Michael Abrams, Chairman of the Village Shalom Board of Directors, has announced that Jeffrey Zaslow, columnist for The Wall Street Journal and best-selling author, will be the featured speaker at the organization’s sixth Ages of Excellence Celebration on Wednesday evening, November 16, 2011, at the Sheraton Overland Park. Community leader Karen Glickstein is chairperson of the 2011 fundraising event.

Jeffrey Zaslow

Zaslow, who writes the “Moving On” column for The Wall Street Journal, is perhaps best known as co-author of The Last Lecture with Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch. The book covers Pausch’s final lecture at the university, an inspiring address on childhood dreams and life lessons presented in the last months of the professor’s life as he battled pancreatic cancer.

Other best-selling non-fiction accounts authored by Zaslow include The Girls From Ames, a tribute to the power of friendship among women, and Highest Duty, the story of US Airways captain Sully Sullenberger and his role in the “Miracle on the Hudson.” Zaslow’s latest book, The Magic Room, will be published in January 2012. He is currently co-authoring a book with U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut and NASA Space Shuttle Commander Mark E. Kelly.

“Jeffrey Zaslow is a gifted writer and engaging speaker. He has gained media attention himself because of the messages of strength and hope he portrays in his books,” said Abrams.
The National Society of Newspaper Columnists twice named Zaslow the best columnist in a newspaper with circulation of more than 100,000. In 2008, he received the Distinguished Column Writing Award from the New York Newspaper Publishers Association. He has appeared on The Tonight Show, Oprah, Larry King Live, 60 Minutes, The Today Show and Good Morning America.

The Village Shalom Ages of Excellence Celebration will also include presentation of the 2011 Helzberg Excellence in Aging Award to the Sarah and Philip Wang Family Legacy, representing three generations of Wang family members who have exhibited an extraordinary commitment to Village Shalom and its predecessor organizations. Recipients of this prestigious award are Nicole and Myron Wang, Meyer Finkel (of blessed memory), Michael Klein, and Michael Liss.

The evening will also include presentation of the Stephen S. Schoenfeld Volunteer Recognition Award to Norman King, who has personified the true meaning of volunteerism by enhancing the spiritual life of Village Shalom for more than a decade.

Proceeds from the Ages of Excellence Celebration will help to provide financial assistance to senior adults who rely on Village Shalom for vital programs and services.

For more information about the Village Shalom Ages of Excellence Celebration, contact Sally Beyers, Director of Development, at 913-266-8412 or sbeyers@villageshalom.org.