Men's Club - June
Hello PJTC,
Men’s Club held its annual Hy Vego Man of the Year (MOTY) Award night coupled this year with our Josh Pais Lifetime Achievement Award (LAA) on May 22, 2022. The dinner event was held at the magnificent Flying A Garage, a veritable museum of vintage vehicles, owned by PJTC and MC members Aaron and Valerie Weiss. Here’s a pre event snapshot of a portion of the venue:
Over 100 people attended the event with music performed by the Federation Youth Orchestra, centerpieces by USY and catering by Simply Perfect Catering. Our honorees Jack Singer (MOTY) and Dr. Stuart Miller (LAA) were toasted (and a little roasted) in front of an enthusiastic and warm crowd and received certificates or commendations from members of Congress (Schiff and Chu), state legislators (Portantino and Holden), County Board of Supervisors (Barger) as well as PJTC, PJTC Sisterhood, and Jewish Federation of the greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys along with the named awards. It was an evening to be remembered.
We are coming up to our annual meeting on June 26, 2022 at PJTC at 9:30 a.m., where the general membership (you) will be voting on the proposed slate of officers and directors for the 2022–23. We will be sharing the proposed budget for the next fiscal year as well. Of significant importance will be a general membership vote on the amended bylaws, a copy of which is attached. Questions any of you may have about the proposed amended bylaws, the budget or the proposed slate of Board members will be addressed at the annual meeting. Regrettably I will be unavailable to be at that meeting as I will be a co-officiant at my brother’s wedding, but you’ll be in good hands….the meeting will be chaired by past President Erich Schlecht, who happened to chair both the nominating and bylaws committee. Jack Singer and Jon Weisz will address any questions regarding the budget.
Since I won’t be at the annual meeting let me just say that it has been a privilege and an honor to have been President of the PJTC Men’s Club these past two years. When I agreed to be President no one had an idea what the Covid-19 pandemic would mean to any of us. In fact the nominating committee met at one of the Hebrews and Burgers gatherings at T. Boyle’s Tavern, congregating around a pool table not knowing that would be the last in-person meeting of any type for nearly two years.
As Plato famously wrote “our need will be the real creator” which was molded over time into the English proverb, “necessity is the mother of invention.” And so began a renaissance of sorts…Men’s Club had to reinvent itself, to reach out and engage more than we ever had in the past because, for many, two dimensional computer contact (aka Zooming) was the only contact one had with others in the community. You may recall several entertaining and informative programs we either sponsored ourselves or in conjunction with PJTC Social Hall, Sisterhood or Federation, such as an evening with an airline pilot on safely flying during the pandemic or our night entitled “So you want to own a comedy club” with (former) Ice House Comedy Club owner Bob Fisher and his cadre of comedians. I thought my tears from laughter were going to short-circuit my computer keyboard! We also hosted more serious events including Covid-19 related discussions related to pediatric, adult and geriatric concerns.
Throughout it all we never lost sight of our Mission: to support Jewish youth organizations and related activities. Monies raised through membership dues, football and basketball pools, donations and tributes to honorees have been used to support the Louis B Silver religious school, USY/Kadima, Jewish Federation youth programs (symphony, camps, etc), B’nai Simcha preschool and the greater PHTC community. When you come on the PJTC campus for a chilly outdoor event, those space heaters were donated by Men’s Club. The pop-up canopies, the barbecue, the grill…all of which promote gatherings….donated by Men’s Club. Yads for each B’Nai Mitzvah, adult beverages for Purim night and the Megillah reading and Shabbat, sufganiyah for Hanukkah and on and on. And recently when a young man from our community hoping to become an Eagle Scout made a presentation to the PJTC Board seeking permission to develop a creative learning wall for B’nai Simcha…which B’nai Simcha agreed to fund, I advised that Men’s Club would cover the costs…simply because that’s what we do.
Speaking of the PJTC Board, I wish to acknowledge and thank the leadership and members for their dedication to our synagogue and community. The Men’s Club and Sisterhood Presidents are automatically members of the PJTC Board. I had the honor to work with President Geoff DeBoskey in 2020-21 and President Stacey Sharpe in 2021-22. These two care deeply and passionately about PJTC and doing whatever it takes to continue to see all of thrive.
On behalf of the Men’s Club Board, let me thank you for your continued support by being a member, coming to and/or participating in our events, encouraging others to join, honoring those we honor with tributes and donations and getting involved. You don’t need to wait to be asked, we’ll gratefully accept your membership, involvement and suggestions at any time. Personally, I wish to thank the Officers and Board members of the Men’s Club and you, the members of PJTC for the past two delightfully challenging, entertaining and fulfilling years of continuing our Mission to support the Jewish Youth in our community.
Because that’s what we do!
Shalom,
Fred Rotenberg, Pres.
PJTC Men’s Club 2020-22
