JCCC HONORS OPPENHEIMERS — A new sculpture park to be located in front of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College will be named in honor of Marti and Hamilton G. (Tony) Oppenheimer. The park naming is in recognition of a recent pledge of $100,000 to JCCC.
Tony Oppenheimer, a senior vice-president and private client adviser responsible for business development for U.S. Trust, Bank of America in Los Angeles, and his wife, Marti, a jewelry designer, maintain residences in both LA and Kansas City. They have a long history of philanthropy and community involvement in both cities.
The Oppenheimers, major patrons for art on the campus, began donating sculptures to JCCC in the early 1990s. Over almost 20 years, they have acquired numerous important t works for the college including sculptures by Magadalena Abakanowicz, Stephen Balkenhol, Jonathan Borofsky, Louise Bourgeois, Barry Flanagan, Do Ho Suh, Judith Shea and Huma Bhabha. The museum’s lawn will serve as an ideal site for future sculpture acquisitions.
The Oppenheimers were featured on the cover of the 2010 Jewish Chronicle Guide to Jewish Life. Next year the Nerman will host a gala and exhibition celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Oppenheimers’ support of art at JCCC and the Nerman Museum.

NOT SO SCARY — When Sally Tranin’s grandchildren (Alex and Emily Tranin and Nathan and Lewis Greenstein) were young, they were afraid of storms. So Tranin wrote a picture book, illustrated by Larry Nolte, called “Kaboom,” to help them better understand storms. Tranin was kind enough to donate some books to the Salvation Army when she wrote it. Following this year’s stormy season, Tranin was asked if she could donate more books, which she happily did.

MORE LOCKS OF LOVE — Young girls in the Jewish community are learning about doing personal mitzvahs at an early age. Recently 3 ½-year-old Elia Remi Ellis had her first haircut ever at Michael Shae Salon in Leawood and chose to donate two 9-inch ponytails to Locks of Love. Mother Andrea Ellis said Elia’s hair was so long she was having horrible problems with tangles. As they discussed the need for a haircut, they impressed on the little girl, who attended camp this summer at the Jewish Community Center and is a preschool student at the Rose Family Early Childhood Education Center at Congregation Beth Shalom, how much she could help others by donating her hair to Locks of Love and how special it would be for her to do a mitzvah. Mom said it was an awesome moment and Elia is very excited and proud of her donation.

Correction

The review in last week’s edition (July 28) of Sunset Grill neglected to mention the restaurant’s address. It is located at 14577 Metcalf in Overland Park. The phone number is (913) 681-1722.