In 1980, my wife Barbara (A.K.A. Bobby) and I were members of Congregation Sharri Shalom where she was involved with the merger of two other synagogues (Beth Sholom and The North Brunswick JCC) to become what is now Congregation B'nai Tikvah. Bobby was the active one in our family who served on the School committee and as President of Sisterhood. I served on the building committee in 1982 during the construction of our new sanctuary and I helped Rabbi Warmflash by computerizing the monthly Yahrzeit letters where he used to have to calculate the date conversions himself.
It wasn't until 1999 that I was called upon by Rabbi Eligberg to assist Danny Greenberg with the website that they designed. The technical aspects were easy for me but, it was the gathering of the "content" that proved to be a challenge. The only way I could get useful information about the workings of the synagogue, was to actually attend many different meetings covering areas that I had little or no knowledge of.
On occasion, I would attend a meeting that made sense to me and I would contribute accordingly. Every committee I've been part of has been appreciative of a helping hand and welcomed new ideas. At the end of one our very successful events (That 70's Night), I remember commenting to the chairperson, Cindy Gittleman: "I don't recall how I got involved in this project". She said: "Don't you rememebr? You showed up at a meeting.". And that's exactly how anyone can get involved at B'nai Tikvah. Find something that interests you and just show up at a meeting. I can all but guarantee that you will be welcomed, appreciated, and have a chance to build lasting relationships.
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PAST PRESIDENTS
Ruth Anne Koenick
Dan Greenberg
Arie Behar
Mitch Frumkin
Jeff Schwartz
Mark Kasdin
Jack Mailman
Gary Tinkel
Susan Kleinman
Marc Dillman
Norman Politziner
David Offenberg
Marvin Stark
Ron Paley