Maccabee Award - 1997

Paul Soifer received the 1997 Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Maccabee Award for his leadership as Executive Co-Chair of the 1995 North American JCC Maccabi Youth Games that were held in Los Angeles.

A member of the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Youth Games since 1991, Soifer was the driving force behind acquiring the national event for the Los Angeles community. The event brought together nearly 1,200 Jewish-American youngsters, along with athletes from Canada, Costa Rica and Israel.

Soifer, a Ph.D. in Russian and East European History, began his Maccabi Youth Games commitment as a West Valley parent volunteer in 1986, and became Track and Field Coach of the Los Angeles delegation in 1990. Coaching the L.A. teams at the 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996 events, his athletes captured 80 gold, silver and bronze medals.