January 17, 1998

My Brother Alephs,

Eight months ago, I said in my election speech that the future does not just happen, we must create it. Gentlemen, we have done so. When we were elected into the offices of Central Region East Aleph Zadik Aleph we had the future in our hands. It was up to us to mold it to greatness. Gentlemen, we have done so.

From the looks of our accomplishments, it may seem as if we are almost done. This is not true. We have only just begun. Now that we have membership up, we need to start working on the members. Let me pose a question to you. What is AZA? Are we AZA? Do we represent the Seven Cardinal Principles: Conduct, Charity, Filial Love, Fraternity, Patriotism, Purity, and Judaism as our founding fathers intended? Are we the future of AZA that those men envisioned? Look around you. No, look at yourself. What have you done to make Central Region East AZA a little better? What have you done to make your chapter better? What have you done to elevate yourself as a better Aleph? A few times a year, we come together and a man with a gavel asks, "How is our region?" But it is the chapters that make up the regions and the Alephs that make up those chapters. Often it is said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Well, a region is only as strong as its weakest Aleph. And so again, I ask you tonight, what kind of Aleph are you?

I am highlighting the importance of the Aleph because I believe that this is one area Central Region East AZA has neglected. It took me a while before I understood what it meant to be an Aleph. When we look for a source to the problem, we find that the problem is with education, or lack thereof. In a conversation with Daniel Septimus, the Grand Aleph Godol (GAG) he told me that one of the things he would be stressing at Feb. Execs, would be the education of the Aleph. I felt that it was my duty then to stress it to you at our execs, so that you can stress it at home. We need to teach our members about our organization. There is a great history behind us and in order for us to survive as an organization it must be kept alive. We need to institute some sort of training for Alephs, something that many of us have never had. Putting Alephs through a training period could build fraternity at the chapter level and heighten chapter spirit.

I would like to speak briefly on chapter spirit. I wonder where many of your allegiances are. Are you more of an Aleph in your chapter, region, or in the international order? I mentioned this because there has been an alarming trend this year of Alephs traveling to other cities to go to another chapter’s program. In moderation, this is a beneficial process. But when the chapter board members, or even regular Alephs, skip their own chapter’s program for another chapter’s, I am alarmed. Chapter programs should be scheduled around the regional programming schedule, not around other chapters’ programming schedules.

On speaking about programs, I would like to talk about them in general. Do you think that you are having enough programs? Are you including programming that covers the five-folds? Do you know who Boris D. Bogen was? BBYO offers us an infinite amount of programming. We have so many choices of types that we can have, ranging from Athletic to Social to Judaic to Community Service. As Alephs we need to go out there into the world and say, "I can make a difference," because we can, and that is a lot of what being a complete Aleph is all about.

There are also simultaneous programs, which are seven international programs that occur simultaneous. They include Drug and Alcohol Month (December), OUTREACH Month (January), Advisor Appreciation Month (March), Holocaust Appreciation Week (Nissan 24-30), Brotherhood Week (April-May), AZA Founder’s Day (May 3), and AZA Shabbat (May 1-3). But how many of you have actually participated in these events? Year after year, these great programming opportunities are lost. It is still not too late to do them.

There are many ways for the Regional Board to be more effective. Just presenting ourselves at conventions as regional board does not do anything. If we want to see things happen, then we need to make them happen. As regional board, we are literally powerless at making things happen in the chapter. It all depends upon if the Chapter officers are motivated. That is where we come in. It is our duty as regional board members to make sure that they are motivated and they are doing their job. If they are not doing there job, then we are not doing our job.

So far, this year’s board has proved to be an excellent and resourceful one and has really helped me in getting my job accomplished. Scott, Jason, Jason and Josh, you have all helped a lot this year and I hope that the Alephs of our region recognize that. One thing that I ask of all of you is to dedicate more time to sending out releases, emailing, mailing, calling and visiting your counterparts. The only way we can be effective is if we communicate with them.

