Since coming to Omaha in 1993, Harold M. and Beverly Maurer have made community outreach one of their top priorities. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. On Sept. 14, the couple will be honored in a special recognition dinner by the Chabad of Nebraska.
The event, which is open to the public, will begin with cocktails and a silent auction at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. It will take place at the new Forte’ Banquet and Convention Center, 15th and Cuming streets.
In addition to the Maurers, another Omaha couple with connections to UNMC will be honored – Leonard and Shirley Goldstein. The Goldsteins were one of the major donors to the Durham Research Center. Their daughter, Ann, also received a kidney transplant at The Nebraska Medical Center.
The event will mark the 18th anniversary for Chabad, a community center for religious, social and community programs located at 1866 S. 120th St. The event is titled, “Chai! The Gift of Life.” Chai, which is a Hebrew word, is pronounced like “hi” and means “life.”
“In Hebrew, there are no numbers,” said Rabbi Mendel Katzman, director of Chabad House. “Chai represents the eighth and 10th letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It is a perfect word to help us celebrate our 18th anniversary. This celebration is all about the gift of life.”
Rabbi Katzman and his wife, Shani, hold the medical center as a special place in their hearts. The parents of 12 children, the Katzmans went through some anxious times back in 2003 when their youngest child, Zalmen, was born at The Nebraska Medical Center.
Shani had been hospitalized in an effort to extend her pregnancy to term. However, she wound up going into early labor and experienced serious hemorrhaging and other physical complications.
Two UNMC perinatologists, Teresa Berg, M.D., and Carl Smith, M.D., performed emergency surgery. Now, more than two years later, Zalmen is a healthy, normal two year old and his mother is fine.
The Katzmans are grateful to God and for the efforts and expertise of the excellent medical team that cared for them at the medical center, Rabbi Katzman said.
“As a New Yorker, I can appreciate what the Maurers have accomplished. It is not easy to be new to a community and move mountains without offending anyone,” he said. “Many people come in and don’t connect and wind up failing. It takes special abilities to relocate where you are needed, but yet maintain your own personal vision and ideas. The Maurers have been able to do this without intimidating or antagonizing anyone.”
This marks the second time that Chabad of Nebraska has held an awards dinner, Rabbi Katzman said.
Dr. Maurer, who has served as UNMC chancellor since 1998, expressed his appreciation for the recognition: “Awards like this are very nice, but I always say that awards are team – not individual – efforts. Without all the incredible support we receive from the medical center and the community, it wouldn’t be possible.”
This marks the fifth major recognition received by the Maurers within the past couple years. Other awards received by the Maurers include:
- March 2003 – Dr. Maurer received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Children’s Oncology Group, a National Cancer Institute-supported clinical cooperative cancer treatment and research group, for his research work with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer in children. Dr. Maurer’s research group helped raise the cure rate for the disease from 20 percent to 75 percent.
- May 2004 – The Maurers received the 2004 People of Vision Award from Prevent Blindness Nebraska.
- May 2004 – Dr. Maurer received the 2004 Honor Award from the American Diabetes Association.
- January 2005 – Dr. Maurer was named “Midlander of the Year” by The Omaha World-Herald.
Tickets to the Chabad recognition dinner cost $90. For more information, call 330-1800. Honorary chairpersons for the event are Tom and Darlynn Fellman and Joe and Maxine Kirshenbaum.