From left, standing, Rabbi Jean Claude Klein, Samuel McAninch, State Rep. Kevin J. Boyle, and President Stephen M. Curtis. Seated, from left, Paula Green, Sally Dancui, and Bettyann Creighton. (Dennis Gingill/Community College of Philadelphia)
Community College of Philadelphia’s Northeast Regional Center last week honored six individuals at its 13th annual Distinguished Leadership Awards ceremony.
The May 1 ceremony took place at CCP’s regional center at 12901 Townsend Road. The center opened in 1994 and underwent an expansion in 2010.
The awards are given for outstanding contributions to higher education in the Northeast.
Stephen M. Curtis, CCP’s longtime president, honored the following recipients: Sally Danciu (business), Bettyann Creighton (education), Kevin Boyle (public official), Jean Claude Klein (faith-based), Paula Green (community service) and Samuel McAninch (youth). They were recognized for achievement and commitment to their community.
Among those in attendance were members of the Northeast Regional Center advisory committee.
Here is some background on the winners:
• Danciu owns Sally’s Flowers, located at 7944 Oxford Ave. in Fox Chase. The shop opened in 1977. She is a member of the Society of American Florists, Pennsylvania Floral Industry Association and the Delaware Valley Florist Association. She’s also past president of the Cheltenham-Rockledge Club and a member of Rotary International, the Jeanes Hospital Advisory Board, Rockledge-Fox Chase Business Association and the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and its Foundation board. She received the 2007 Leadership Award from the chamber for leadership, participation and commitment to the group and community. Her shop is a drop-off site for the nearby Memorial Presbyterian Church of Fox Chase’s Food for Hope food bank.
• Creighton, of Fox Chase, has been director of health, safety and physical education for the School District of Philadelphia since 1999. A Frankford High School graduate, she has a health and physical education degree from East Stroudsburg University and a supervisory certificate in health and physical education from Temple. She’s worked for the district for 38 years and has been an adjunct professor at Temple University since 2006. She coordinates anti-bullying programs and efforts to reduce Type 2 Diabetes. She’s a member of the Philadelphia Coaches Association, the American Red Cross Service Delivery Board and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She’s a Red Cross disaster volunteer and part of the school district’s dragon boat team. In 2011, she won the Pennsylvania Youth Development Afterschool Champion and Philadelphia Coaches Administrator awards.
• Boyle is in his first term representing the 172nd Legislative District after serving as legislative director for City Councilman Bill Greenlee. He is a member of the House Finance, Health, Human Services, Policy and Urban Affairs committees and is Democratic secretary of the Finance Committee. He’s introduced legislation that would amend laws on reporting child abuse. Another focus has been absentee landlords. He’s a graduate of Cardinal Dougherty High School. He has a political science degree from La Salle University and a master’s in education policy from Harvard.
• Klein, born in Paris to parents who survived the Holocaust and raised in Montreal, has been a rabbi at the Congregations of Shaare Shamayim in Bustleton since 2008. He previously served at Mount Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph, N.J. He has a master’s degree in counseling psychology and a doctorate of psychology. He has taught graduate courses for several universities and was a visiting professor at the Institute for Traditional Judaism. He is a board member of the Union for Traditional Judaism and director for the Morashah, the Union’s rabbinical fellowship. Other Shaare Shamayim winners over the years have been executive director Jacques Lurie and members Ruth Horwitz and Josh Marcu. Lurie and Horwitz were in attendance last week.
• Green has worked at the Northeast Family YMCA for 26 years and spent 12 years as executive director. She supervises 18 full-time and 121 part-time individuals. She has seen the facility through three major renovation projects, which has resulted in an expansion of 20,000 square feet. The Northeast Family YMCA was named 2011 Nonprofit of the Year by CCP’s Center for Small Business Education, Growth and Training.
• McAninch is a senior at Swenson Arts and Technology High School. He is a member of the National Technical Honor Society and second commander in the school’s ROTC program. He has participated in a Christmas program at a nursing home, Memorial Day parades and Veterans Day ceremonies at the Delaware Valley Veterans Home. In past summers, he has attended the Camp Odyssey Leadership Program and the Valley Forge Freedom Center Camp. This summer, he will attend the early commissioning program at Valley Forge Military College. He’ll study criminal justice. CCP gave him a free three-credit course.
CCP held similar ceremonies at its Northwest Regional Center in Logan on May 2 and at its West Regional Center in West Philadelphia on May 3. ••
