President's Message
Folks,
What a way to start the year!
Casino night was just last month, and it was fabulous! Did you see the photos? Please visit our Instagram and our Facebook pages. As you know the house always wins - but if the house is the Glen Rock Jewish Center, that feels pretty good. Dozens of us went home with baskets of goodies including premier hotel stays, restaurant meals, epic music posters, framed photographs, and even meals hosted at member houses. (One of the auction items was dinner for 6 at my house, and I have a pretty fancy menu in mind….) What a great event!
What a way to start the year!
Casino night was just last month, and it was fabulous! Did you see the photos? Please visit our Instagram and our Facebook pages. As you know the house always wins - but if the house is the Glen Rock Jewish Center, that feels pretty good. Dozens of us went home with baskets of goodies including premier hotel stays, restaurant meals, epic music posters, framed photographs, and even meals hosted at member houses. (One of the auction items was dinner for 6 at my house, and I have a pretty fancy menu in mind….) What a great event!
A humongous thank you goes out to the organizers. Under Marc Rosenwald’s splendid leadership, the team included Jack Linefsky, Bill Newberry, Marc Radin, Ellen Rosenwald, Lauren Susser, and Becky Weil. And thanks to the GRJC staff for all they did to support this event, including logistics (Galit and JoAnne), publicity (Mindy), and everything else (Jorge and Jorge). And thanks go out to all who contributed prizes and auction items.
This past Friday night was the annual Nursery School Shabbat dinner. The social hall was packed with more than 200 people - Nursery School kids, their parents and grandparents. The kids did it all - they made the decorations (many still hang on the social hall walls), they sang beautifully, with the wonderful guidance from their teachers, and they joined the rabbi leading Shabbat blessings.
A big thank you to everyone involved; Hilarie organized the event, together with the Nursery School staff, and Galit, Mindy, and JoAnne. Jorge and Jorge set up the room and made sure the food was warm and ready on time, and the teachers helped serve the food, and afterwards, cleaned up the room to make it ready for Shabbat services. A marvelous time was had by all!
And there are more events coming up soon; check out the GRJC calendar. There’s something for everyone: Wine Tasting, Comedy Night, Purim (carnival AND spiel), Mah Jongg, Senior Schmooze, Women’s Shabbat, Tu Bishvat, Torah on Tap, Shabbat Together with Chinese food dinner - and that’s just through March.
What a wonderful community we have!
A bit of Needleman news, if you would indulge me. Our daughter, Jess, got engaged in January. But it’s the “how” that is really something. Jess was taking a between-jobs trip to Portugal. Boyfriend Ben surprised her at a palace in Sintra and proposed there. That’s right. He surprised her by flying from Chicago to Portugal without her knowing he was coming, ring in pocket. A true surprise. It was the proposal to top all proposals, and here’s a photo:
This past Friday night was the annual Nursery School Shabbat dinner. The social hall was packed with more than 200 people - Nursery School kids, their parents and grandparents. The kids did it all - they made the decorations (many still hang on the social hall walls), they sang beautifully, with the wonderful guidance from their teachers, and they joined the rabbi leading Shabbat blessings.
A big thank you to everyone involved; Hilarie organized the event, together with the Nursery School staff, and Galit, Mindy, and JoAnne. Jorge and Jorge set up the room and made sure the food was warm and ready on time, and the teachers helped serve the food, and afterwards, cleaned up the room to make it ready for Shabbat services. A marvelous time was had by all!
And there are more events coming up soon; check out the GRJC calendar. There’s something for everyone: Wine Tasting, Comedy Night, Purim (carnival AND spiel), Mah Jongg, Senior Schmooze, Women’s Shabbat, Tu Bishvat, Torah on Tap, Shabbat Together with Chinese food dinner - and that’s just through March.
What a wonderful community we have!
A bit of Needleman news, if you would indulge me. Our daughter, Jess, got engaged in January. But it’s the “how” that is really something. Jess was taking a between-jobs trip to Portugal. Boyfriend Ben surprised her at a palace in Sintra and proposed there. That’s right. He surprised her by flying from Chicago to Portugal without her knowing he was coming, ring in pocket. A true surprise. It was the proposal to top all proposals, and here’s a photo:
Now back to the GRJC:
I would love to gather some feedback, if you are willing to do a bit of typing.
How’s the GRJC doing?
• What are we doing well?
• What could be better?
• What else would you like to tell us about?
Respond to this note with your thoughts and ideas to president@grjc.org, and in the spirit of continuous improvement, I’ll share them (un-attributed) with the exec board and board.
I would love to gather some feedback, if you are willing to do a bit of typing.
How’s the GRJC doing?
• What are we doing well?
• What could be better?
• What else would you like to tell us about?
Respond to this note with your thoughts and ideas to president@grjc.org, and in the spirit of continuous improvement, I’ll share them (un-attributed) with the exec board and board.
Thanks,
Mike Needleman
President
Thu, May 1 2025 3 Iyyar 5785