Jewish National Fund Honors 2 Couples

Newport Beach residents Lee and King Burstein and Wendy and Rabbi Mark Miller will be presented Tree of Life awards by the Orange County/Long Beach Region unit of the Jewish National Fund on Thursday at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel in Costa Mesa.

The awards, which are the most prestigious given by the group, recognize the residents’ involvement with civic, cultural and humanitarian concerns in Orange County.

The Bursteins have long been active in a number of clubs and civic organizations, as well as politics and philanthropy. King Burstein recently retired from the family leather business.

Rabbi Miller has served as the spiritual leader of Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach for the past 15 years.

The awards program coincides with the 90th anniversary of the Jewish group.

The Fullerton Museum Center was one of eight museums and art centers across the nation to be presented a “Multicultural Initiative” grant of $3,000 from the Metropolitan Life Foundation.

The money was used to help fund the museum’s exhibit “The Day of the Dead: A Consequence of Life,” which examines the Mexican tradition of celebrating death as part of life.

Sharon Ratliffe, Irvine resident and Golden West College professor, was recently elected a vice president of the World Communication Assn., an organization of communications experts. She has attended and presented papers at conferences of the group including those in Singapore and Finland.

Rudy Friend, 17, a senior at El Modena High School in Orange, has been elected to a one-year term as Youth Representative to the California Council on Children and Youth. Rudy has been active in the Greater Volunteer Center of Orange County and wrestles and plays golf for his school.

Christopher Reimann, Fullerton resident and Troy High School graduate, has been named the Outstanding Educational Scholar by Michigan State University’s college of education and will receive a three-year, $6,000 annual fellowship.

The school said Reimann was selected on the basis of exceptional aptitude for doctoral study in education, and for his interest in the problems of teaching and learning through scholarly work.

He is currently a consultant for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in Detroit.

John Williams of Monarch Beach has been named 1991 Realtor of the Year by the Laguna Beach Board of Realtors. He is president of the group and is a state director of the California Assn. of Realtors.

Tustin resident Matthew B. Blitch, a cadet captain at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was named commander of a 120-man cadet company after a competitive selection among his classmates.

He will hold the position along with his duties as a member of the cadet honor committee.

The 1988 Tustin High School graduate will graduate in May to begin his Army career. He is the son of Carole and Michael Blitch of Tustin.

PCL Construction Services Inc. of Irvine was named a national winner of the 1992 Design Awards Program for its construction of the new Century High School in Santa Ana. The award is sponsored by the Concrete Reinforcement Steel Institute and the American Institute of Architects.

DeAnne Keple, a Westminster resident and Cypress College medical record technology student, was recently awarded a $250 scholarship by the Greater Orange County Health Information Assn. She also works for Doctors Hospital in Lakewood.

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