The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Bret Stephens

HHREC Honors Westchester Business Leader, Features Pulitzer Prize-Winning Speaker at Annual Fall Benefit

by

HHREC Benefit Honoree Dennis Mehiel   Photos by Julie Rothschild

November 1st 2022– The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) honored Westchester County Business Executive Dennis Mehiel at their annual Benefit at Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York on October 27th.  HHREC Board of Directors Chairperson President Michael Gyory introduced Mehiel, who spoke about the importance of standing up against antisemitism and expressed his gratitude for the work of HHREC in offering programs that teach the lessons learned from the Holocaust. Mr. Mehiel was the first person not of the Jewish faith elected to the Board of Governors of Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work where he served from 1989 until 1996.

Bret Stephens, New York Times Columnist and Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalis, was the HHREC 2023 keynote speaker.

The program also featured a talk and Q&A with Pulitzer-Prize Winning Journalist, Author, and New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who appeared as the event Keynote Speaker. Stephen’s talk centered on drawing parallels between 2022 and 1922 and the dangers of overlooking signs of hatred and discrimination, and the possibility that they could reoccur in the U.S. in the years ahead.

HHREC Executive Director Millie Jasper recognized Holocaust survivors who were in the audience and introduced a film about the HHREC Educator’s Study Tour of Germany and Poland. She also thanked the audience for their continued support for HHREC programs and announced a new endowment campaign.

“We are so grateful for the support from our growing community, especially those who came out to be with us for this year’s HHREC Benefit.” said Jasper. “ Our staff, board of directors, and education program partners are reenergized as we continue in our efforts to teach the lessons of the Holocaust, and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Additional Photos by Julie Rothschild

(L-R) Iris Weintraub Lachaud; Michael Gyory, chairperson, HHREC; and State Senator Shelley B. Mayer
Holocaust survivors Agnes Vertes and Nick Friedman
(L-R) Rena Hecht, New York State Assemblyman Chris Burdick, and Bob Piliero
David A. Alpert, Board Member, HHREC, with Honoree Dennis Mehiel
(L-R): Rachel Greenspan, Member, HHREC Board of Directors; Grace Bennett, HHREC Advisory Board; and Lisa Salko, HHREC Speakers Bureau

 

Annie Kleinhaus (Holocaust Survivor) and Millie Jasper, Executive Director, HHREC
Board of Directors, Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center
Steve Goldberg, Co-Director of Education, HHREC (second on left) with Karin Kast-Meinhrad (left) and to his right, Karen Kruis and Julia Collins 
(L-R): Brian Lombardo, Dr. Joyce Brown, former New York State Comptroller Carl McCall, who also addressed attendees of the HHREC benefit, and Kelly Mehiel
Michael Brown, Catherine Borgia, Chairperson, Westchester County Board of Legislators, and Pamela Stern
Andrew R. Benerofe, board member, HHREC, and Rabbi Daniel Gropper, Community Synagogue of Rye

About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center is a not-for-profit organization based in White Plains New York that serves Westchester, Fairfield, and neighboring counties. Their Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. We encourage students to speak up and act against all forms of bigotry and prejudice. Their work with students and teachers helps schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, they have brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights crimes to more than 1,500 teachers, and through them to thousands of middle and high school students. Through their volunteer Educators Program Committee, the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center gives teachers the unique opportunity to develop programs for themselves and others. These programs not only enrich teachers’ knowledge about the Holocaust and related issues, but they also provide the lens through which to view all other human rights violations. For more information call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org 

Bret Stephens to Offer Keynote on October 27 at the HHREC Annual Benefit Honoring Dennis Mehiel

by

Survivor Hannah Deutsch, Millie Jasper, Survivor Alan Moskin, Christa Moskin

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) will honor Westchester County Business Executive Dennis Mehiel and feature Pulitzer-Prize Winning Journalist Bret Stephens as Keynote Speaker at their annual Benefit on Thursday, October 27th starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York.

Dennis Mehiel

Dennis Mehiel, formerly a twenty-year Westchester County resident, is the Managing Member of Four M Investments, LLC, headquartered in White Plains.  Four M is a Private Investment Firm that manages only family funds, focused on early-stage technology, food service and corrugated packaging.  He is the Chairman and CEO of Delmarva Corrugated Packaging, Inc. 

