Winter 2012 by Touro Fraternal Association

2012 FEBRUARY 5772

INSIDE This Issue

The Big "Purple" Bug?? page 3

Reynold's Wrap on Sports page 4

Nominations Meeting to be Held March 6 By Art Poulten

he national presidential elections come up every four years. At Touro, it happens every year! It’s not as boisterous, exciting or obnoxious (depending on your individual tastes) as the national elections, but it’s just as important to the Association. On the national level the nominating process takes time. The primaries and caucuses keep going right up to the national nominating conventions. At Touro, things are a little simpler. Touro’s “nominating convention” will be Tuesday, March 6, at 7 p.m., at Touro Hall. Candidates will be nominated for four positions in each lodge: president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. All are one-year terms. There are six three-year terms open on the Board of Directors. Regular members in good standing may be nominated to serve as lodge officers or on the board.

Serving as an officer or board member is not mandatory, of course. It is, however, recommended for brothers who want to give back to Touro a little of what they receive. The officers and board members run the Association. They create and implement the plans for the Touro events. There’s no compensation other than the satisfaction of knowing what you’re doing is creating a better Touro. If you have the desire and interest to serve – or you know a brother who would make a good officer – be sure to save the date, Tuesday, March 6, and take part in Touro’s Nominating Convention. The election process is simple, too. Elections will be held Wednesday, May 2, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Touro. P.S.: Don’t forget -- after the night’s business meeting, you can make and devour your own ice cream sundae!

2012 Student Financial Aid Program Kicks off in March By Jed Brandes, Chairman, Student Financial Aid

Fischer's True North page 4

Name that tune..... page 5

he Board of Directors is pleased to announce the renewal of the Student Financial Aid program for 2012. This program has become one of Touro’s most appreciated benefits. Once again, the Student Financial Aid Committee has a Boardapproved budget of $45,000. The funds will be awarded in the form of three outright grants of $3,000 and up to another $36,000 in interest-free loans of up to $3,000 each. Regular Touro members and their children, as well as the children of deceased regular members, may apply for aid. Previous grant recipients will not be eligible for an additional grant. They still, however, qualify for the interest-free loans. Beginning with this year, students will be limited to a total of $12,000 in loans over the life of their academic careers. Applications for both the loans and the grants will be available in March. Complete details will follow in an early March mailing announcing the program’s kickoff. ~1~

From The Chairman The times, they sure are changing.

s I begin my 34th year in a leadership role at Touro, I have been reflecting how things have changed. Maybe I should say, how things are continuing to change. Yet no matter whether they have changed or are continuing to change, they still remain the same. What do I mean? We continue to find ways to improve our association. We continue to find ways to bring in new members, both young and old. We continue to find new and exciting speakers for our monthly meetings. We continue to find new and different entertainment for our two-fers and dinner dance. We continue to try new meals for our meetings. All the things we have been doing as far back as I can remember. The one thing that does not seem to change is our struggle to find leaders who want to do more than just come to a meeting, join in the discussion and in our typical fashion, discuss and pick apart every idea or thought that someone has. In fact, we are very good at the latter. Most folks do not realize that most of the work that it takes to do what we do is done by a handful of people. Those people are becoming harder to find. It is interesting, that most people will speak up about an issue, offer their opinion, yet when asked to actually do something...no response!! I don’t mean to imply that we are different than many other organizations in that respect – we’re not! So I say...let’s dare to be different! Aren’t there any brothers out there who want to become more involved? Aren’t there any brothers who want to give back? Where are the young brothers with new ideas to propel us forward to our 100th year? Where are Touro’s future leaders? We have a vibrant organization. We have lots of activities for our membership. We provide many benefits to our members. I urge you to participate at any level you can. We have a bright future ahead if, and only if, we continue to nurture and give back to the Association. Fraternally, Robert D. Miller-Chairman Board of Directors

Social Scene

By Lester Nathan Vice President, Friendship Lodge

he Social Committee’s planning horizon usually extends up to six months out, so in January, we were looking out as far as June and July. If you missed going to a PawSox game with Touro last year, good news: we’re heading back to Pawtucket on either July 2nd or 3rd to watch the hometown team play the Rochester Redwings. Details and flyers will come out in May. December 2011 was a very successful month for the Social Committee. Keith Johnson (aka The Bubble man) was a big hit with the kids and grownups at the annual Chanukah party on the 18th. The monthly lodge meeting was a winner, featuring a great meal and engaging speaker, Bill Fischer. And on the 25th, the annual dinner and movie event went smoothly, as the food at the China Buffet garnered good reviews. Here’s what’s scheduled for the next few months: • On February 29 th, we’re returning to Chelo’s Hometown Bar & Grill in Warwick to hear and ask questions of Providence’s Mayor Angel Taveras at a meeting hosted by Friendship Lodge. • Tuesday, March 6 th , will be Nomination of Candidates Night. After the lodge officer and board member nominations are over, we’ll celebrate with ice cream sundaes. The monthly Social Committee meeting will follow. • Harmony Lodge will host special guest speaker Consul Ronit Pearl, from the Israeli Consulate in Boston on March 28th. • For our spring theater outing in Providence, we’ve chosen Boeing – Boeing, a European comedy performed at Trinity Rep on April 22nd. • On April 18th, the annual Open House meeting will feature Ed Cooley, the basketball coach of the Providence College Friars. Kosher baked chicken will be on the menu. • The Spring Two-fer moves to the Via Roma Restaurant in Providence on May 5th. Entertainment will feature the Edwards Twins, two brothers who can impersonate 100 different stars. ~2~