Scott Jason Hoeflich, Aleph S’gan: Scott, you are my right hand man. In the beginning of the year, you set a goal for yourself. You said that you wanted to find out where the chapters needed improving and would find ways to help them. I hope that you are doing well with this task and am looking forward to your expounding to us at the end of the year what you have found and how we can help. You have been a great help for me at the meetings and for that I would like to thank you. Also, I would like to commend you on putting together the programming form. There is one thing that I would like to see you work on this year. I would like to see a compilation of all the chapter programs put together and provided to all the chapters several times throughout the year. This would be a great resource for us to see what chapters are doing and for chapters to get different ideas for programs. Chapters are having programs and they should be sending in their programming forms. If they aren’t, then you should be contacting them and talking to them. Please make sure that all chapters are fulfilling the international requirements of Program Thrusts and are following the Boris D. Bogen Five Fold and Full Program.

Jason Michael Torban, Aleph Moreh: Jason, you are the only Junior on the board, but age isn’t everything. Back in June you set the Regional goal of 200. Congratulations, we achieved that in no time flat. Besides your fascination with Austin Powers, Spice Girls and South Park, you have proved to be an excellent leader this year. Did I mention that you have a great co? You did an excellent job planning IT convention this year; all of the members left feeling one with AZA. I would also like to commend you on your steady flow of releases.

Jason Michael Resch, Aleph Mazkir: Jason, I would like to commend you on doing an excellent job this year with the Grand Central. This year Mazkir has the added responsibility of fundraising and I would just like to emphasize the importance of your stressing them when you contact your counterparts. Please focus on fundraising and communication. We need to make sure that all chapters are doing fundraising and help them if they need help. You are doing a great job with the ISF Box in the meetings. I am amazed at the amount of money that we are bringing in. As Mazkir, you are to make sure that chapters are not having trouble with phone chains and releases. Also, please put out a release. Several members have been asking for one.

Joshua Samuel Schoenberg, Aleph Shaliach: Josh, your position is one that I hold very close and dear to my heart. You hold a young position and it is still being molded for the region. In the beginning of the year you set a goal of creating a Regional Community Service Award that was similar to the Perlman Award. Well, it still isn’t too late to start working on it. I would like to commend you on redoing the Friday and Saturday Shabbat Service Booklets; They look really nice. Also, please make sure that all the chapters are visiting the Ronald McDonald Houses. So far, only Wilmington and West Chester have been there. Also, put out a release, members have been asking for one (The Spreading RASh would be a great title!).

Brian Daniel Krasney, Aleph Kohen Godol: Brian, I would just like to thank you for always being there when I need someone to talk to. I don’t just want to thank you for your advice, but also for being a friend, but more importantly, a brother.

This year, we have six chairmanships. Heading Bridge the Gap is Matt Tanzer and Alan Brody. They have been contacting other regions and districts throughout BBYO in order to start Pen Pal programs. I would like to commend them for their efforts and look forward to seeing their endeavors continued in future years. The Yearbook Chair is Jake Milunsky and he has been busy taking pictures for the regional yearbook. Fraternity Chair is headed by Aaron Eisenberg and Dan Feinberg who have been promoting fraternity throughout the region. The Internet chair is headed by Adam Tope and Dan Odess. For the past year I have worked on our region’s homepage and now it is time to turn it over. The CRE Webpage is now located at http://CRE.NSERVER.COM/ The Senior Trip Chairman is Brian Krasney, who has been diligently working on this year’s senior trip. We will be going to Fallsview on February 27th to March 1. Fallsview is an all-inclusive Kosher resort. Havdallah chair is Jason Deitcher, who has begun using more Jewish songs, including Im Tirzu and Bashanah Habaah as regular songs along with the other regulars. He has been working with Adam Richman and Matt Aronson.

Rabbi Greenberg (Allentown) AZA #156: Well, I can start by saying Mazel Tov! Your chapter has truly proved to be the heart of the region. Not only is the regional office located in Allentown, but also half of the region’s membership. When I came up for your AIT Overnight Program I learned a lot about AZA. You taught me fraternity and traditions as they should be taught. I experienced them as I was inducted as a member of Allentown AZA. And for that, I thank you. You guys also had Football Tournies in October. They were a great success (with West Chester losing twice). Your membership this year has been incredible. As of right now you have sixty-two members. That is ten more than you had last year. Adam Richman has truly done a good job in filling Torban’s shoes. Besides those on board, I have seen an amazing base of young leaders in your chapter. I only see good things for you in the future. Thank you to all of the members that have been helping out at the regional office.

