Bonnie Juran Ullner, Hadassah’s new Cincinnati Chapter president

The Cincinnati Chapter of Hadassah will hold its Opening Meeting/Installation Luncheon on Monday, Sept. 10 at 11:30 a.m. at Carrabba’s Italian Grill. All are invited to attend as we install our new president, Bonnie Juran Ullner and other new board members, as well as thank out-going co-presidents Sharon Casper and Bobbi Handwerger. Chef and cookbook author Sheilah Kaufman will present a delightful program about the history of the Jews and chocolate, including a chocolate tasting.

Over the years, Kaufman has earned a name for herself as a “chef extraordinaire” with her uniquely refreshing, creative yet practical approach that demystifies gourmet cooking. The author of 26 cookbooks, she said, “For the past 40 years, I have been crisscrossing the country from Alaska and Hawaii to Maine and Mexico, demystifying cooking and teaching fearless, fussless, easy ways to elegant cooking to all ages (including tots and moms/dads). My recipes are user friendly and the style is simple, unique and loaded with hints and tips. Everything can be made ahead or frozen, takes about 20 minutes preparation time, and tastes fabulous.”

Bonnie Juran Ullner is very excited to become the next Cincinnati Chapter president. Three years ago, her youngest daughter was in Israel on a Federation trip, when she fell deathly ill and was taken to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem. The doctors there correctly diagnosed Wilson’s disease and began treating her for it, while arranging with Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York to procure a needed liver transplant. Hadassah Hospital doctors and staff flew with her in an adapted El Al jet back to the U.S., where she received her new liver. Without the excellent care at Hadassah Hospital, her daughter surely would have died.

Eternally thankful, Bonnie began volunteering for Hadassah, and in 2010, she was a guest speaker at the Hadassah National Convention in Florida. “Prior to Jessa’s illness, Hadassah was an organization I was vaguely familiar with but it certainly was not front and center on my radar screen. And now it has become of the utmost importance to me, and has now given me the vehicle in which to express my thanks for what they did for me and my family and my newly acquired passion for the work they do both in the United States and Israel and beyond.”