TOUROGRAPHY: THE BIG PURPLE BUG?

By Howard Wasser id you know that the Big Blue Bug was originally purple? for a teen tour reunion. Steve’s life was never the same. The next four years were spent at Boston University. Steve It faded to blue so they painted it purple again. The same thing happened, so it was left blue. Were it not always played down how smart he was. His roommates never saw for this turn of events, we may not know Steve Goldman as we him study. What a surprise when they found out how well he had done. His romance with Laurie was able to survive these years even know him now. Steve was born July 5, 1950 (he didn’t want to share his though she was at Cornell. Because of Laurie, he began to think more birthday with the good old U. S. of A.). On that day in history, seriously about the future. The family business started to look pretty Israel passed legislation called the Law of Return. That law gives good. His roommates thought this was a good idea too, except for one day, when a mouse ran across the kitchen floor of Jews the right of return and settlement in Israel and the apartment. Steve and one of the roommates chased also to gain citizenship. I don’t know if Steve will ever the mouse around with pots and pans until the mouse take advantage of this law, but he could. Like many ran down to the floor below. This was beginning of the of us in Touro, he lived in South Providence before future pest control king. quickly moving to Providence. It was very convenient Even though Steve’s future was set, his father to Temple Emanuel and he could pursue his Jewish insisted he continue his education. He went to education without needing a car. the Wharton Business School at the University of Back then, there wasn’t much concern about Pennsylvania. He got his MBA and was ready. letting your kids walk to school, so Steve and his two Life has been good, as he married Laurie and had older sisters walked to school and temple. Because he four sons. was the only boy, it was assumed Steve would go into Now, onto the Touro connection. Over the years, the family business. His father started it in 1935 and wanted to see it continue. Steve didn’t give this much thought until Steve has served on many boards. One of them was as a director with he reached high school. He was involved in a variety of activities the Lincoln Park Cemetery. Art Poulten was also on the Cemetery such as playing the violin in the orchestra and tennis (in which Board and asked Steve to come to Touro. He liked what he saw and he earned a letter). Maybe the family business was not for him. joined right away and soon realized many of his friends were already How many Jewish boys are involved in the protection business? members. Over the years, Steve has won more than one Joke-Off How about being a lawyer, or a teacher, or better yet, a standup (helping to satisfy his longing to do standup comedy) and won comic. Anyone who knows Steve always has a smile on his face more than one trivia contest with Andy Lamchick as his partner. (nothing better than a good joke according to Steve). This would His desire to become a teacher is satisfied by his mentoring role at Touro. As for the law, he can talk to the variety of lawyers who are come from his parents. After graduating from high school, he went on a teen tour to Touro members. He comes to most of the monthly meetings and you Europe. There he met Laurie Schindler from New York. They had will always see him with Laurie at two-fers and the annual dinner a great time on the trip but when the trip was over, it seemed the dance. Did you know that Steve shares a birthday with Huey Lewis? romance would not survive the distance between New York and R.I. Laurie was not giving up that easily. She formed a committee Maybe Steve could get Huey for Touro.

My Wish List for 2012

By Norman Dinerman, President, Harmony Lodge

ith 2011 behind us, 2012 brings hope for new beginnings. With this in mind, I would like to share a few wishes for you and your families. First and foremost, a wish of peace for all mankind; we could all use a little more serenity and a little less hostility. Let 2012 bring good health and friendships; giving us a chance to gather together with our brothers and their families. May we enjoy each other’s company and share dreams in a place where all are blessed with no war, sickness or hunger. 2012 also brings new achievements and our goal for this year is to beat 2011’s record for membership growth. This should be an easy task with such luxurious prizes like the ride to the Venus de Milo and the free meal for you and your friends. In addition, Touro made a variety of significant donations to organizations

within our community last year. My wish is that for this year, we can have more members become involved in helping our community and making mitzvahs. Let’s make this New Year even more exciting than last! How about one of our brothers making a hole in one during the golf tournament and making headlines on the front page of the Tourogram? Maybe someone will win big at our yearly trip to Foxwoods so that they can anonymously share their prosperity with Jewish families that need help during these tough economic times. I can only wish that someone will come up with a “why didn’t I think of that” idea to share with Touro this year. While my wish list could go on forever (although we’d eventually run out of print), I want to end by saying that the accomplishment of these wishes cannot happen without the devoted participation of all our brothers within this organization. I look forward to making 2012 a year to remember and can’t wait to share these moments with you. ~3~