Larry Urie (Harrisburg) AZA #128: As of today you are six members short of your standing from last year. In that aspect you need improving. You have a good base of young leaders; Use them. You guys need to work together to bring Harrisburg back to where it belongs. If you have any problems, feel free to talk to me about them. That is what I am here for. So far this year, I have not been able to make it up to a program, but I promise I will be there sometime this year. Good luck with Tournies.

Kol Hadroar (King of Prussia) BBYO #5035: One thing that amazes me, is that despite the inner problems among board members, programs always turn out being successful. I have enjoyed all of your chapter programs and look forward to attending more throughout the year. I was extremely impressed with your new member program where the history of AZA was taught through an AZA Trivia game. You always have a variety of programming to keep the members interested. The Hayride was a huge success, as well as the KOP Coffee House. I am glad to see you having programs and meetings every week. Without a Moreh, you guys still seemed to keep the membership rising. You now have seventeen Alephs, an increase from last year of two members. A lot of thanks go out to Brian Krasney and Matt Goldfine.

Tikun Olam (Newark) BBYO #5181: I haven’t had much contact with you this year besides a few phone calls and releases. I have one question for you. Where are the guys? Your chapter has a nine to eighteen ratio of boys to girls. Please keep me informed on what programs you are having and I look forward to visiting you.

Ariel (State College) BBYO #5036: I was very worried for the first part of the year when we had no membership for State College. Finally, you sent in some dues. However, we still need to get more. Once upon a time, State College used to be one of the largest chapters in Central Region East. Now you have only a few members. You need to get the whip cracking and start getting those guys to join. With a small Jewish population, you need to get all the members that you can get. If you need help, you have the regional board and office at your disposal. From our conversations, I see that you are having good programming. Keep it up and make sure that you contact us and tell us what is going on and let us know if you need help. Things were a bit confusing in the beginning of the year with your advisor situation, but with my brother starting as advisor, things should get a little bit better when it comes to communication.

Sondra Moore (West Chester) BBYO #5206: I love you guys! I am amazed when I take a look at all the programming that is going on this year. You have doubled and tripled the amount of programming that has gone on in past years. And membership is also amazing. You have twenty-four Alephs now; that is seven more than you had last year. I was a bit worried with the thought of ten seniors graduating this year, thinking that there would be nothing left of the chapter. I am glad that you proved me wrong. Mike Rawl has done an amazing job. I was so excited when we had our first AIT Overnight and Induction’s (We were graced by the presence of Jason Torban). The Turkey Dance was also a huge success with the new DJ, the fire alarm going off and the Miss AZA and Mr. BBG contests. I would also like to commend you on your visit to the Ronald McDonald House.

Brian L. Dombchick (Wilmington) AZA #164: I would like to congratulate you on exceeding your membership by five members and reaching forty. Also, great job on Kickoff. I have been to a few meetings and have seen a lot of good things. I would also like to commend you on your visit to the Ronald McDonald House. You have the convenience of having it in your town, so take advantage of it and visit more often. By the way, how was Hooters?

Well, we are almost done. Let’s take a break. Get up and stretch. Okay, much better.

Now, I would just like to test your AZA knowledge with the following questions:

Hopefully you had no problem answering these questions. If you did, then, it is a sure sign that you need to stress AZA education more in your chapter. Here are the answers:

Now that we have gone through regional board, chairmen and chapters, I will go through the different conventions, their coordinators and random facts about each.

RLTI, Camp Saginaw: Just about a week after school started we all made the yearly pilgrimage down to Camp Saginaw for RLTI. When we got there on September 12th, we were ready to begin the year. Jason Resch coordinated it with Meg Synnamon. It seemed to be a complete success with almost all members leaving motivated to begin the new year. RLTI was not just a time for us to learn how to do our positions, it was a time for all of us to get to know each other better. Saturday afternoon we had Frank, the ex Neo-Nazi Skinhead speak and Saturday evening we had a talent show and our secret sacred ceremony. Here, members learned the true meaning of CRE (Cock Rear Entry) and also learned that "There’s no such pwaaaaaaaaaaah!! THAT’S BEAT!"

