[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING THE GARAZI FAMILY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 29, 2015

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the continued 
efforts of a local family in my congressional district who have made 
extraordinary efforts to improve the lives of our elderly. In a few 
short weeks, the Garazi family will hold its 5th Annual Solomon Garazi 
Memorial Day at the Races to benefit the Miami Jewish Health Systems, 
otherwise known as the Jewish Home. The Jewish Home is a great South 
Florida institution that has done, and continues to do, so much to 
improve quality of life for seniors.
  Solomon Garazi, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 85, was known 
for his honor, integrity, and strong spirit. In 1960, the Garazis fled 
the brutal Castro regime and sought refuge in Miami, where Solomon and 
his in-laws founded two businesses--the Suave Shoe Corporation and the 
Oriental Trading Company. Suave later became the first company owned by 
Cuban refugees to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
  Solomon was a very prominent member of the Jewish Community. He was 
one of the founders and a president of Temple Moses. He served on the 
Board of Directors of the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center, 
and was the first Cuban American to be on the board of the Greater 
Miami Jewish Federation. He also helped establish the Sephardic Jewish 
Studies Program at the University of Miami.
  Additionally, Solomon was extensively involved with the Miami Jewish 
Health Systems. In 2009 the Jewish Home's Latin Auxiliary, which 
Solomon helped organize in 1980, bestowed upon him its Lifetime 
Achievement Award for all his work on behalf of the institution. The 
Miami Jewish Health Systems serves more than 12,000 patients, 
participants and residents annually, through more than a dozen varied 
healthcare programs and services. Its services include rehabilitation 
assistance, religious programming, and full residential care. It also 
is at the forefront of innovative research into dementia and other 
geriatric conditions. Currently, The Mental Health and Memory Center at 
Miami Jewish Health Systems is running an innovative clinical trial to 
evaluate medications to treat and potentially cure Alzheimer's.
  The Solomon Garazi Memorial Day will directly support the maintenance 
and the expansion of the Jewish Home's Latin Auxiliary Music Therapy 
Program. The program offers a full-time board-certified music 
therapist, musical instruments, and a wide range of music media, 
recordings, equipment and resources.
  Through musical involvement in a therapeutic context, individuals' 
physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs can be addressed from 
a unique angle. The music serves as a powerful medium, helping them 
express themselves in ways words do not allow them to. It opens up a 
new world of language for them, one that is not bound by the need for 
precise articulation. The sense of empowerment that this therapy 
fosters improves lives.
  I commend the Garazi family--Esther Garazi, Isaac and Anita Garazi, 
Blanca and Richard Schoonover, and their families--as well as everyone 
else involved with the Day at the Races, for their work in putting this 
event together year after year. Thank you for supporting a pillar of 
our South Florida community.

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