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Today's Featured Biography

 
Elaine Levine Plotkin

Although I moved to Texas on June 28, 1970, I never considered my Ft. Worth high school my "alma mater". It was and will always be, Sharon High School, where I spent all, but my senior year. I still consider the friends that I made in Sharon, as my closest friends, and I still keep up with most of them!

I went on to college after high school and graduated with a BA-History (75) and MLS (76) from the University of North Texas. To make up for my lost senior year of high school in Texas, I became quite active on campus and was named to Who's Who Among College and University Students. After college, I moved to Houston, TX where I have been with Harris County Public Library System for 30+ years. I also met my husband here in Houston at the JCC. He's a 2nd generation native Texan and native Houstonian.

I've been working in administrative work for our library system since 1981 as a Collection Development Manager-Adult Services. HCPL's 26 branch libraries have the highest circulation of materials in the state of Texas, so I am very proud of the work that I've done. In May, 2006, I was awarded our highest award, Outstanding Administrative Professional of the Year, and it was also proclaimed "Elaine Plotkin Day in Harris County, TX". I have the official proclamation to prove it! :-)

I've been active in the Texas Library Association (TLA), where I was selected as a 1999 Tall Texan Librarian (for leadership development) and have served as chair of the Acquisitions and Collection Development Roundtable. In Texas, our state professional association is quite active unlike other states.

While my children were in public school, I served as a community activist for public education and have been on a number of committees in the Houston ISD as a parent and/or community representative. I also served as PTO President while my older son was in high school.

My oldest son, Jason, was a Hurricane Katrina evacuee. He graduated college in 2005 and moved to New Orleans to work with Dillard University and their sports program. He was there only three weeks when the hurricane hit New Orleans taking his job with it. He evacuated to Houston, but not before leaving his clothes at the cleaner on his way out of town (Note: the cleaner NEVER reopened).

He moved back to New Orleans that January and worked as Athletic Director at the New Orleans JCC before becoming Sports Information Director at the University of New Orleans. He got married in January, 2008 to a young woman, whom he met on the BBYO website some from Maryland! My older son and daughter-in-law have since relocated to Houston (Fall, 2013) and we are thrilled.

Younger son, Raymond, enjoyed tennis and was a member of the Houston JCC Tennis Team at the annual Maccabi Games for several years and hoped to become a nuclear engineer. Those of you who recall my abilities in science and math in high school will be SHOCKED that I could produce such a son! Everyone said that this son looked just like me, but he would always respond, "I can't see it!".

Although I'm truly "Tex-ized" now (I've lived in Texas much longer than in MA), I will never forget my formative years in Sharon.

Postscript 8/29/10: Our younger son, Raymond, died 6 weeks before his 19th birthday, during the first semester of his college freshmen year at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque on Nov. 11, 2009. He died of complications from the H1N1 (swine flu) at a time when a vaccine "booster" was needed in addition to the annual flu shot. Raymond had had his annual flu shot, but it was not protection against this deadly H1N1 virus. Raymond had no pre-existing conditions in terms of H1N1.

We have set up two scholarships in his memory and honor--one at the University of New Mexico, School of Engineering for an incoming freshmen student majoring in engineering and a second scholarship at the Jewish Community Center in Houston for a young person to attend the annual Maccabi Athletic Games in tennis, something that Raymond enjoyed.

For more information about Raymond:

At UNM:
http://parent.unm.edu/2010/01/family-establishes-scholarship-to-honor-memory-of-raymond-plotkin/

At JCC/Houston:
http://www.jcchouston.org/jnews/maccabi-tennis-scholarship-honors-teen/

To view a television news story on KHOU Houston, Channel 11 (CBS):
http://www.khou.com/news/health/Houston-teen-dies-of-swine-flu-in-New-Mexico--70247007.html

Article appearing in newspaper:
http://jhvonline.com/clients/jhvonline/community-mourns-teen-hn-flu-death-p7879.htm

Update 1/31/14: It has been 4 1/2 years since we lost our youngest son, Raymond to the H1N1 virus. Since that time, my husband and I have become quite involved with Compassionate Friends, a worldwide support group for parents, adult siblings and grandparents who have lost children, brother/sisters and grandchildren. For more information on CF, see: www.compassionatefriends.org

We were back in Boston last July, 2013 (after a 15 yr absence) to attend the National Compassionate Friends conference and had a wonderful time seeing so many Sharon friends still in the area. Hopefully, the next visit won't be quite so long between. Regards to all!

Elaine (Levine) Plotkin

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