Halpern Akiva Academy rocks an 80’s Retro Gala Dinner in Calgary

by Maxine Fischbein

(AJNews) – It was a fun and festive evening on June 7 as the Halpern Akiva Academy held an 80’s Retro Gala Dinner honouring veteran volunteers Marina and Yannai Segal for their decades of service to the school and the Jewish community at large.

The theme for the evening was apt, as the couple both moved to Calgary in the 1980’s. Yannai is an Alumnus of Akiva and his and Marina’s son, Adeev, became the first second-generation student at the school.

Yannai—an engineer, entrepreneur and co-founder of GeologicAI—served as school president for two terms. On the community front, he is a former president of both Calgary Jewish Federation and Congregation House of Jacob-Mikveh Israel.

Marina—who built a career in facilities and property management—served as Akiva Academy board of directors for years, while contributing to virtually every initiative at the school. Beyond Akiva, she coordinated Hachnasat Orchim for HOJMI, ensuring that hospitality was extended to Jewish visitors wanting a kosher place to stay. Like Yannai, Marina also provided leadership on the HOJMI Board, serving as secretary.

Last March, the Segals added the best job description of all to their resumes with the birth of grandson Azarya Yisrael, son to Adeev and Tamar.

In honour of the young saba and savta, some120 people got their retro on at the Gala, sporting creative costumes, wigs, and accessories that took everyone back to the future.  It kept the mood light, though there were some poignant moments too as the Akiva family and the community bade farewell to the Segals as they prepared for one of the greatest mitzvot of all…Aliyah.

The annual fundraiser—held at the Carriage House Inn— marked the school’s 45^th anniversary. Festivities included delicious kosher eats and a lineup of heartwarming tributes, special presentations, and multi-media entertainment, stickhandled by emcee Michael Berlin.

In his D’var Torah, Rabbi Nisan Andrews set the tone with reference to the previous week’s Torah reading, Behaalotecha, stressing the vital importance of consistency in Jewish life, as represented in Aaron the High Priest’s role of lighting the menorah in the Holy Temple.

“Ensuring a Jewish future requires day-in-day-out commitment,” said Rabbi Andrews who paid tribute to those who keep the fire burning at the Halpern Akiva Academy, including teachers, parents, students and volunteers. He praised the Segal family for their many contributions to the school, and Jewish life in general, over several generations.

Among the family’s labours of love on behalf of Akiva Academy, Yannai’s mother, Agi Romer-Segal once served as a loved and respected teacher at the school.

Special guests at the gala included Minister of Advanced Education and MLA for Calgary Fish Creek Myles McDougall and Calgary Heritage MP Shuvaloy Majumdar—both of whom offered warm greetings—and Calgary Police Service Community Resource Officer Sergeant Trent Barker Petersen.

Calgary Jewish Federation CEO Rob Nagus was on hand—literally—rocking his retro slap bracelet…all the rage in the 1980’s.

Inspired by a hilarious observation Marina Segal had shared with him, Berlin quipped that although fundraising gala honourees are typically affluent, Marina and Yannai are “unemployed, homeless…and living in Marina’s parents’ basement.”

(It must here be clarified for the historical record that this was an unusual set of circumstances for the power couple, a temporary situation, as they prepared to depart for the Holy Land.)

Off beat and entertaining video entertainment at the gala included a parody of The Princess Bride directed by Berlin and featuring hilarious cameos by respected community members who proved that they are great sports.

Another video highlight was an 80’s music montage in which the Marina and Yannai’s four children, Adeev, Kedem, Atara, and Avital delivered clever, lighthearted and loving musical parodies about their parents’ voluntarism set to the music of such retro hits as Michael Jackson’s Beat It and Toto’s Africa. Weird Al Yankovic, an icon of the 80’s, would have been proud.

Tributes to Yannai and Marina by their parents Dr. Eliezer Segal and Agi Romer-Segal and Elena and Eugene Ragolsky, as well as friends and mentors Debbie and Nelson Halpern, were infused with humour, moving insights into the making of two super-volunteers, and heartfelt good wishes as they settle in Israel.

“We can only wish them all to be blessed with many opportunities to use their strengths…for the benefit of Israeli society,” said Romer-Segal.
The gala gave attendees the opportunity to get to know Dr. Jenna Pappas, who began her new role as Akiva Principal just six weeks prior.

“Everyone feels supported and valued in this community and everybody works together to make it a special place,” Pappas said.

Head of Judaic Studies, Morah Hannah Andrews movingly described the many ways Marina and Yannai have supported the school and referenced a lovely piece of art that had previously been gifted them so that it could be included in the container shipment that preceded them to their new home.

In his remarks, Yannai Segal, like Rabbi Andrews, referenced the Parsha read on the Shabbat prior to the Gala, describing how the menorah in the holy temple was lit, holding one torch to another “until the flame rises and burns on its own in the second flame.”

“That theme spoke to me as I reflected on Marina and I, and what we tried to do over these decades in the community,” said Yannai. “We didn’t build a school; we didn’t establish a Shul. We found flames already burning for us.”

Through their many years of service to the school, the shul, and the community, Yannai and Marina similarly ensured that their flames rose and sparked the torches of others, including an actively engaged group of next-generation parents.

“We already see that there is an amazing group coming up as the young guns,” Marina said, adding, “We are incredibly excited to see what the future holds for the Calgary Jewish community, and we will be cheering you on from Israel.”

While Marina and Yannai Segal will be missed throughout the Calgary Jewish community, the overwhelming sentiment at the Gala was excitement for them as they, in Yannai’s words, “…go stand under another flame…one that has burned for a few thousand years in the land that our children now call home.”

For more information about the Halpern Akiva Academy, go to www.halpernakiva.ca

Maxine Fischbein is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter