Alumni Family of The Year
Flossy and Sam Fischel
Ari Fischel (‘94), Leah Fischel (‘97) and Dr. Jason Fischel (‘99)
When it was time for Sam and Flossy Fischel to begin considering schools for their children they wanted an environment that would support the values that were important to them: love of their Jewish heritage and a strong secular education. With that in mind they enrolled their children, Ari, Leah and Jason at BiCultural Day school for elementary school and then WHHS for high school. Over the years that followed, their children’s lives became ensconced in Westchester with school activities and friends. While their youngest child graduated in 1999, their relationship with WHHS was far from over. To this day they continue to advocate for and support the school. This past March Rabbi Greenberg officiated at Leah’s wedding to Gregory Miller.
Sam and Flossy met while studying at Machon WUJS in Arad Israel. They returned to Flossy’s home in Vancouver, Canada where they were married. They then returned to Stamford to begin their family. Following their return to Stamford, Sam and Flossy each decided to return to school in New Haven to obtain masters degrees, Sam in business and Flossy in education. Armed with his new degree, and a fluency in several languages, Sam along with his partner, founded Prime Transport, a custom brokerage- freight forwarding company. Over the past 20 years they were able to build the business into one of the most successful freight forwarding businesses at JFK Airport, with forty employees and a second office in Florida.
Flossy returned, as an “older student” to Yeshiva University to obtain an MSW and worked as a clinician in a mental health agency. Currently she works in the Connecticut court system as a Guardian Ad Litem, advocating for the best interests of children.
WHHS prepared their children well, enabling each one to be successful at their respective universities. Ari attended the University of Maryland and graduated from the School of Business. He was hired, immediately following his graduation, by General Electric, where he worked for 13 years and worked his way up to vice-president in finance. Recently he was recruited by another public company where he holds the position of vice-president for financial planning and analysis. He, his wife Ellen, and son Davey live in the upper west side section of Manhattan.
Leah went “home” to Canada to attend York University in Toronto, where she graduated with a degree in Psychology. When she returned to Stamford, she continued her education in psychology and obtained her masters degree, followed by her advanced degree in school psychology. She worked for three years as a school psychologist in Shelton, Connecticut while living in New Haven. This spring she is preparing to graduate with a PsyD in clinical psychology. She lives with her husband in Stamford. Leah is training, with her husband and also her trainer, to participate in the half marathon in Florida in January in support of Chai Lifeline.
Jason attended Rutgers University where he studied public health, and subsequently graduated with honors. He went on to study medicine and do his residency in Emergency Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Currently he lives in Stamford and practices medicine in the emergency department at Stamford Hospital.
Sam and Flossy have raised their children with the values they learned from their families. Flossy learned that if one takes from the community it is important to give back. With that in mind she has taken active roles in both the school communities and the general community. When he was 9 years old Sam’s parents and sister immigrated to the United States from Germany, where his parents lived for 10 years following the Holocaust. They left Europe with little more than their personal possessions. From them Sam learned that education is a stepping stone to success. Sam and Flossy are both grateful to their families for the valuable tools they raised them with, as well as a strong commitment to their heritage.
Sam and Flossy are grateful to Hashem for their three children and grandchild, their pride and blessing. They are honored to receive this kavod from WHHS and look forward to being able to continue their support for the school for many years to come. They congratulate their fellow honorees and wish them continued koach to enable them to continue their good work for WHHS.