TALLAHASSEE, FL, UNITED STATES, October 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Yesterday, the Holocaust Education Resource Council (HERC) honored the more than six million Jewish lives lost during the Holocaust, along with the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution, during its 15th Annual Holocaust Remembrance Dinner.

Supported by over 350 members of the community, the event united local leaders, families, educators, and students to reflect on the lessons of the Holocaust and strengthen a shared commitment to education, empathy, and resilience.

“It was an amazing event to support Holocaust education at an important time for our community. The honorees were the highlight to shine the light for everyone to follow,” said Barbara Goldstein, Executive Director of the Holocaust Education Resource Council.

During the evening, HERC presented Alan Hanstein, Executive Director of the Challenger Learning Center, with the Steve Uhlfelder Humanitarian Award. Tom Flanigan, Program Director for News at WFSU Public Media, received the Community Leadership Award. Both honorees were recognized for their meaningful contributions to regional Holocaust education and outreach initiatives.

“Steve was a mentor, friend, and role model who fought tirelessly for those without a voice. If you knew Steve, you know just how much this honor means to me,” stated Alan Hanstein, Executive Director of the Challenger Learning Center. “Holocaust education asks us to do more than remember. It challenges us to recognize our shared humanity, confront hatred, and give young people the courage to stand up for others.”

“HERC teaches so many lessons to folks young and less young,” said Tom Flanigan, Director for News at WFSU Public Media. “But perhaps its most profound message is that all of us have the capacity, both for remarkable acts of kindness and horrific atrocities. Ultimately, we are responsible for making that choice.”

Joined by guest speaker David Goldman, Chair of the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics, attendees and HERC leadership reflected on the lasting scars of the Holocaust, the unmatched strength of survivors, and the importance of continued education.

“More than 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, we must never forget, especially today, that the Holocaust could not have occurred without the active involvement and complicity of Germany’s professionals, people who were strikingly normal people who made terrible choices based on motivations that look very familiar to all of us today,” reflected David Goldman, Founder and Chairman of FASPE. “Thus, their behavior is a reminder to us all to strive for self-awareness and ethical leadership, not complicity. Their behavior is a clarion call to us all to recognize our own vulnerabilities, and to reject moral blindness in our day-to-day activities. I am pleased for FASPE to partner with HERC in its efforts to promote effective and universal Holocaust education.”

The annual dinner supports HERC’s education and community outreach initiatives across the Big Bend region. In 2026, HERC hosted over 20 regional events, including teacher training workshops, film screenings, school presentations, and other educational programming. Throughout the year, HERC positively impacted over 400 students, 50 teachers, and administrators across the Big Bend region.

“These programs make them [students] aware of the social and cultural differences we have in our student populations and embrace that,” said Superintendent Rocky Hanna, Leon County Schools. “We want them to embrace the diversity that we have and that we have with each other.”

Working alongside local, state, and national partners, including Leon County Schools, the Tallahassee Jewish Federation, Ruby Diamond Foundation, the Florida Department of Education, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, HERC remains committed to teaching tolerance, empathy, and historical truth while building hope and silencing hate.

For more information about HERC, visit holocaustresources.org.


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About The Holocaust Education Resource Council (HERC)

The Holocaust Education Resource Council (HERC) is a nonprofit organization based in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 2007 by Barbara Goldstein and Rita Miller Blank, two women whose parents were Holocaust survivors. HERC provides educators, students, and the public with resources, training, and programs that preserve the history of the Holocaust while promoting tolerance, respect, and human dignity. To learn more, visit HERC’s website and follow them on Facebook.

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