[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 136 (Tuesday, September 30, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1921]]
             HONORS FOR DR. JOEL FELDMAN AND EDMUND SHAMSI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 30, 2003

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I have been greatly honored 
over the past several years to be able to share with my colleagues and 
the country the great respect I have for the work of the New England 
Chassidic Center, and of ROFEH International. Under the leadership of 
Grand Rabbi Levi Horowitz, both of these institutions provide 
significant service to the people of Greater Boston. ROFEH 
International, founded under the Rabbi's leadership, plays an 
extraordinarily important role in helping people take advantage of the 
extraordinary medical facilities that exist in the Greater Boston area. 
Annually, the work of these two organizations is celebrated at a 
dinner. This year that dinner will take place on November 16, in the 
Grand Ballroom of the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. The dinner features 
among other things two awards to people who have performed through 
these organizations great service to others. The recipients of the 
ROFEH International Distinguished Service Award and the Man of the Year 
Award are always people of great professional distinction who have 
shown a deep dedication to the well being of others, and have used 
their great talents to that end.
  This year's Man of the Year is Mr. Edmund I. Shamsi. The ROFEH 
Distinguished Service Awardee is Dr. Joel Feldman. Mr. Speaker, we talk 
often of the importance of volunteerism in achieving the quality of 
life that all of us want in this country, and I think it is important 
that we share examples of this. I therefore ask that the biographies of 
Edmund Shamsi and Dr. Joel Feldman be printed here, as an example of 
volunteerism at its best, and to mark the occasion of the Annual 
Dinner.

              Man of the Year Award--Mr. Edmund I. Shamsi

       Edmund I. Shamsi was born in Teheran, Iran, in 1945. When 
     Ed was four, his father--a successful business merchant--
     decided to make aliyah. As was the norm for Mideastern 
     families immigrating to Israel in the mid-century, the 
     Shamsis found themselves in a refugee camp. They spent six 
     months in Pardes Hannah and then another six months in Pardes 
     Kats, near Tel Aviv.
       The Shamsis eventually settled in B'nai Brak, where Ed 
     attended school. In his sophomore year of high school, Ed 
     relocated to Ohio, where he concluded his primary school 
     education. Ed obtained admission to Kent State University and 
     successfully completed his freshman year. Responding to a 
     greater call, he returned to Israel amid his studies, and 
     enlisted in the Israeli army.
       Upon discharge, Ed returned to America to complete his 
     education, this time at Boston University. Ed put himself 
     through BU by working as a truck driver during the summers, 
     as a cabdriver on vacations and as a Hebrew teacher at a 
     local synagogue.
       Post-graduation, Ed worked in the merchandizing department 
     of Zayre Corp. This kindled Ed's interest in real estate; he 
     bought a single-family house at auction, developed it and 
     sold it. Thus, the genesis of Ed's real estate career.
       In 1972, Edmund married Helene. Together, they are the 
     proud parents of three children: Joshua Jacob Sasson, 
     Benjamin Elazar David and Esther Pnina.
       In his capacity as president of the Sephardic synagogue in 
     Boston, Ed provides leadership for the Boston community at 
     large. To supplement this niche, Ed also serves as president 
     of Boston Group Development, Inc. and develops and manages 
     real estate properties in the United States, Israel and the 
     Ukraine. To date, Ed still holds residences in Brookline, MA 
     and Jerusalem, Israel.
                                  ____


            ROFEH International Distinguished Service Award

       Dr. Joel J. Feldman was born in New York, NY in 1943. He 
     spent his childhood years growing-up in Great Neck, Long 
     Island, NY.
       A Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School graduate, 
     Dr. Feldman completed his general residency at Massachusetts 
     General Hospital and his plastic surgery residency at Johns 
     Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He is currently a member of 
     the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS), and 
     former board member of the American Society of Aesthetic 
     Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). His resume also features a past 
     presidency at the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons.
       In an interview with the ``Job Explainer'' section of The 
     Boston Globe (March 16, 2003), Dr. Joel Joseph Feldman--
     employee of Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, as well as 
     Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical 
     School--discussed the motivation for his concentration on 
     facial plastic surgery. ``[T]he face is one of the most 
     complicated regions of the body and that's what the world 
     sees,'' he explained, ``These patients have so many scars and 
     burn marks throughout their body, [sic] restoring them to a 
     point where they feel comfortable is what I love to do.''
       Dr. Feldman devotes ``a significant portion of [his] time 
     to teaching nationally and overseas.'' He instructs aspiring 
     plastic surgeons in the latest techniques, like his own 
     innovative method for repositioning healthy tissue so as to 
     cover facial disfigurement.
       Married to Diane Feldman for 37 years. Dr. and Mrs. Feldman 
     met in elementary school in Great Neck, NY. Diane is a 
     professional artist. They now live in Belmont, MA. They have 
     two sons: Brad Feldman and Jeffrey Feldman. Brad, age 36, is 
     an ESPN TV international league professional soccer announcer 
     and currently is the TV announcer and head of communications 
     for the New England Revolution Soccer Team. Brad is married 
     to Elizabeth Graham, a government and community relations 
     director for Comcast. They have a 3-year-old daughter, 
     Miriam--also known as Mira and The Pepper. Brad, Liz and Mira 
     live in Lexington, MA. Dr. and Mrs. Feldman's other son, Jeff 
     is 33. He lives in Los Angeles and is a real estate 
     developer.

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