the JCC, but also for the other great things they’ve done in the community and beyond.”
Annette Saxon has been a volunteer in the community since 2005, when she became board chair at the Center for Jewish Education. Since then, she has held various board positions at The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore and at the JCC of Greater Baltimore.
Currently, she serves as chair of Associated Women and on the board of directors for JCC Global and the Macks Jewish Connection Network. She has also been the recipient of the Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations of Maryland’s E.B. Hirsh Lifetime Achievement Award and the Building STEPS Volunteer of the Year Award.
Michael Saxon has also been a longtime community volunteer, starting in 1999 when he served as board chair at the JCC of Greater Baltimore. He has also served on various boards at The Associated. From 2015 to 2018, he was board chair of the Taub Center for Social Policy in Israel, and is currently co-chair of PJ Library Endowment. “He deserves a lot of respect for that work,” said Greenberg.
“There’s a lot of difficult times in our world today,” Greenberg said. “I think [J Live] is just a happy evening. We’re celebrating people who are still vibrant and doing a lot for the community, and they deserve the recognition.”
The event has two ticket levels: Grand Patrons and General Admission. Both include a dessert reception and complimentary beer and wine. However, Grand Patron ticket holders will be invited to the pre-show dinner, which includes an open bar.
Greenberg said in most recent years, J Live has seen attendance of more than 450 people, and is hoping to hit that number, if not exceed it. “It’s a wonderful, great time to see lots of people, and it’s a happy evening.”
Along with the Bezalel Leadership Award, J Live will also include a live performance from the band The Players and Friends, including Rock & Roll hall of famers Keith Howland, Jeff Coffey, Rob Arthur and Ed Toth.
“It’s also an evening in a beautiful space at the Gordon Center,” she said. “The JCC is a strong institution that welcomes everyone, and we want to just make sure that that’s known to everyone…and then to hear great music in a beautiful venue where there’s not a bad seat in the house is, it’s a great thing.”
Ticket sales and sponsorship funds will go to the fundraising efforts for the JCC, spearheaded by co-chairs David and Joanie Greenberg. “We’re so fortunate this year to have two co-chairs,” Esther Greenberg said.
“They’ve been great leaders in helping to identify and solicit new sponsors,” she added. “We have different sponsor levels as well, put together by a great committee of almost 20 people who are actively helping to promote the event and pass it along to their networks of friends and family, and help us do some planning around that evening as well.”
According to Greenberg, money raised from the event will help support JCC operations and its financial assistance programs. “Part of operations is supporting financial assistance, so that we don’t have to turn people away because they don’t have the financial ability to pay for a program.”
“The goal is to raise funds that will help support the need for financial services, so that children, individuals and families can participate in JCC programs,” she added. “Everything from our Stoler Early Learning Center to the J Camp program to inclusion programming, JCC Maccabi and membership.”
