Jewish Women International proudly announces Gail Grandis as the 2026 recipient of the Sofie Stahl Memorial Award.
Originally created by The Day Chapter of JWI (then B’nai B’rith Women) and the Stahl family, the award honors a Jewish woman whose volunteerism demonstrates a life-long commitment to helping those in the Richmond metropolitan area. Beneficiaries of this highly coveted honor (with few exceptions, given annually since 1963) are chosen by previous years’ recipients.
This year, Mrs. Grandis will be honored at a luncheon on Sunday, April 19, at Temple Beth-El religious school location, 601 N Parham Road. The program will start promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Especially for those who are not well acquainted with Gail, she is especially known for her catering for so many events in the community. According to her nomination “… she has donated her time to assist in cooking & organizing food for the JCC 5400 Club, Beth-El & Beth Israel or any Jewish organization when she is asked.”
However, there is a lot more to know about this recipient.
Gail has been involved in Jewish organizations since her college days at Richmond Professional Institute (now Virginia Commonwealth University), where she was Hillel president in 1963. She was the President of her Hadassah chapter in Washington, DC, in the 1960s, and is also a lifetime member. She moved to Richmond for college, and later, permanently in 1972 after she married Stuart Grandis.
As alluded to by her nominator, several other local Jewish organizations have benefitted from all that Gail has done for them. This includes the Weinstein JCC where, since the 1970s, she has continued to be known for family friendly events – notably her long-term sponsoring and organizing a Sweetheart Day luncheon for the Grandtones in memory of her mother, Gladys Nusenko. She often volunteered at Beth Shalom, especially during the time her mother was a resident there and where Gail helped with events for donors. For several years, Gail was also active with B’nai B’rith Women (currently Jewish Women International).
Professionally, she and her business partner, Lynn Simonoff, ran Pick Ups Plus catering company. For 33 years, they were a part of so many families’ celebrations, connections, and special events. They specialized in catering for all occasions, event planning, kosher catering, and custom cakes. This led Gail to the Richmond Culinary Guild. A long-time member, and along with Lynn, served as co-president.
Many Honors
Besides this year’s Sofie Stahl Memorial Award, Gail’s untiring work has not gone unrecognized. In 1982, Gail received the Sam E. & Virginia V. Binswanger Award from the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond honoring individuals for outstanding young leadership, commitment, and effectiveness within the local Jewish community. The award is a tribute to volunteers who have demonstrated significant dedication to organizations like the JCFR.
Over the years, recognition was also bestowed on Gail by some of the Richmond area synagogues including Temple Beth-El (Gail is a past president), Keneseth Beth Israel, and Or Atid. Most recently, at the appropriately named holiday, in 2023 Gail became Temple Beth-El’s Simchat Torah honoree.
Always humble, Gail has a more profound background about which her daughter Roxanne wanted the community to know. Gail worked in special education in DC public schools when the special education program was first created. During that time, she was recognized by the President for her work in creating curriculum. According to Roxanne, Gail has some real stories about that time period! Also, Gail was instrumental in a small way in ending segregation in public schools.
Even after retiring, when Gail is not spending time with Roxanne, son-in-law Marcus, or granddaughter Gideon, she still spends most of her days volunteering. Often seen at KBI as well as with enrichment programs at the JCC, Gail has said to Roxanne, “… it is the village of people surrounding her that make her shine.”
The public is invited to join JWI, previous Sofie Stahl recipients as well as Gail’s family and friends for the presentation of this well-deserved award. Per person couvert (minimum to attend) for the event is $54. Pledge levels are Gold $90 and Platinum $126. To RSVP, checks (payable to JWI) should be mailed by April 9 to JWI, c/o Arlene Slutzah, 4907 Daffodil Circle, Glen Allen, VA 23060.
For more information contact Arlene at 804-747-0765 or email her at arlene4907@gmail.com.
About JWI
Founded in 1897, JWI is the leading Jewish organization championing women and girls by fighting gender-based violence, preventing domestic violence and sexual abuse, addressing the intersection of domestic violence and gun violence, building pathways to long-term economic security, and strengthening access to every level of leadership in our communities, workplaces, and country. JWI envisions a world, free of violence and inequity, where all women and girls thrive.
As in past years, proceeds from the Sofie Stahl event support JWI’s National Library Initiative, a program that provides for a woman fleeing an abusive relationship, when the immediacy of danger often means leaving home with only her children and the clothes on their backs, and where JWI helps ease this traumatic upheaval by creating children's libraries in domestic violence shelters – transforming basic spaces into comforting havens with colorful furniture and rugs, computers and toys, and hundreds of new books that represent the diversity of the women and children served.
For kids whose lives have been upended by violence, JWI libraries provide a safe place to relax, escape into a book, and keep up with homework when they're most at risk of falling behind in school. JWI’s goal is to complete 100 fully-furnished new libraries in shelters across the country, and continually restock the shelves of existing ones so that each child leaves the shelter with a favorite book in hand, ready to start a new life.