Florie Wachtenheim Receives the 2012 Scarsdale Bowl Award

Florie Wachtenheim Receives the 2012 Scarsdale Bowl Award

Thursday, 19 April 2012 15:09

Last Updated: Tuesday, 22 May 2012 22:19

Published: Thursday, 19 April 2012 15:09

bowlacceptance Florie Wachtenheim did not expect to receive the Scarsdale Bowl this year. In fact, when she found six people standing outside her door at 9 pm on a Sunday night in January her immediate thought was that something was wrong. She said, “I raced through a mental checklist of what this visit could be about and grew nervous at the possibilities. So here’s a deep, dark secret about life in the volunteer lane -- if someone misses a meeting or is late to a meeting, that person is usually assigned a task that no one else wants to consider ... big time! “Uh oh”, I thought, “This could be bad. Did I forget to be somewhere?”

No one forgot to attend the celebration of community volunteerism when Florie Wachtenheim accepted the 2012 Scarsdale Bowl at Lake Isle Country Club on Wednesday night April 18, 2012. Wachtenheim looked elegant in a black suit and heels, a makeover from her everyday tennis sweats and sneakers. Ebullient, she graciously greeted over 300 guests with a warm smile. As Florie had requested that this be a “happy night,” the evening began with a few numbers by the Scarsdale High School A Cappella group, For Good Measure.

Bowl Chair Randy Guggenheimer served as Master of Ceremonies for the evening and introduced former School Board colleague Terri Simon. Simon called Wachtenheim “the perfect choice for this tremendous honor,” and credited her with “working tirelessly and with integrity.” Simon complimented the Bowl winner on her “directness and honesty” and ability to “get to the heart of the matter, even in the most sensitive situations.” She drew a laugh from the audience when she relayed Wachtenheim’s ability to ask “the disarming question that everyone else in the room was afraid to ask,” and zero in on what’s important. Referring to Wachtenheim’s prowess on the tennis and paddle courts, Simon said, “not only on the court does Florie keep her eye on the ball.”

Speaking on behalf of the Wachtenheim family, son Andrew, a public defender in the Bronx, commented on his mother’s work ethic, intellect and wachtenheimbowl ability to make others feel valued. Through her he learned how important it is to give back, even when you have very little to give. He ended by conveying the family’s pride in her accomplishments and gratitude for all she has taught them.

Speaking together, Linda Chayes and Jeff Blatt, two who served on the School Board with Florie, gave insight into her ability to navigate difficult situations as School Board President. Chayes said Wachtenheim likes “the thrill of a challenge” and “with a mischievious look and a wink and she lead us down the path.” Remembering a polarized community meeting about the conversion from the advanced placement to advanced topics curriculum at the high school, Jeff Blatt said, the forum “threatened to be completely out of control, like Chicago in the summer of ’68.” But a moment later, “Florie calmed the audience and allowed the Board to accomplish what we set out to do.”

Chayes continued, saying that Florie, “balances a seriousness of purpose with a wry sense of humor and has a deep appreciation for complexity and nuance.” Her integrity and sense of fairness provide her with a solid moral compass.

When Wachtenheim accepted the Bowl her gracious nature shone through. In the course of a brilliant speech, she repeatedly deflected the light from herself to the audience. “I stand here tonight, humbled to my core, and accept this award as your representative – on behalf of all of you who give so much of yourselves to our greater community, in the shadow of some of our iconic leaders and in the light of all the good work still to come.”

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Her life of volunteerism began when her first son entered kindergarten and she was asked to manage the after-school clubs at Fox Meadow School. This first experience taught her valuable lessons about community involvement that still hold true in her mind today.

I noted that our community-based organizations function on a high level and that the work was really interesting, that the parent-teacher organizations were vital to the schools and a model for high-functioning, cross-constituency organizations. I experienced the sense of community that was supported by the various activities which relied on the efforts of our volunteers, emphatically felt in each of the five neighborhood elementary schools. And I appreciated the difference we were making.

As I continue to be involved, all these years later, in many other activities and at different levels, I see that the model holds, enabling good process and bolstered outcomes. Efforts here are not ad hoc, but rather, coherent and inspired by vision. Decision-making in a developed context offers a raison d’etre for each and every one of our volunteer activities. What is our mission? What values does it support? How can we get there? ... are the questions we consider as we rally behind different projects.

She called Scarsdale “a family of volunteers who care for the people and place that we love,” providing “programming and services for every segment of our population, “and “attempting to make it viable for people to remain in Scarsdale if they so desire.”

Though her children have all now left the school system, Wachtenheim says that she continues to be invigorated by work that is “akin to her stage of life,” on the boards of the Scarsdale Adult School and Scarsdale Library and in her efforts to establish a Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation.

Referring back to her early years here, she said, “Never in a million years did I picture myself up on this stage tonight or consider how serendipitous my chairmanship of Fox Meadow’s After School Clubs program would prove to be!”

Again giving credit to all of her colleagues, Wachtenheim said, “As it turns out, there is nothing that I have done that is a singular effort, and the outcome of every program with which I’ve been connected is a reflection of our very best collaboration.”

Though she was generous in redirecting the credit to her many friends in the audience, with their standing ovation, they sent it right back to her. More about her activities on behalf of Scarsdale can be found here.

2012 Scarsdale Bowl Committee