By Melissa Hunter
Assistant Editor
Continuing from last week, The American Israelite is happy to announce our choices for the 2024 People of the Year. With vast experience working for and volunteering with causes throughout Cincinnati, these outstanding individuals are examples of what it means to be pillars of the Jewish community.
Barbara and Dr. Ron Solomon
Barbara and Dr. Ron Solomon
Barbara and Dr. Ron Solomon have been active members at Congregation Adath Israel for many years. “When the kids were growing up and in Sunday school, it got me to the synagogue,” Ron explains. “I was active in the men’s club and even became president. When our kids were in high school, we had a group of men that would come in on Sunday morning and cook breakfast for them. We had close to 100 kids before Sunday school classes, and we made them eggs and bagels and hash browns and hot chocolate. It really was a very enjoyable experience, not only the camaraderie amongst the men, but providing for the kids. They really were excited about it. It’s harder and harder to get kids to want to be in synagogue, so that was a worthwhile experience.” Another project the men’s club took on was rejuvenating the synagogue’s Purim carnival by making a lot of the games instead of having to rent them. Many of those games are still in use some 30 years later.
Ron served on the board of the synagogue and was on the search committee when Rabbi Irvin M. Wise was hired. When Ron’s sister made Aliyah to Israel 30 years ago, Ron attended a Jewish National Fund (JNF) concert fundraiser. This led to him becoming involved in JNF, and he is still on the board of directors to this day. He has made a few trips to Israel and has been on a number of leadership missions with JNF. He also attended several national conferences with JNF as well. “I have learned so much about the world of philanthropy through JNF,” he says. “They are such a premiere organization.” Ron is also amazed at the connections he’s made through JNF. “I am on a task force for the city of Arad, and we have these Zoom meetings once a month, and the (former) mayor is on the Zoom calls. That’s kind of neat to be connected with these (important players) in Israel.”
Ron’s career as a respected dentist spanned many years. He had a practice near Rookwood, serving the Hyde Park, Oakley, and Norwood areas. After his two partners retired, he moved his practice to a more upscale area and brought in a graduate from dental school who later became his new partner. They practiced together for nearly 15 years, and at the end of 2022, Ron sold his half of the practice. While he planned to continue working at the practice with a less demanding schedule, Ron was diagnosed with cancer just two weeks after the sale. In the years since, he has been implemental in setting up a pancreatic research fund at the University of Cincinnati, using the skills and knowledge that he gained over the years from Adath and JNF. “That has been my journey the past two years, and I’m doing well,” Ron says.
For Barb, her focus has always been on education. With a background as a teacher, Barb taught Sunday school at both Adath Israel and Rockdale when her children were young. Having a son with a language learning disability, she saw firsthand how Hebrew proved challenging for him. As a result, Barb was instrumental in establishing a resource room to help him and other children like him who struggled with the language. “It was me and another member from Israel working together. I could handle the English and the skills that a child with learning challenges might need, and she dealt with the actual Hebrew because my Hebrew was limited.” When her son entered kindergarten, Barb started teaching at the Cincinnati Hebrew Day School. She was there for 12 years, during which time she used the skills she had as an educator and her experience teaching Sunday school to create a resource room there as well. “I worked really hard with kids who had issues,” she reflects, accommodating their needs often in creative ways. Her passion for education also led her to teach second and fourth grade at Rockwern (then Yavneh Day School).
Barb was also an active member of Adath Israel’s sisterhood when she was younger and was also part of the search committee. Now, she volunteers at the synagogue’s gift shop. She also teaches adult education classes at the University of Cincinnati’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). Many of the classes she’s taught have been well received, including a course called Where Did the Nazis Go?, based on the book “The Nazis Next Door,” and a course called Question of Forgiveness, based on Simon Wiesenthal’s novel “The Sunflower.”
The Solomon’s commitment to the Jewish community stems from their strong family values and the Jewish upbringing they each received growing up. “I was raised in a culturally rich family,” Barb explains. “Many weekends, I would go with my aunt to services. That’s where my love of becoming involved in services comes from. The caveat was that I would get a corned beef sandwich and coleslaw at the end!” Barb had another aunt and uncle who loved hosting large family gatherings. “My aunt would have seders for 70-80 people. We always had a big Hanukkah party. If I had to trace back (my love of Judaism), it would be to my one aunt and uncle, and my other aunt who took me to services. It came from a loving family that was very traditionally oriented. We carried on these traditions with our kids.”
Ron grew up with a conservative background. “My mom kept a kosher home, but my father was more of a secular Jew who was very involved as a volunteer,” he explains. “They were always philanthropic. Between my mother and father, they set an example for myself and my brother and sister of what it means to be involved in and give back to the Jewish community. When we became parents and joined the synagogue, we asked ourselves how we could get involved in doing things that could connect our interests with our kids’ interests and set an example of involvement for them.”
Marlene and Howard Mayers
Marlene and Howard Mayers
Marlene and Howard Mayers met at the University of Cincinnati and married in the summer of 1968. Marlene began her career as a teacher for Losantiville Elementary School, but after the birth of their first child, her priority was her children. She volunteered for any organization or school they attended, including the Jewish Community Center (JCC) Early Childhood Center and later, the lunch program at Rockwern Academy (then Yavneh Day School) and the Walnut Hills High School library. When her children grew older, Marlene volunteered at the Madisonville Assistance Center teaching single teenage mothers to help them acquire their Graduate Educational Diploma (GED). After nearly seven years, she and a fellow friend who worked there, Jane Gardner, were recruited by the principal at John P. Parker School to teach disadvantaged first-graders to read. Marlene’s passion for this work led her to serve in this capacity for almost 30 years, during which time she taught dozens and dozens of children to read. Throughout this time, she always made sure the family had dinner together around the table.
Howard learned electrical contracting from his father and continues the family business as President of Mayers Electric. The company has been responsible for many major projects in and around Cincinnati, including the Aronoff Center, the Fifth Third Operation Center, Mercy Anderson, General Electric in Evandale, Proctor and Gamble, and the recent remodel of Siddall and Calhoun Halls at the University of Cincinnati, as well as the Kingsgate Marriott Center on campus. According to Howard, the project he is most proud of is The Great American Ballpark. “I enjoy my electrical work tremendously,” Howard says.
As members of Golf Manor Synagogue, Howard sat on the synagogue’s board, where he also served as president for many years. The Mayers are also part-founders of Sha’arei Torah, and as Chairman Emeritus, Howard still serves on the board there. He has served (and currently serves) on the boards of many professional and religious organizations, including the JCC, Orthodox Home Board, Hillel, the National Electrical Contractors Association, and the Butler County Apprenticeship Board, where he worked on initiatives to bring both minority men and women into the industry. “We were the first in the country to meet goals to hire minorities and women into construction,” he says. Howard was also elected to the Academy of Electrical Contractors. When his oldest daughter was in 3rd grade, she attended Yavneh Day School (now Rockwern). At the time, classes were held at Congregation Adath Israel. One of Howard’s claims to fame was that he voted to buy the building in Kenwood where Rockwern now resides. “For the next 30 years, I took care of Yavneh all the way through the time we built the gymnasium the way it is now, through several expansions,” Howard says. “At first, it was hard just to maintain the building, but we tried to keep the school on financial solid ground. I was put on the first of the executive committees, and we had meetings where we tried to please the faculty and keep the doors open. As long as the doors were open and the kids were in the school, we were successful.”
Perhaps the Mayers’ greatest legacy, however, is their family. “We have three children and 10 grandchildren,” Howard says. “We’re very proud of all of them.”
