Hall of Fame 2006 Inductees

Milton M. Gaynor was one of our city’s pioneers who moved to Miami Beach in 1924 and from humble beginnings became a successful and innovative business man and a charitable, active community leader. Milton graduated from Ida Fisher High School in 1935, where he lettered in basketball and acquired the nickname of “Speedy”. He graduated with honors from the University of Florida in 1939 and achieved greatness as handball champion.

Milton served his country as Chief Statistic Officer of the Third Army Air Force, attaining the rank of Captain. While in the service, Milton attended Harvard School of Business. After the war, Milton started Gaynor and Company, Inc., an insurance agency, which today is the longest serving member of the Professional Insurance Agents of Florida. In 1952, he established Washington Federal Savings & Loan Association with Senators Claude Pepper and Jack Gordon, Arthur and Jack Courshon, and others, serving as Founding Treasurer, Senior Vice President and Director. In 1963, Miltonco-founded Jefferson National Bank ,serving as Founding Director and Chairman of its Advisory Board.

He served on the state Legislative Committee of the Florida Savings &Loan League. As well as having a true business acumen, Milton worked diligently to help others. He was active in Jewish affairs and served as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Temple Beth Sholom, and was involved in The American Jewish Congress, The Greater Miami Jewish Federation, The Greater Miami Israel Bonds Organization, and numerous other groups. In 1983, he received the Gates of Jerusalem Medal. Equally active in educational, arts and civic organizations, Milton became a founder and director of the Learning Disabilities Foundation, served on the executive committee of the Board of Trustees of Barry University and was on the President’s Committee of the University of Miami. He served as president of the Great Artist Series, an organization which helped bring about the cultural revival of Miami Beach in the1970’s and supported the Greater Miami Opera, the Chopin Foundation, the Dranoff Foundation, and many other cultural organizations. Each year the Gaynor family presents the Stephen Simon Perell Award to honor the top Beach High graduating senior in music. Milton Gaynor took an active role in helping to shape the community he lived and worked in. His many contributions are still visible and viable. He was a man who touched the lives of many.

Gary Gerson is a man whose 1950 Miami Beach Senior High School yearbook referred to him as “The Wheel” and many suggest the intervening years have made this prophecy come true. Gary is one who, in addition to working at his chosen profession of accounting, finds time for dozens of charitable causes and reveals a passion for promoting education. Mr. Gerson graduated from University of Florida in 1954 at the age of 20, having completed both a bachelors degree in accounting and a masters in taxation in just four years. The following year, he received his CPA license— making him the youngest CPA in the country at that time. Gary then became a Naval officer serving his country in the Korean War on a destroyer.

In 1959, he began the practice of public accounting and founded one of Florida’s leading accounting firms which is known today as Gerson, Preston, Robinson &Company, P.A. Mr. Gerson has also participated in many philanthropic endeavors. Most notably he has contributed through efforts as well as money, to the University of Florida – Gerson Hall at the University has the distinction of being the first college academic building in the country built solely to house a school of accounting. In addition, Mr. Gerson is actively involved at the University in promoting and supporting the School of Jewish Studies and the athletic program, where he initiated the first tutoring program for the athletes. Gary has also established scholarships at UF, the University of Miami, FIU and the New World School of the Arts, always advocating that no student should be denied an education because of financial need. Although committed to the University of Florida, where in 1994 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2002, was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, he also has shown his dedication to Mt. Sinai Medical Center where he served as Chairman of the Board and as President. There have been significant increases in indigent free care and research as a result of Gary Gerson’s tireless efforts in making Mt. Sinai Medical Center one of the best not-for-profit, privately held centers in the country. Gary has also been active in the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Temple Beth Sholom and the Concert Association of Florida.

It is no wonder that Mr. Gerson has received distinguished honors and awards validating his interest in so many different fields of endeavor. From his receiving the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year Award in1996, to St. Thomas University awarding him an honorary doctor of laws degree, to being The Jewish Star Times“ Man of the Year”, Mr. Gerson continues to work and to give back to his community. He truly understands the value and meaning of the word – service.

The greatest gift anyone could ask for is to be of service to others. The embodiment of this way of life is Sylvia Laeser Goldsmith who reveals a work ethic, positive attitude and a multitude of accomplishments in terms of service given to our city, her community, friends and family. Sylvia grew up on Miami Beach and after graduating from Beach High in1970, she attended the University of Florida where she received a Bachelors degree in psychology. She then attended the University of Miami where she received a Masters degree in education.

