Campus SuperStar Honors Bauman and Brill
2 generations of leaders urge others to get involved
By David R. Cohen | david@atljewishtimes.com
Hillels of Georgia’s Campus SuperStar event is about more than celebrating musical talent. The fundraiser also celebrates the talent of giving back.
Campus SuperStar will recognize Billy Bauman and Staci Brill for their years of volunteer service to the Atlanta Jewish community. Bauman and Brill will host the March 31 event, which is offering a $5,000 prize to the winner of an “American Idol”-style competition.
Through the choice of Bauman and Brill, Hillels of Georgia aims to highlight a longtime community leader and a younger community member meant to represent a new generation of leadership.
Bauman has lived in Atlanta since 1973 and has held many leadership positions in the community, including service on The Temple’s board of trustees and a recent tenure as president. He has also served on the board of trustees for the American Jewish Committee.
“Most in my generation had the privilege and good fortune to look to the accomplishments and the dedication of some absolutely incredible community leaders,” Bauman said, “We are now concerned that the next generation needs to be more involved. One way to get those people involved is to recognize and honor them for their contributions. Their contributions of time and resources may not be as great simply because of their age, but they are even more meaningful because they are our future.”
Stacey Brill, 36, may be part of the younger generation, but she has a long list of accomplishments. She calls herself a professional fundraiser and has helped numerous nonprofit organizations in Atlanta reach their development goals, including the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, the American Jewish Committee, the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, and the Marcus Jewish Community Center, for which she recently helped complete a two-year, $7 million capital campaign.
Brill is a member of Temple Sinai and was named Atlanta Jewish Life magazine’s Rising Star in 2004. She was profiled in the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “40 Under 40” in 2013 and in the Atlanta Jewish Times’ “40 Under 40” in 2014.
“I think that there is a concerted effort in a number of different agencies that are focused on cultivating the next generation of leaders,” Brill said. “If we miss the opportunity to sit at the same table of the established leadership like Billy and his peers, then we are going to restrict the community in the future. It’s time to come to the table.”
Both Bauman and Brill have come to the table to give back to the Atlanta Jewish community. While the eight student finalists are competing in Campus SuperStar, Brill and Bauman will be sending their message to the crowd: Get involved.
“Find something that you believe in,” Brill said, “something that welcomes your ideas and your involvement, and dig in because everybody needs you.”
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