By Lina Broydo
Meet the Northern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (NCJSHOF) Class of 2025 Inductees which includes (from left to right) the Honorable Quentin Kopp, Chaired the Task Force that brought Super Bowl XIX to Stanford; Amit Elor, 2024 Olympic Games Gold Medalist in Women’s Wrestling; Roxy Bernstein, Renowned Collegiate and Professional Sports Broadcaster; Dennis Brown & Erica Arteseros, are the recipients of the “Mr. & Mrs. Mensch” Award. Dennis Brown is a former SF 49er Super Bowl Champion. His wife Erica Arteseros is an Assistant Deputy Chief, San Francisco Fire Department.
The Mensch Award is presented to an individual (s) not of the Jewish faith, who epitomizes the concept of “TIKKUN OLAM” repairing the world through generosity and charitable service to the community at large. I asked the late Tad Taube (1931-2025), the Honorable Consul of Poland to Northern California and one of the 50 Most Influential Jews in America, “What is a Mensch?’’ Taube answered without a second of hesitation: ‘’The super human being.’’ Tad Taube was a member of the Class of 2008 inductees to the Northern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in tennis.
The 18th Annual Induction Dinner Gala will take place on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at the world famous Olympic Golf Club’s Lakeside Clubhouse at 599 Skyline Blvd. in San Francisco, the stunningly picturesque site to a number of the past U.S. Open Golf Championships. 4:30pm – cocktails and hors d’oeuvres; Silent Auction; 6:00pm Induction Dinner and Awards; 8:45pm Adjournment. Complimentary valet parking.
MCed by an award-winning American Sportscaster Ted Robinson, the nearly sold-out banquet attracts many Bay Area luminaries in sports, media and the business community, whose sponsorship and generous support is very vital to the NCJSHOF Youth Fund and Scholarships. Elected by the executive committee of educators, the extraordinary athletes are being honored for their athletic achievements and for their continued support for the community at large.
“In addition to this year’s superb induction class, the NCJSHOF will also celebrate and award 10 local youth with scholarships for their upcoming college careers,“ announced Steve Sockolov, the NCJSHOF President.
“The funds raised from this event provide scholarships, mentoring and assistance for Jewish high school seniors participating in sports, community service and a high level of academic excellence. In addition, the organization educates the public on the contributions Jewish sports figures have made to their community and it forges positive relationships with diverse organizations and individuals promoting the value of sports in our daily lives.
The NCJSHOF also partners with the UCSF Sports Medicine Program to study and protect student athletes from the detrimental effects of concussions incurred through participation in contact sports.”
To learn more about the Northern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and to purchase tickets to The 18th Annual Induction Dinner Gala visit www.ncjshof.org.
Photos courtesy of NCJSHOF.