Soon thereafter, Sylvia worked for several not for profit agencies that assisted the mentally challenged, but it has been her twenty-five years at Jewish Vocational Services that have displayed her ability to create and implement programs to help those less fortunate in the community. Sylvia played a significant role in merging three major social service providers: JVS, JFS and CCJE into one of the largest non-profit social service agencies in South Florida. She worked her way up, selflessly, to become CEO of Jewish Vocational Services and at present is the COO of the new Jewish Community Services of South Florida .Among her many contributions are such programs as the Miami Beach Homeless Prevention Program and the Miami Beach Senior Meals Nutrition Program. She oversees a Holocaust Survivor Support Program and training and employment programs for new immigrants and others with barriers to employment. “Sylvia is the heart and soul of her organization and the guiding force for all her staff,” stated friend, Bonnie Sender Obregon.

These represent only a portion of the many programs she has been involved with throughout her professional career. Her vision and dedication to aiding those less fortunate is amplified through her commitment to organizations that help to develop the potential and self sufficiency of individuals throughout our community. She has served as the President of Miami Dade’s lead agency, The Community Committee for Developmental Handicaps, and as an Executive Board member of the Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, as well as on the Board of the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services. Goldsmith has been the recipient of the Michael Goodman Award for leadership in the field of Rehabilitation, the Claudia Fogel Award from the Association of Jewish Vocational Service Professionals and was a scholarship fellow and presenter at the World Conference of Jewish Communal Services in Israel. Sylvia Laeser Goldsmith’s devotion to the community is never-ending, does her job with humility and is always the consummate professional.

The Miami Beach Senior High School Hall of Fame honors people who have made substantial contributions to their discipline. Jay Mechling, a 1963 graduate, has actually developed one. When he joined the faculty of the Davis campus of the University of California in 1971,with his newly awarded doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and a pony tail, American Studies was a small field. Presently, the pony tail is long gone, but American studies is a much larger, thriving and important area in higher education and Jay has opened people’s minds to an exciting world of academic scholarship that hardly existed.

As a significant educator, Jay has not been content to limit his expertise to only one area of study, but has made important contributions in six overlapping areas of academia: American Studies theory, rhetoric as the basis for cultural analysis of the cold war; the symbolic meanings of animals and plants; folkloristics and the expressive culture of children. He is best known for his pioneering work on the culture of children’s lives and is one of the three senior editors for the four-volume Encyclopedia of American Studies. In addition, Mechling has penned an essay “Sweet talk: the moral rhetoric against sugar” that has been reviewed as”…one of the most profoundly insightful studies of food symbolism that anyone has ever written.” In all, Jay has published over one hundred essays and articles in books, journals and encyclopedias.

Another indicator of how important his work is in his field is that some of his writings are required reading in every doctoral as well as Masters program in folklore. In addition to his recognition as an outstanding scholar, writer and researcher, Jay Mechling has proven to be a meritorious teacher who has received numerous teaching awards. For thirty-five years, his students have stated that he taught them to think and analyze and caused life changing events for them. No doubt this gives credence to his latest award: the UC Davis Prize for distinguished accomplishments in research, teaching and service. Jay is a renaissance man of sorts, not content to specialize in only one discipline. In recognition of his scholarship, his intellect and his myriad diverse accomplishments, he has already received a long list of fellowships and awards. His continued interest in education allowed him to be appointed the Project Director for a grant given by the National Endowment for the Humanities to UCD for the creation of a Pacific Regional Humanities Center. He received the UCD Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award in 1993and the Mary Turpie Award from the American Studies Association in 1998,for his outstanding achievements in teaching and curricular development at the local, regional, and national levels. He was elected a Fellow of the American Folklore Society in 1998, and was named distinguished Alumnus of the Year 2002 by Stetson University. For these reasons and others, “Jay Mechling has been noted as one of the most original thinkers in American culture – one whose ideas and writings are among the most influential of the past three decades,” states Jeffrey Chesky, PhD.

Bernard Paul Nusbaum, M.D, a1970 graduate of MBHS has distinguished himself as a pioneer in the field of hair transplantation having performed more than 10,000 hair transplant procedures in the last two decades, as well as being one of the first physicians certified by the American Board of Hair Restoration surgery. “Dr. Bernard Nusbaum exemplifies life-long extraordinary professional achievement and the generous use of those talents to help others in need, ”states Bruce Singer, Past President, MBSH Alumni Association.

After graduating from the University of Colorado, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1974, he matriculated at the University of Miami School of Medicine, where he received the Trustee Scholarship for Academic Achievement and graduated in 1979. Dr. Nusbaum embarked on a lofty career in Dermatology specializing in the field of Hair Loss and Hair Restoration. He has served as Chief Resident of Dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach and as Clinical Instructor in the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the UM School of Medicine. In addition, from 1981 to the present, Dr. Nusbaum has written at least 27 research and clinical articles appearing in medical journals, as well as critiques on new hair transplant techniques regularly published in medical literature. With a myriad of honors bestowed upon him as lecturer, television and radio spokesperson on hair loss, to recognition in More Magazine as one of America’s best dermatologists, his election as an Officer of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery where he is slated to be president in 2008, reveals the depth of his involvement in his professional life. He is equally involved in other professional organizations and charitable causes and has used his talents to make significant contributions to society.