In Training, Reading, PA: IT convention was what did it for me; This was what gave me that boost for the year. Seeing all those new members really inspired me. I said to myself, "You know what, David? Things are changing, and for the better." To Jason Torban, I owe a lot of thanks. He did an amazing job, planning this convention. His time spent working on it really paid off. There were a few things added this year to IT Convention that really made it special. One thing of major importance was the Trust Walk. This gave the members a better feel of what the history of AZA is. Yes, it is nothing compared to the extent of education that should be happening, but it was a start. The AIT Manual that Torban made also was a great addition. Induction's, however, was what really amazed me. Fifty-four members were inducted into the Aleph Zadik Aleph at IT Convention. We had sixty-five Alephs present (amazing). It really touched me to hear people like Fabio Apelbaum speak and talk about what AZA and BBYO has/and is doing for them. Also, the Laser Tag and Roller-skating were a lot of fun.

Kickoff, Wilmington, DE: Nothing truly starts till you give it a kick. And thus began the social scene for Central Region East. Kickoff convention was coordinated by Mike Stiebel and held in Wilmington. We had many exciting programs during this convention including the baby naming of Emily Mara Slavkin and the Jews for Jesus program. The meeting was also a lot of fun with "Fucking" housing lists and AZA cover-ups.

Tournaments, Harrisburg, PA: With only a few more weeks to go, it is time for you chapters to start cracking. Tournies is coming upon us soon. This year, Matt Forman and Harrisburg have a lot of new things planned for us, including a new Chapter Spirit program and new spirit sticks.

Being that the organization we are in, includes BBG, I will talk a bit about them. This year's board has been a pleasure to work with. They have taken our pranks extremely well. To highlight our evil deeds: we kidnapped their Sesame Street crap and ransomed them off for their bras and panties to be hung on the flagpole as they danced and sang around it. We also mocked their regional T-shirts by creating our own which jokingly and phallically made fun of them.

Also, being that we are an "International" organization, I will talk a little bit about International. In the past few years, Central Region East has been sending many members on summer programs. We need to start promoting them for this year and getting our members to go. On the question of Daniel Septimus’s (GAG) visit, I have no information as of yet, but hopefully we will be receiving a visit from him. It has been about three years since we have received a visit and we are long due. Daniel Septimus has been very active in promoting our region this year. He has included us in his releases, congratulating us on our membership increase.

On the Region as whole, there have been many things which have happened to us this year. As you all know, we received a budget cut from International. This budget cut forced us to lose our secretary, Bobbi Rogers, after 20 years of service to Central Region East. With Bobbi gone, lots of help is needed at the regional office, so I urge all of you to contact the regional office and find out where you can help. With all the bad, however, there is some good. On a whole, Central Region East membership is up. BBG is slow on that end, but are quickly picking up the pace.

Baruch Spinoza said, "If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past." Throughout this year, I have done a lot with the files of Central Region East Aleph Zadik Aleph. In my basement is an office filled with files that tell the history of Central Region East. Following suit after Brian Krasney, I have gone through the files (all of them) and worked on organizing them. Through doing this, I have come to learn a lot about our region. I have seen when it was good and I have seen when it was bad. I have seen what we have done this year and I have seen what Central Region East has done and is capable of doing. I know that we can do a lot better. This is not to say that this year has not been good. On the contrary, it has been exceptional. It has been one of the best in the past few years. We have improved already in many facets, but there are still a lot more places that need improvement.

You have heard what I have to say on this year so far. I hope you are all proud of your accomplishments this year. Remember, you have a little over four more months to accomplish all that we set out to do. Remember that you are not alone in your journey. We are all heading in the same direction. So take the advice of the Dude of Life. "Set your gearshift for the high gear of your soul, you’ve got to run like an antelope out of control." We are all in this organization to become better people and learn to become leaders. But more importantly, don’t forget to have fun.

Fraternally submitted, with an undying love for Central Region East Aleph Zadik Aleph,

 

 

 

_{David Ari Hulnick
Regional Aleph Godol
Central Region East Aleph Zadik Aleph
1997-1998/5757-5758}

 

 

"If you will it, then it is no dream"

 

Click here to go back to CRE's Webpage