Hilary Gewant's remembrance of her grandfather, Aaron Aronov, which appeared in Update during Thanksgiving week, drew an outpouring of reactions. Hilary, this year's winner of The Birmingham Jewish Federation's Young Leadership Award, is a participant in The BJF's new Leadership Writing Project.

The purpose of The BJF's new Leadership Writing Project is to help young adults in their 20s and 30s discover and affirm their leadership voices by writing for Update and other media. Hilary's piece on her grandfather also appeared in the Tuscaloosa News and Montgomery Advertiser.

Hilary received a wide array of emails, letters, Facebook messages and phone calls in response to her remembrance. One of those came from Karl Friedman, a long-time Jewish community volunteer leader and a founding partner of the law firm Sirote & Permutt. In a letter to Hilary, he shared the following:

In the midst of the Depression, I graduated from Ramsay High School and immediately went to work at the department store, Loveman, Joseph & Loeb. I did that to enable my family to survive financially. I received 25 cents an hour, 10 dollars a week, of which 6 dollars went to my parents to help buy food. There was no chance for me to go to college, but most of my friends and contemporaries did.

Then came Aaron, together with Morris Sokol from Tuscaloosa and David Randman from Birmingham, and they pleaded with my father to let me go to the University of Alabama and join Kappa Nu fraternity. He was totally unable to finance any part of it. However, these three convinced him that they could get me enough jobs and activities in Tuscaloosa so that it would never cost him anything. I went to college.

I loved Aaron truly, and I was with him often. Aaron took me under his wing to guide me toward success and we were frequently together for the rest of his life. During part of the war, I was stationed at Maxwell Field and I practically lived at Aaron's home. I was there when his father died. So, for anything good that has happened to me in my life, it was Aaron who launched me in the right direction. I am what I am and where I am because of him.

***

"SMILING EAR TO EAR"

Reactions also included an email from someone who grew up in Montgomery and who knew Hilary's grandfather, Aaron, and grandmother, Marjorie, well. "Hilary, oh how I loved waking up this morning and seeing this fabulous Update," this person wrote. "It brought back the wonderful memories. You have incredible role models in your grandparents and I know they are smiling from ear to ear!"

This came from one of our most avid Update readers: "While I worked at UAB Hospital I had the privilege to meet and come to admire Aaron Aronov and his family. For sure he was a generous person for many causes. I found him to be a genuine leader in the fullest meaning of the word. Knowing him made a lasting impression on me. He was, above all, a good man."

Wrote a longtime BJF volunteer leader, "Hilary's Update piece was beautiful, compelling, genuine and thoughtful. What a privilege to read about the legacy of Aaron Aronov through Hilary's loving eyes. And, what an inspiration the Aronov family is, including Hilary, in terms of selflessly giving back to our community! Thank you, Hilary, for sharing yourself through Update and encouraging me to reflect on my Thanksgiving blessings."

Wrote another volunteer leader, "I just LOVED reading Hilary's article in Update this morning. It brought me to tears thinking about my own grandfather. I know that both of these gentlemen serve together on the board of directors in 'Heaven's Jewish Federation!' Thanks for helping to start my week with a smile."

"EACH AND EVERYDAY"

A wonderful email came from a Montgomery man who had worked with Aaron and who read Hilary's piece in the Montgomery Advertiser.

"I worked for Mr. Aronov's company for many years and he continues in my memories everyday," he wrote. "While he was my boss, he was also a great example in my life. My father passed away when I was 26 and I sought Mr. Aronov's mentoring on many matters other than work. He always had time for me and never led me down the wrong path. I continue to use his example of caring for family in conducting my everyday life and have worked hard to instill that attitude in my children and grandchildren."

One of the goals of The BJF's Leadership Writing Project is to give participants the skill and confidence to share personal experiences in a way that resonates with and lifts our entire community.

This new project is part of The BJF's new LIFT strategy -- Leadership Initiatives For Tomorrow. Through this effort, The BJF is developing and implementing a series of innovative and low cost fundraising, leadership development and recruitment initiatives that will make our Federation even stronger in the years ahead.

Photo, which appeared in original Update story, is of Hilary Gewant as a young girl with her grandfather Aaron Aronov.