Bernie’s notable pro bono works include consulting at the South Dade Community Health Institute; volunteering services at “Project Restore,” an organization devoted to reconstructive surgery for children who are burn victims; acting as career counselor for medical students at UM and being an active member of the Hope Center. “I can’t tell you how much pleasure it gives me to see the difference I have made in people’s lives. So many of my patients, men, women and children have seemingly been reborn. They feel better about themselves…with a renewed sense of confidence and self esteem,” states Dr. Nusbaum. Contributing to the physical and emotional recovery of his patients has been his ultimate reward. From his auspicious beginnings as the lead actor starring in “The King and I” and “Dino” at MBSH, Dr. Bernard Nusbaum continues to prove his “star” quality as an exemplary doctor, human being and humanitarian.

Montaigne, the writer and philosopher, suggested that "there is still more intelligence needed to teach others than to be taught". Vic Vaccaro “embodied this idea” as a wise and compassionate teacher who made an indelible imprint on the lives of many of his students. Gaspar (Vic) Vaccaro, a native Floridian grew up in the Ybor City section of Tampa, Florida. As a high school student at Hillsborough Senior, he played football and received the Guy Trophy Award in 1943 as the outstanding football player of Hillsborough County.

It seemed a natural progression to attend the University of Florida where he continued playing outstanding football and graduated in 1949 with a degree in education. In 1950, after serving in the military, Vic was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but his professional football career was cut short due to a series of injuries. It was shortly after this that he made a move to Miami and began an illustrious career as a teacher and a coach He actively jumped into the role of math teacher and assistant football coach at Miami Beach High School in the early 50's and remained there until1963 when he transferred to Southwest High School to coach both football and baseball. But the path back to Beach High loomed too large and in 1965,Coach Vaccaro returned to Beach High as the head football coach and as an active physical education teacher.

At this point "under the leadership of Vic Vaccaro the Hi-Tide football team was reborn", stated Chuck Fieldson, a colleague and coach. Dr. Sol Lichter, the principal of the school, noted that "he loved his sport and his students and fostered bonds with them through trial and tribulations. It was he who helped bring students from Overtown and preceded the 1971 mandate for integration.” Vic was supportive of all ancillary programs that Dr. Lichter implemented and "he played a significant role in desegregating the school by promoting student involvement.” In 1971, among other lofty awards, Vic received the Coach of the Year Award and the Key to the City of Miami Beach. In 1979, "Coach" decided to move indoors and give up coaching and physical education to lead the CSI program(indoor suspension). In 1983, after decades in the public school system, Coach Vaccaro retired from teaching. During his retirement, he enjoyed time with his grandchildren by fishing and coaching his grandson's Little League Baseball team. Vic Vaccaro left his mark through his dedication, perseverance and his celebration of a sport he dearly loved.

Stephen Zack emigrated from Cuba at the age of 14 and has not slowed down since. After graduating from Beach High in1965, he earned his Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Florida. He was president of the Florida Blue Key Honorary Society, a member of Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, and was chosen to be a member of the Hall of Fame. He is past Chairman of the University of Florida Law Center Council and presently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Florida Law School.

Zack, a partner with Boies, Schiller& Flexner, L.L.P., one of the best known and most successful law firms in America, has earned the respect of practicing lawyers of Florida and throughout the U.S. for his proven legal skills and for his commitment to the profession. He is a specialist in civil trial law, as well as eminent domain, corporate and international law. He authored a business litigation chapter for the Florida Bar Handbook on Representing Florida Corporations, and has written and lectured on numerous other subjects.

The first Hispanic American to serve as a state and national bar association President, he has also served as the Chair of the ABA’s House of Delegates– one of the nation’s most influential positions on matters relating to the legal profession. Believing that the rule of law is strengthened through healthy discourse, Zack established the noted “Emerging Issues Committee,” which presents to the House a variety of opinions on hot button issues. The first topic Zack helped the committee focus on was judicial independence. The Chairmanship is only the latest mile marker in Steve’s long and distinguished career. He is a member of the ABA International Law Section and has served on the ABA Board of Governors. Among other accomplishments, Steve has served as chair of the Florida Ethics Committee, was appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles to the board responsible for rewriting the Florida constitution, was the youngest President of the Florida Bar, and was Counsel to Senator Bob Graham when he was Florida’s Governor.

In 2000, he represented former Vice President Al Gore during his election campaign battle. Steve has been a member of numerous public service organizations including the Board of Trustees of the Public Health Trust for Jackson Memorial Hospital and Dade County and is on the Board of Directors of the Florida Children’s Coalition and the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida. More important than the above successes are integrity and being philanthropic. Stephen is very fair with everybody he deals with, and is also charitable, both financially and with his time.

Since his induction, he was nominated by President Barack Obama for the position of Alternate United States Representative to the United Nations General Assembly and served as Senior Advisor to the United States Department of State.