Buffalo Grove resident Darrell Pollack became a leader in the Congregation Beth Judea Men’s Club by accident 1 1/2 years ago, when his name was mistakenly included on a list of the club’s new board members. When the president sent him a letter of welcome, Pollack sent back a note saying he’d be glad to serve his congregation, though it would be nice to have been asked first.
But the 38-year-old professional accountant and youth sports coach threw himself into his new duties during a fundraising sale of breakfast boxes.
“He got on the phone with you and didn’t ask if you wanted to buy one. He told you how many you were going to buy,” said Glenn Simon, the group’s president.
He worked so hard that the organization decided to name him Man of the Year. But in January, three weeks before he was to receive the award, Pollack died unexpectedly, leaving behind a wife and three children.
On Wednesday, Pollack’s father received a plaque in his son’s honor during a ceremony at Wilmette’s Congregation Beth Hillel, a standing ovation from the 300 attendees.
“The entire audience was aware that Darrell’s award was going to be [given] only three weeks after his passing. There was the utmost respect and honor paid to Darrell when the presentation was made,” said Norm Kurtz, past president of the Midwest Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, the group bestowing the award.
Pollack was among 11 men recognized for their work with Men’s Clubs, organizations that try to instill a sense of Jewish tradition in their members.
The ovation Pollack received surely would have embarrassed him. Simon said his friend, told he had been chosen, wondered how he could even ask people to come to a dinner in his honor.
“I’ve been telling everybody that he was a guy who didn’t like personal accolades,” he said. “He was a little uncomfortable with this thing.”