Mr. Mehiel is the former Chairman, CEO and Principal Shareholder of Box USA, which he founded in 1966. When sold to International Paper Box USA was then the Nation’s largest independent producer of corrugated shipping containers operating 22 corrugated packaging facilities and two containerboard mills, all located within the continental United States.   Mr. Mehiel is also the former Chairman, CEO, and Principal Shareholder of Sweetheart Cup Company, which was then North America’s largest producer of disposable tabletop products for the away-from-home dining market.  Sweetheart was rescued from insolvency when acquired by Mr. Mehiel in 1998, and was divested to its principal competitor, Solo Cup Company in 2004.  More recently, Mr. Mehiel has begun development of a small number of large capacity capital intensive “Alpha” Corrugated Manufacturing Facilities, the first of which began operations in late 2021 at Dover, Delaware.  

Mr. Mehiel has long been active in New York State political and civic life.  He served for 12 years as a member of the Democratic National Committee, is a former Chairman of the Westchester County Democratic Committee, was an Officer and Director of the New York League of Conservation Voters. He was the Democratic Nominee for Lt. Governor in 2002 and was the New York State Chair of the Kerry Presidential Campaign in 2004.  From 2012 until 2017 Mr. Mehiel served as Chairman and C.E.O. of The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA), which operates a 92 Acre property at the south end of Manhattan created when the World Trade Center was constructed 40 years ago.  

Mr. Mehiel is a former Member of the Board of The Milano School for Management and Urban Policy at the New School, a Member of Business Executives for National Security and a former Trustee of the Westchester Medical Center.   From 1989 until 1993 he was a Trustee of the Windward School in White Plains, one of the region’s premier providers of education for learning disabled children.  He also served for ten years as a Trustee of the Purnell School in Pottersville, N.J., an independent high school for girls who have not succeeded in a traditional competitive academic setting.  Mr. Mehiel was the first person not of the Jewish faith ever elected to the Board of Governors of Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work where he served from 1989 until 1996. 

Mr. Mehiel is a member of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in New York City.  Until recently he served as the Chairman of Friends of St. Nicholas, charged with managing the construction of The Saint Nicholas National Shrine, which replaces the only House of Worship lost during the attack on September 11, 2001.  The Shrine was Consecrated July 4, 2022.   He is a former member of the Archdiocesan Council, the Lay Leadership of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Americas.  He is an Archon of The Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the world’s oldest Lay Religious Organization and a recipient of the Medal of St. Paul, the Highest Honor a lay person may receive from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. 

Mr. Mehiel Resides in New York City with his wife Karen.

Bret Stephens is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist with the New York Times, and the honoree is Dennis Mehiel, Principal Shareholder and Chairman of U.S. Corrugated, Inc.  Stephens joined The New York Times as an Op-Ed columnist in April 2017. Mr. Stephens came to The Times after a long career with The Wall Street Journal, where he was most recently deputy editorial page editor in charge of international opinion and, for 11 years, the paper’s principal foreign-affairs columnist. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post. At The Post he oversaw the paper’s news, editorial, digital and international operations, and also wrote a weekly column. He has reported from around the world and interviewed scores of world leaders.

Bret Stephens

Mr. Stephens is the author of “America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder,” released in November 2014. He is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including three honorary doctorates, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. In 2022, the government of Russia banned him for life from visiting that country. He was raised in Mexico City and holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago and an MSc. from the London School of Economics. He and his wife, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, a music critic and entrepreneur, live near New York City and have three children.

To register for this event, or for more information including sponsorship opportunities visit the HHREC website hhrecny.org, email benefit@hhrecny.org or call 914.696.0738.

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) will hold their annual Benefit on Thursday evening, October 27 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York. The Keynote Speaker is Bret Stephens, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist with the New York Times, and the honoree is Dennis Mehiel, Principal Shareholder and Chairman of U.S. Corrugated, Inc.

To reserve your place or for more information, including sponsorship opportunities visit the events page at hhrecny.org, or email benefit@hhrecny.org or call 914.696.0738.

Survivor Betty Knoop with Ruth Nyavira
Liberator Alan Moskin and Survivor Sami Steigmann