Donor Tours Via Helicopter

By COLlive reporter

Philanthropist Adam Katz got a whirlwind tour of Jewish communities and Chabad institutions in Upstate New York on Thursday.

He managed to visit 4 locations thanks to the method of transportation that was at his disposal – a helicopter. Katz is the founder and CEO of Talon Air, a private jet charter company.

Leaving from his home in Long Island, where he is President of Chabad of Port Washington, Katz met up with Rabbi Shea Hecht and his sons Rabbis Yitzchok and Hanoch Hecht.

The Katz family has a long history with the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education (NCFJE), the organization the Hechts run.

His father Curtis Katz shared a warm friendship with NCFJE founder Rabbi JJ Hecht OBM. The relationship has continued through to the next generation: both Adam and brother Jason Katz are supporters of NCFJE.

The day-long tour comes on the heels of a planned expansion of the Chabad institutions in Duchess County, including the purchase of a large property in Poughkeepsie.

While touring, Katz discussed the outlook for the local Jewish community with Ulster County Executive Mike Hien and Comptroller Elliot Auerbach.

“The services the organization provides the community at large are absolutely vital,” Katz told the local media about NCFJE-Chabad’s work.

From Duchess County, Katz flew to Kingston to tour the Chabad-run hospitality suites he founded in 2009. The suites provide Shabbos hospitality to those visiting the area; and serves as home to the women’s division of the Ivy League Torah Study Program in the summer.

The tour concluded with a visit to the Shaloh Center in Napanock, home to the men’s Ivy League program and venue to a number of programs throughout the summer.

“Adam is the type of individual that literally restores my faith in mankind,” said Rabbi Shea Hecht. “I look at a guy like Adam and think to myself ‘there’s nothing this guy can’t accomplish…'”

And there is nowhere he can’t fly…