Alex Pomerantz
Chesapeake, Virginia
How is your Hero working to make the world a better place?
Alex gives of himself more than any person I know. If there is a committee, Board or organization that needs someone to help out, Alex is always there. He is an inspiration to me and someone who deserves to be recognized for his selfless way of life. Alex Gary Pomerantz was born on June 21, 1964 and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. After running a successful Deli restaurant chain and working as a trainer for a different restaurant chain, Alex met Helen Frank and moved to Hampton Roads in 1993. He and Helen were married in 1994. Since moving here, Alex has dedicated himself to Congregation Beth El in Norfolk and to the entire Jewish Community. Alex is the immediate past-president of the Congregation Beth El Men's Club, serves as the Synagogue's Assistant Treasurer, and sits on both the Executive Board of Directors and the Board of Directors. He is a very recognizable face at weekday minyan, as well as Shabbat morning services. Alex also is a member of Beth El's Shomerim team, which is a group of individuals who will sit with a deceased body and read psalms and other holy texts so that the person is not left alone, until burial. Alex is well-known throughout the Jewish Community also for his work on behalf of the Simon Family JCC. Alex is a member of the Board of Directors, where he has served for many years and provided invaluable services. He has co-chaired the annual JCC golf tournament, which is no small undertaking. At this year's recently completed event, over $50,000 was raised for the JCC. Alex has also been Chair of the JCC's annual Norfolk Emergency Shelter Team (NEST) week, where the JCC, in conjunction with Temple Israel, provides shelter and meals for a week for homeless people in Norfolk. Alex has not only donated countless hours to this cause, but has also raised emergency funds for the organization when it ran out of money and could not afford to fix its bus, which is used to transport homeless from a site in downtown Norfolk to the shelter sites throughout Norfolk. Alex has also used his own funds to pay for the entire dinner prepared for the 40+ homeless residents hosted each night. He has provided these people with warm food, a friendly smile and even some sage advice.