Springfield—Congregation Israel (CIS) has announced two awards that will be given out at its 40th annual dinner, to be held on April 28 at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston. The Community Business Leadership Award will be given to Joseph Fleming, Executive Vice President/Land Group of Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor. The Joseph Tammam Memorial Youth Community Service Scholarship Award will be given to Jordana Hanover, Bruriah High School senior.
Fleming is not only an award-winning civil engineer, but a visionary real estate development executive who has overseen dozens of highly prominent and acclaimed construction projects, from houses of worship and retail centers, to corporate office developments and residential housing.
He joined PS&S in 1984, and over the past 30 years he has helped ignite and oversee a major expansion of the firm’s business in key business areas, while managing a rapidly growing staff of engineers, surveyors, and technicians. Among his many accomplishments to date was his participation in the master planning, engineering, and design of over 10,000,000 square feet of commercial retail/entertainment projects, including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the Borgata Casino Hotel, Liberty Village, and Woodbury Common. Simultaneously, he was involved in the master planning, engineering, and design of more than 15,000,000 square feet of corporate office and industrial development projects, serving nationally and internationally recognized clients such as AT&T, Federal Express, Fuji Film, Hoffman La-Roche, and NJ Transit. Together with his team at PS&S, Fleming has also been responsible for the master planning and site civil engineering of more than 20,000 residential homes for renowned builders including Atlantic Realty, K. Hovnanian, Belle Mead Development, and Pulte.
One of Fleming’s special interests is contributing to the design and permitting of houses of worship throughout New Jersey. Chief among these projects was Springfield’s Mikvah Yisroel, as well as multiple assignments for Touro College, the Chabad Center for Jewish Life in Hillsborough, and the Archdiocese of Newark. He has also helped manage the construction of parks in Hudson and Essex Counties.
A graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Civil Engineering, Fleming was honored in 2013 with the Eminent Engineer Award by Tau Beta Pi; with the Best Project in New York State award, by the New York State Society of Professional Engineers; and with the Changing Places, Changing Lives Community Hero Award, by Groundwork Hudson Valley. Last May, he was honored by the NJIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering with its Distinguished Alumni Award.
Fleming and his wife Mary Pat celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last December. Longtime residents of the Village of South Orange and parishioners at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, they are the proud parents of Melanie Rose, Matthew Joseph, J. Jeremiah, and Joseph Patrick.
Jordana Hanover has won a place in the hearts of children and adults alike at Congregation Israel, the only shul community she has ever known. A senior at Bruriah High School in Elizabeth, Jordana has been involved in myriad activities, including managing the basketball team; participating in the annual school play and musical; and serving on the green team, blood drive, and art committees. Outside school she helps children and young adults with various medical and educational difficulties, a vocation she embraced after participating in GIVE, a summer program focusing on the special needs community. Since then, she has expanded her interest in helping disadvantaged adults and children, by working at Camp Kaylie and volunteering for the Friendship Circle and Torah Circle groups. This coming summer, she plans to work at Camp HASC.
From a young age, Jordana has also been active at Congregation Israel. For many years, she has supported a multitude of shul-based activities, including helping her parents at the annual shul BBQ and Purim fest, helping Sisterhood members pack and deliver traditional Purim gift packets, and overseeing the annual boutique. A regular attendee at Shabbat groups, she is currently a group leader, and continues to help set up and work at the annual Purim carnival and many other youth activities. For the first time ever, the CIS Youth Directors created a youth council earlier this year, to engage more teenagers in youth activities and to help create new programs—and Jordana proudly serves as Co-President. She will be attending Shaalvim for Women in Israel for her gap year.
CIS is New Jersey’s oldest existing orthodox synagogue, its predecessor having been founded in Newark in 1882. Its spiritual leader is Rabbi Chaim Marcus.
For further information contact David S. Frank, VP Communications of CIS at [email protected].