Bill Reynolds Offers Sports Insights to Touro Members

Crisis Management at Touro Hall

By Howard Wasser

By Barry Jay Schiff (l-r) Bill Fischer with Jeffrey Padwa

(l-r) Bill Reynolds with Norman Dinerman

ill “Bunky” Reynolds returned to Touro for the October 26th meeting. He is the popular sports columnist for the Providence Journal. His Saturday column (For What It’s Worth) is arguably the most popular feature in the Journal. Bill is the author of several sports books of which Basketball Junkie is the most recent. This is the story of Fall River basketball great Chris Herren and his battle with drug addiction. Bill is also the author of an autobiographical book called Glory Days, about his dream of making it big in basketball and the realization that he was just not good enough to get beyond college. Bill was big time as a high school and college (Brown, class of 1968) player. As an honorable mention All-Ivy League and captain, he was third in scoring (Ivy League) in both his junior and senior years. He thought he would be able to progress to the pros but it did not happen. It took a few years to reach the next point in his life. The question and answer period led to the inevitable discussion of the Red Sox collapse. It was concluded that the Red Sox were spoiled and had a sense of entitlement beyond what is normally expected. Bill compared the management of the Red Sox and Patriots and the fact that this type of problem would not have happened to the Patriots. There was a question about Jimmy Walker of the Providence College Friars in the mid to late 60s. Bill said that Walker was able to do things on the court that were not seen again until many years later. Another question was about the Ernie DiGregorio – Marvin Barnes era. There was never any time in Rhode Island basketball history when two local players were as good at the same time (and on the same team). They may have been able to beat Bill Walton and the UCLA Bruins if Marvin had not been hurt. The conversation went on to the Big East and a variety of other subjects.

n the second night of Chanukah, Touro’s Harmony Lodge hosted Bill Fischer, President of True North Communications. After initiating four new brothers and stuffing ourselves with turkey, the topic became crisis management. Mr. Fischer specializes in being a buffer between clients in dire straits and the media. Some of his clients include Providence Community Action (ProCAP), Marriage Equality RI, the Wyatt Detention Center and Broadrock Gas Services, which is currently involved in the landfill legislation. Mr. Fischer speaks on behalf of others and is a champion of the “no spin approach”. He represents transition teams in front of the press, anticipating reporters’ questions and having the information available for which the media is looking. He figures out who should respond, how they should respond and strategizes their response to crisis. Following his presentation, the floor was opened to questions from our members. One item of note is that our Brother, David Cicilline, called Bill Fischer when our flyer came out to inform him that the picture on the flyer was not him. Luckily, he was not offended and as the writer of the flyers, I was duly (r) Judah Rosen strategizes with relieved. (l) Bill Fischer and (m) Jeffrey Padwa

Simple Bridge Lessons

Acquire a new skill. Learn to play simple bridge. Taught by a professional instructor at Touro Hall. Classes start in Dec 2012 and run through March 2013. Classes will meet twice monthly. Call now to sign up 401-785-0066. ~4~

The Beat Goes On

By Lester Nathan

rom The Archies to The Youngbloods … from Bonjovi to Run DMC. On January 25th, Harmony Lodge hosted Touro’s first “Name That Tune” contest. After the monthly business meeting, the brothers enjoyed a tasty meatloaf dinner prepared by Bob Miller. With stomachs full of comfort food, we were ready to proceed. Members divided into teams, then grabbed a pen and answer sheet. Quizmaster Stevan Labush played the openings to 57 different songs, selected from five decades of pop, rock, dance, hip-hop, rap, TV show and Broadway songs. A team had to identify the songs’ titles and artists. The tallies show we had several audiophiles in the room and the standings were close. Cash prizes went to the top three teams:

(l to r) Quizmaster Stevan Labush presents 1st place prize to Mitch Cohen, Rick Cohen and Roy Gessman.

FIRST PLACE (54 correct): Mitch Cohen, Rick Cohen and Roy Gessman SECOND PLACE (53): Andy Lamchick and Steve Goldman THIRD PLACE (43): Barry Schiff, Jed Brandes, Andy Liss and Bob Miller Hats off to the winners, as they bested several winners from previous Trivia Nights.

Stevan presents prize for 2nd place to Steve Goldman and Andy Lamchick.

3rd Place team surrounds Stevan. To his right is Jed Brandes and to his left are Bob Miller, Barry Schiff and Andy Liss.

