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Three members of Troop 1948 of Rockville recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

Scott Goodin, David Zuckerman and Joshua Greenwald were feted during a Court of Honor Nov. 1 at Congregation Tikvat Israel, which sponsors the troop.

In order to achieve the Eagle Scout rank, each young man completed at least 21 merit badges and planned, developed and provided leadership to others in a service project that benefited his congregation, community or school, Scoutmaster Raymond Horn told The Gazette.

Honoring three Eagle Scouts at the same time is not common in Troop 1948, Horn said, adding it is an "interesting time" for the young men to be involved in Scouting because the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America is Feb. 8 of next year.

Goodin, 17, son of Doug and Mary Goodin of Rockville, planned and carried out a horticultural project for Tikvat Israel as his project. He first joined Boy Scouting in October 2002. A senior at Georgetown Day School, he is interested in film, theater lighting and psychology and plans to major in film in college.

Zuckerman, 18, son of Steve and Joanne Zuckerman of Rockville and a member of Troop 1948 since 2002, he planned and managed the cleanup of the archives room at B'nai Israel Congregation in Rockville. He is a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, majoring in physics.

Greenwald, 18, son of Jeff Greenwald and Sherry Marlowe of Montgomery Village, joined Troop 1948 in June 2003 after receiving his Arrow of Light from Pack 276. He attends the math/science/computer science magnet program at Poolesville High School and he hopes for a career in the medical field. His Eagle project was organizing the packing and unpacking of materials for the move of Hebrew Day Institute from Wheaton to Congregation Tikvat Israel.

In addition, Troop 1948 awarded the Etz Chaim (Tree of Life) Award, given to high school-aged Boy Scouts of the Jewish faith, to David Friedland of Potomac.

Friedland, 17, a senior at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, became a Boy Scout at age 11 and received the Eagle Scout award in January. He is the founder of the Stand Up group at his school and was president of the Student Government Association during the 2008-09 school year.

The Etz Chaim Award is encourages young adults to explore adult Jewish roles in the context of family, community and Jewish people.

Troop 1948 provides a Scouting experience in a Jewish context, Horn said. Scouts come from all parts of Montgomery County. For more information, visit www.troop1948.org.

Sending a little

‘home' for the holidays

The Jewish Family Center in Olney invites the community to help prepare Chanukah packages to send to Jewish soldiers serving in Afghanistan during a program titled "Show You Care with Candles" on Sunday.

Olney resident 1st Lt. Joey Messinger will greet participants via video-taped message at 11:30 a.m., and the packaging will follow at noon.

Participants will try to prepare at least 80 packages, Rabbi Eli Fink, executive director of the Jewish Family Center of Northern Montgomery County, told The Gazette.

The center will provide the basic items for the packages, but participants are invited to personalize them with additional items or cards and letters.

Those attending are asked for a donation of $18 to pay for postage and other costs associated with each package, Fink said.

For more information or to register, call 301-260-0210 or send an e-mail to rabbifink@betterfamily.org.

The center is located at 18318 Georgia Ave.

A day for acts of kindness

Congregation B'nai Shalom of Olney will hold "Mitzvah University — Pay it Forward," a day to help others with acts of kindness, on Sunday.

Nursery school children through adults are invited to participate.

The day will begin with registration at 9 a.m., followed at 10 a.m. by an opening program, discussions, youth service projects and games.

Among the organizations to be supported by donations and good deeds are Manna Food Center, John's Hopkins Children's Center, Teach for America and A Package from Home, which helps orphaned soldiers in Israel.

Discussions and lectures on social and environmental issues will be held during the day.

For information or to register, call Jill Epstein, education director, at 301-774-9323 or go to www.bnaishalomofolney.org

B'nai Shalom is located at 18401 Burtfield Drive.

Journalism Academy to offer 5K, family race Nov. 21

The Rockville High School Journalism Academy will hold a 5K and Family Fun Run on Saturday to pair community spirit with a healthy lifestyle.

"We wanted to create a fundraiser that would also promote community spirit and physical activity, especially since we are about to head into winter," said race director Peter Daddone, who is head of the journalism program at Rockville High.

The Fun Run will begin at 8 a.m., followed by the 5K at 8:30. Both will start at the high school stadium, move up Baltimore Road and around Rockville Civic Center Park, and end at the stadium.

The race course will be lined with Rockville cheerleaders and pom members, and include an opening ceremony in which the Rockville High School Pipe Band will participate.

"We wanted to create a unique, fun race experience," said student race director Robel Yared.

In an effort to promote community spirit, Daddone said there are steep discounts for family and group participation.

A family of four will be charged a rate of $45 to participate, with deeper discounts available to larger groups, Daddone said.

The individual race entry fee is $20.

Anyone interested in running should contact Daddone at peter_a_daddone@mcpsmd.org.

Individuals can enter the race by going to www.active.com, with site search RAMPace 5K.

The Journalism Academy is a school-wide program devoted to journalism, with courses in print and electronic journalism, radio production and television production. For more information, contact academy coordinator Tim Hibberd at timothy_c_hibberd@mcpsmd.org.

TLC honors four staff members for outstanding service

The Treatment and Learning Centers named four recipients of the agency's Jonathan M. Stein Staff Appreciation Award for 2009, which recognizes TLC's staff for its outstanding service.

TLC is a nonprofit organization providing educational, vocational and therapeutic services to children and adults with disabilities and typically developing children.

The award is funded by an endowment from the parents of Jonathan M. Stein in appreciation for the support TLC staff provided to their son.

"By their example, TLC's Stein Award recipients inspire every staff member in the organization to serve our community and our consumers at the highest level of excellence possible," Patricia Ritter, executive director of TLC, said in a prepared statement.

This year's Stein Award recipients are Gwenn Blau and Debbie Ezrin of Gaithersburg, Emily Kehr of Germantown and Matthew Vadney of Brunswick.

Blau is the educational director and Vadney is a special education teacher at TLC's Katherine Thomas School, an independent day school for students with language and learning disabilities and high-functioning autism, preschool through 12th grade.

Ezrin, director of development, is responsible for fundraising and special events such as the upcoming 5th annual King of the Road 5K Run/1 Mile Walk/Kids' Fun Run on Nov. 15.

Kehr is an employment specialist for TLC's Outcomes Service, helping adults with disabilities engage in employment, maximize independence, and access community resources.

Film Festival

to continue Sunday

B'nai Shalom of Olney, located at 18401 Burtfield Drive, will continue its year-long Film Festival on Sunday with the showing of "Arranged."

Films will be screened at 7 p.m. in B'nai Shalom's Berlin Sanctuary.

There is no cover charge but donations are welcome.

Those attending should check the Web site, www.bnaishalom

ofolney.org, for changes.

The schedule includes: "Encounter Point," Dec. 20; "Jellyfish," Jan. 31; "The Secrets," Feb. 21; "Gloomy Sunday," March 21; "Noodle," April 11; and "The Little Traitor," May 23.

If you have an interesting note about the people and the events of our community, send it to Judith Hruz, Editor, The Olney Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md. 20877, or e-mail it to jhruz@gazette.net. Our fax numbers are 301-670-7182 or 301-670-7183. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday for consideration for the following week. All items are subject to space availability.