A Thank You for this Year's Festival

After taking a COVID-19 break, I was very excited to see so many friends and partners at this year’s Atlanta Jewish Life Festival. Everyone I spoke to was of the same mind, thank goodness we are now able to come back out into the community for an event, laugh with friends, schmooze around the nosh pit and wander amongst the sharks in their new exhibit. If you were able to join us, you know how special the day was. The best part for me was seeing the smiles on all of the kids’ faces!

I would be remiss if I did not take a few moments of your time to thank the people and organizations that created this spectacular day. First, I want to thank our major sponsors: the Georgia Aquarium, the Marcus Foundation and Joe Lipsey III from Lipsey Mountain Spring Water. Without your input, there would indeed be no festival. I also want to thank the people that worked for several months leading up to the festival. It was their creativity and hard work that brought this to fruition: Gayle Rubenstein and Sarah Parrish from Balloons Over Atlanta; Tiffany Fessler from HL Strategy; Mary Cline and Taylor Reynolds from Georgia Aquarium’s Wolfgang Puck Catering; and Jodi Danis and Kyra Goldman from the Atlanta Jewish Times.

Michael A. Morris, owner and co-founder of the Atlanta Jewish Life Foundation.

I also want to thank all of the sponsors who paid more than their fair share. There are too many to list, but it is your contribution and participation in the community and, specifically, this event that allows things like the Atlanta Jewish Life Festival to thrive.

Finally, thank you to my partner, my editor, my publisher, Kaylene Ladinsky. Somehow, between publishing 32 issues a year, she finds the time to create, manage and execute this event flawlessly. It is no small feat bringing thousands of people from the Atlanta Jewish community together for entertainment, food, community engagement and camaraderie. The rousing success of this year’s festival demonstrates your commitment to our community, the Atlanta Jewish Times and me personally. Thank you.

Michael Morris
Publisher, Atlanta Jewish Times