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American Society for Technion to honor St. Louis couple

St. Louis attorney Alvin Wolff Jr. and his wife, Dr. June Wolff, are being honored with the Albert Einstein Award for their dedication and contributions to the Technion, Jewish education and humanitarian causes, locally, nationally and internationally. The award will be presented by the American Society for Technion, which is part of The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The award will be given to the couple at the American Technion Society St. Louis Chapter's annual meeting, which will take place on Oct 6. at the Starlight Roof at the Chase Hotel.

"It's an honor," said Alvin Wolff. "I've been doing work for them for close to 20 years. I was very happy to be nominated for it."

Alvin Wolff is the immediate past president of the American Technion Society St. Louis Chapter, a position he had held for two years, and has served on the board of directors for the past 20 years. He served on the Executive Committee for 16 years and was on the national board of directors for four years. He has served in his current position of chairman of the board for the last two years.

"Alvin has been through the years a tremendous force in the local chapter of the American Society for Technion, bringing in numerous new members and pushing the chapter forward," said attorney John Wallach, president of the board of directors of the St. Louis chapter. "Alvin's been one of my closest friends for over 20 years, and nobody is more charitable and more giving of their time to worthy causes than Alvin and his wife, June."

When asked how he became involved in the society, Wolff said his wife and her uncle were instrumental in his introduction to the society. He went to one of the annual dinners with June's uncle, who was involved in the society on the national level and who was also honored with the Albert Einstein Award. "It was an aging organization, and they needed some young people to get some young people involved," he explained. "At the time, I guess I was in my late 20s, and I just did it. I took a trip to Israel 18 years ago, and it just took off."

Wolff is a plaintiffs attorney and owner of Alvin Wolff Jr. and Associates, which specializes in plaintiffs personal injury. He is board-certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys and by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. For the past five years, he has served on the Executive Committee of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He is also a member of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.

In addition to his legal organizations, Wolff has helped organize the "fine wine room" for the American Cancer Society's Taste of Italy benefit for the past seven years, which benefits the Hope Lodge Center in St. Louis. He has also served on the board of directors of the Jewish Community Center. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Washington University and received his law degree in 1979 from Washington University School of Law.

June Wolff is a member of the board of directors of the American Technion Society St. Louis Chapter, has a general dentistry practice in Clayton and is a member of the Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity. She participates in several organizations, including the Greater St. Louis Dental Society, the Chicago Dental Society, the Jewish Community Center, the National Council of Jewish Women and Hadassah. She is a member of the Elliot Society at Washington University and the Lions of Judah and Maimondides sections of the Jewish Federation, and she has supported numerous community service and environmental organizations. She is a 1985 graduate of the Washington University School of Dental Medicine.

"She really got me involved in it because it was her uncle," explained Wolff. "With her primarily raising the kids, she always helped with dinners and helped with putting on events, but she really didn't have the time to go to meetings, but she pitched in whenever she was asked. She eagerly helped us."

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is Israel's leading scientific and technological center for applied research and application. It has a worldwide reputation for its work in computer science, biotechnology, water-resource management, materials engineering, aerospace and medicine. The majority of its founders and managers of Israel's high-tech companies are alumni. The American Technion Society, based in New York City, has more than 20,000 supporters and 17 offices around the country.

"Technion is the Israeli technical institute -- it's often referred to the MIT of Israel -- and the first president of the university was Albert Einstein when it was first founded," said Wallach. "The [Albert Einstein] award is for both community service and service to the university. The university is . . . one of the five centers President Bush approved for stem-cell research because they've got their own stem-cell line. It's one of the world's premier technical and engineering university.

"The annual dinner will be held at the Starlight Room at the Chase, which is a great place to have it," continued Wallach. "Last year, the dinner sold out entirely. We're hoping for the same thing, but at the moment, there are still plenty of seats and tables available, and for those who are interested, we have made arrangements for a big-screen TV to be there at the cocktail hour because the Rams/49ers game is going to on at the same time. That's a very important thing."

For more information on attending the dinner, call Cheryl at the Technion office at 314-725-7330.