ALBANY –The Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center (AJCC) has announced the recipients of its 2024 Applebaum, Bellin and Susan Shpeen Awards. Jacob Mosden of Schodack will receive the Applebaum Award, Sasha Greenberg of Delmar will get the Bellin Award, and staff member Peggy Hogan will receive the Susan Shpeen Staff Award. All three will be honored at the in-person Pillars of the Community event to be held at Beth Emeth on Sunday, April 21, at 10:30 a.m.
Greenberg is a senior at Bethlehem Central High School. Early associations with the AJCC included preschool, and then continued through elementary school at Camp Olam. She is, with her family, a member of Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany. Greenberg is a vice president of the CBE youth group (CBEYG) and sings there during the High Holy Days. She is also involved with the Girls Who Start club at Bethlehem, with a focus on giving back to the community while empowering women to make a difference.
A senior at Columbia High School in East Greenbush, Jacob Mosden was born and raised in Dutchess County and moved with his family moved to the Town of Schodack during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. A member of Temple Israel in Albany, where he is known as an “amazing teen volunteer,” Mosden is a volunteer with the SATO Committee in supporting the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, providing lunch sacks for The Little Food Pantry, baking cookies for community first responders, setting up backpacks for Equinox and the Capital City Mission, and according to administrators of the award, “pretty much anything else Temple Israel asks for help with.” In December 2021, his frequent engagement and time that he has spent helping others led to him receiving the first- Maccabi Youth Award “for going above and beyond” from Temple Israel.
Peggy Hogan was familiar with the Albany Center long before starting to work at the Center. Born and raised in western NY, Hogan moved to Albany 29 years ago. Her ex-mother-in-law worked for the Center as a membership associate and through her work introduced Peggy and her children to the AJCC. Hogan brought her children to the JCC for swim lessons and other activities such as youth Zumba. In 2015, Hogan, who had worked full time as a lunch aide for the City School District of Albany, joined the Center as a part-time staff person in fitness babysitting. From 2015 to 2020 Hogan was a familiar face for the parents and children that utilized the babysitting room. When COVID started and schools went virtual, she joined the JCC fulltime, first as the temperature taker and then as a membership associate. Now, every Monday through Friday you can find Hogan opening the Center. In addition to work in the membership department, in 2023 Hogan accepted the invitation to become an instructor in the JCC’s Senior Technology Center (a first-in-the-country JCC collaboration with AARP), teaching courses such as “How to Use Your Smartphone.”
Hogan lives close to the JCC and on nice days walks to work. She has three adult children, a son who lives in Albany, and two daughters who also work for the JCC. They are a three generation JCC family.
