Hall of Fame 2015 Inductees

Joann Bass's family founded the famous Joes Stone Crab restaurant in Miami Beach, where she served as President for many years.

Joann's mother died when she was 16 months old. Her father entertained many famous clients at Joe's, and Joann grew up working at the restaurant. At Beach High, she was active in many clubs and was her senior class secretary. She married her fellow Beach High grad, Irwin Sawitz and had two children. Her marriage ended and she returned to the restaurant full time and married Dr. Bob Bass. They travelled the world to get inspiration for many dishes at Joe's. Bob passed away with cancer after 19 years of marriage.

Joann and the restaurant have supported many causes including Mt. Sania Hospital. She and Bob were founding members of the Jewish Museum of Florida. She continues her charitable work today, including support for the Alumni Association and it's scholarships.

I retired in 2008, after a forty-year industrial career. I was a chemical engineer, but today most of what I did would be considered environmental engineering. I didn’t have to spend a year thinking about what I wanted to do. I had a long list of projects.

First was three months in Europe – the trip my wife Danny (Danielle) and I should’ve taken when I got out of graduate school. We did the trip much more luxuriously than we would have in 1969, but we still took our backpacks and stayed in a few hostels. The highlights of the trip were three long hikes – on the Stephenson Way in central France, through the Norwegian mountains, and coast-to-coast across northern England.

Second was writing fiction. I’d been thinking about an alternate history scenario for nearly thirty years – what if Washington’s crossing of the Delaware had led to a catastrophic defeat and the collapse of the American Revolution? I tell this story as the autobiography of an eighty-year-old man, who, as a thirteen-year-old boy, had been at Washington’s side when the Americans surrendered after being defeated at the Battle of Trenton. The Great Rebellion, the first book of my trilogy, was published in September and is available on Amazon. The second and third books will be published in 2016 and 2017.

Third was volunteering for hiking organizations. I was on the Board of Directors of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and organized their weeklong, 900 attendee, 2013 Biennial Meeting. I’m no longer on the Board, but still hold a number of volunteer positions in ATC. I’m also finishing a two-year term as President of the thousand-member strong Carolina Mountain Club – the oldest, largest, and most active hiking and trail-maintaining club in Western North Carolina.

In between – Danny has an even busier schedule than I do – we hike, travel, and spend time with our son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters.

Unfortunately, Leonard lost his battle with cancer in September 2016.

"The most important thing about my memories of Beach High were the friendships that were made and still exist to this day. There was never any thought at the time, as to what I could achieve or what I could contribute to my community, if anything. Looking back however I realize that each step I took forward started on Drexel Avenue.

Graduating from college, serving my college fraternity on a national level; coming home to work at the Miami Beach Chamber, later serving as its Chairman; management of the Miami Beach Convention Center, later instrumental in its expansion, founding the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association and leading it for 20 years, each step of the way was an opportunity to give back to the community.

Last year I attended my 60th High School Reunion. As I looked around the room I realized that this is where it all began. It’s been a great ride."

Two things were born on February 8, 1957. One was a baby named J. Brian Gadinsky, and the other was a question : “What does the J. stand for?” As the legend goes, his parents dreamed of Brian as a business tycoon, surrounded by peons saying…”what do you want, JB? Can I get you anything JB?

Well, ” JB” never fulfilled his parents’ “Fortune 500” dreams, but “Brian” cut his own path. At Beach High, he got a taste of media and was hooked. Brian was a broadcaster for the first Hi Tide game on radio in 1972. He also was the News Editor of the Beachcomber.

From there it was on to Syracuse University where Brian got a BS in TV-Radio. He cut his teeth at WTVJ in Miami, winning 6 Emmy awards. Then came Hollywood, where he produced “America’s Most Wanted” and one of the biggest hits in television history, “American Idol.”

Through it all, Brian has given back. For seven years he was a suicide prevention counselor in Los Angeles, and still serves as a court appointed advocate for a foster child who starts college in the fall.

Even so, Brian lists his greatest achievement as the raising of his sons, Isaac and Jonah. And in case you’re wondering, “J.” Brian chose not to give them first initials, leaving it to them to make their own ways.

These days, while mostly retired, Brian keeps a foothold in the entertainment business. He created the “gospel ‘American Idol.’ A show called “Sunday Best” now in its eighth hit season on BET. He also mentors regularly, trying to ‘pay forward’ the gifts he was given by his own great teachers. Brian continues to be a court advocate for foster child Kalin Duhart, now 17. Kalin just graduated high school, and Brian is working with him to transition to community college.

In addition to all that, Brian and his fiancé Jennifer Davis are travelling and just enjoying life together.

Gloria Loring is a singer, songwriter, actress and author. She’s the recording artist of the #1 hit song Friends and Lovers; co-composer of television theme songs Diff’rent Strokes and Facts Of Life; an audience favorite as “Liz Chandler” on Days Of Our Lives; spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; the author of six books benefitting people with diabetes; and a keynote speaker for corporations and non-profits. She is more recently well known for being the mother of R&B/pop star Robin Thicke.

She has sung on the Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the American Music Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Academy Awards.

She is a certified yoga instructor and an articulate champion of bio-medical research. After her four year-old son Brennan was diagnosed with diabetes, she created and self-published two volumes of the Days Of Our Lives Celebrity Cookbook that raised more than $1 million for diabetes research. Her new book, Coincidence Is God's Way of Remaining Anonymous, details a series of extraordinary coincidences that transformed her life She is currently working on a children’s book and a new CD.

Ms. Loring has been presented the Lifetime Commitment Award from JDRF, the Founders Award from the National Disease Research Interchange, and the Woman of Achievement Award from the Miss America Organization, an honor she shares with past recipients Barbara Bush, Roslyn Carter, and Hillary Clinton. She is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Music.

Thane Rosenbaum is an essayist, law professor, and author of the novels, How Sweet It Is!, The Stranger Within Sarah Stein, The Golems of Gotham, Second Hand Smoke, and Elijah Visible. His articles, reviews and essays appear frequently in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Haaretz, Huffington Post and Daily Beast, among other national publications.

He is a Distinguished Fellow at New York University School of Law where he directs the Forum on Law, Culture & Society.

He is the author of Payback: The Case for Revenge and The Myth of Moral Justice: Why Our Legal System Fails to Do What's Right. He is the editor of the anthology, Law Lit, from Atticus Finch to "The Practice,": A Collection of Great Writing about the Law. His forthcoming book is entitled The High Cost of Free Speech: Rethinking the First Amendment.

The Hon. Linda Zilber is the former Mayor of Bay Harbor Islands, where she also served as a Councilwoman for seven years.

She ran a design firm for 25 years and served as spokeswoman for Metro Transportation, a family-owned business specializing in transportation for the disabled. The service was later taken over by the County and became the Special Transportation Services (STS). Linda has extensive knowledge in transportation issues, having attended numerous conventions of the International Transportation Association around the world. She was also involved in the campaign to adopt the County's half-percent transportation surtax.

Linda Zilber has been an active member of such organizations as the Mt. Sinai Foundation, the Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce and the Childrens Home Society. She was appointed to the Trust from Commission District 4.