Mitch and Rick Cohen show off their winning form……

Touro’s 2012 Golf League Now Forming The Touro Golf League starts on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at the Country View Golf Course in Harrisville, RI. Tee-off times will be between 4:00 & 5:00 p.m. There are 24 golfers already signed up and we’re looking for more Touro brothers to join in the fun. Anyone interested in joining, please e-mail me at bshaw22@cox.net Barry Shaw, Chairman of Golf Committee ~5~

Community Involvement Continues to Grow in 2012

By Steven White, Chairman, Community Involvement

his past year the Community Involvement Committee was very busy helping organizations in need. The committee put its heads together and donated money to the Jewish Alliance, Jewish Family Service, URI Hillel, The Meeting Street School, Gotta Have Sole Foundation, Jewish Eldercare of RI, The Jewish Committee On Scouting, Ronald McDonald House and the RI Community Food Bank. In tough times, like we are all experiencing, these donations make a huge difference. In 2012 we have started off with a bang. We have committed to sponsoring a full scholarship for the children of members going on the March of the Living. We have further donated to the Meeting Street School Telethon in which our Past Chair of the Community Involvement Committee, Andy Lamchick, will be present to donate a check from Touro. We are again going to be cooking for the Ronald McDonald House on February 26th. Any brother who might be interested in donating his skills to help prepare a meal for the families whose children are undergoing treatment, please contact me at white1110928@ yahoo.com I also am looking for ideas where we can donate our skills to any worthwhile organization. We are all fortunate in what we have. Giving in these times is so important. Let us not forget what a wonderful mitzvah it is.

Touro Welcomes 11 New Brothers at Our October and December Meetings On October 26th, seven new brothers were initiated. They were (listed alphabetically): Shai Afsai, George Cohen, Sumner Fishbein, Roy Gessman, Adam Goldberg, Michael Simmons and Haskel Yanow.

On December 21st four new brothers were initiated. They were (listed alphabetically): Richard H. Backman, Martin Cooper, Robert M. Royall and Peter Silverman.

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New Brothers THE CLASS OF 2011 New Brothers Who Joined Touro in 2011

Michael Abrams Shai Afsai Richard H. Backman John Catania George Cohen Martin Cooper Joshua Deaner Max J.H. Dinerman Sumner Fishbein Roy Gessman Norman Getz Adam Goldberg Craig Hochman Drew Hochman David C. Isenberg Neil Lambert Mark Morse Samuel Nash Martin Rothman Robert M. Royall Andrew Shuster Peter Silverman Michael Simmons Edward Spater Andrew Steiner Scott Steiner Bernard Trinkle David Weisman Haskel Yanow Sherwin Zaidman Peter Ziegler

Brothers who passed away in 2011 Gerald P. Cohen Jesse Edenbaum Max Kolodoff Morris Kortick Jerome Lamchick Elmer S. Lappin Irwin A. Orleck Morris Satloff Merrill Temkin Charles Weiss

DECEMBER HANUKKAH PARTY

FALL TWO-FER AT TWELVE ACRES

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UPCOMING TOURO EVENTS: BOEING-BOEING -TRINITY REP.

APRIL 22, 2012 TWO-FER, VIA ROMA MAY 5, 2012

Visit Touro's Website at www.tourofraternal.org

2 0 1 2 FEBRUARY 5 7 7 2 Bruce Weisman, Editor Columnists: Jed Brandes Howard Custis Norman Dinerman Andrew Lamchick Lester Nathan Arthur Poulten Barry Jay Schiff Howard Wasser Staff Photographers: Jeffrey Davis Edward Deluty Touro Fraternal Association 45 Rolfe Square, P.O. Box 3562, Cranston, RI 02910 Phone: 401-785-0066 Fax: 401-941-8781 E-Mail: info@tourofraternal.org

TOURO BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2011-2012 Robert Miller, Chairman Andrew Lamchick, Vice Chairman Steven Waldman, Treasurer Marc Gertsacov, Secretary Judah Rosen, Chaplain Barry Shaw, Inside Guard Arthur Poulten, Chairman Emeritus Jed Brandes Milton Bronstein Jeffrey Davis Edward Deluty Adam Halpern Stevan Labush Rodney Locke Alan Lury

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Nathan Lury Barry Schiff Barry Shaw Michael Smith Howard Wasser Bruce Weisman Steven Waldman Steven White

Providence College Basketball Head Coach

Ed Cooley

FRIENDSHIP LODGE HARMONY LODGE Ried Redlich, President Norman Dinerman, President Lester Nathan, Vice President Jeffrey Padwa, Vice President Michael Levin, Secretary Andrew Liss, Secretary Richard Cohen, Treasurer Manocher Norparvar, Treasurer Barry Schiff, Inside Guard Edward Deluty, Faithful Guide

HARMONY • FRIENDSHIP • BENEVOLENCE

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