Winter 2007 by Touro Fraternal Association

2007

Nomination of Officers By Art Poulten

n March 7, 2007, there’ll be a very special Touro Fraternal Association meeting – one that will impact the future of our entire Association! At that time, you will be asked to nominate the men who will help lead Touro in the years ahead, the men who will hold the offices in the lodges and one-third of the seats on the Association’s Board of Directors. It happens every year on the first Wednesday in March and carries over to the first Wednesday in May, when all regular members are asked to cast ballots in the general Touro elections. How important is this meeting? Well, look at it this way: You’ll be choosing presidents, vice presidents, secretaries and treasurers to serve one-year terms in Friendship and Harmony Lodges. You also will be nominating men to run for six seats on the Board of Directors, each for three years. You will be asking these 14 men to help handle the affairs of the Association in a manner beneficial to you as an individual and the Association as a whole. Every Touro regular member in good standing is eligible to run for office. First, however, another regular Touro member must nominate him at this meeting. Please give some serious thought to whom you would like to be in charge of Touro … to plan its social functions … to plan its community involvement activities … to plan its future. And be sure to consider yourself as one of them. There is a lot of hard work serving as a Touro officer, but there’s also a great deal of satisfaction. I know. I’ve been there.

FEBRUARY

5767

Increased Student Financial Aid for 2007 Additional Funding Approved by Your Board of Directors!! By Alan D. Lury, Chairman

he cost of higher education is steadily increasing and in an effort to help its members keep up with some of those increases, Touro has allocated more funds for this year’s Student Financial Aid program. A total of $39,000 will be available, a 25% increase over last year.

Here’s how it breaks out: • Three $3,000 scholarship grants will be available – one more than last year. • A total of $30,000 in interest-free student loans – a $5,000 increase – will be available. Loans of up to $2,500 will be granted to qualified students.

Here are the programs and how you can receive the appropriate applications. STUDENT LOANS: Regular Touro members, their children and children of deceased regular Touro members are eligible for interest-free Student Loans. Students must attend an accredited institution of higher learning on a full time basis for the 2007-2008 school year. The loans must be co-signed by a regular Touro member in good standing who must remain a member in good standing during the life of the loan. EDUCATIONAL GRANTS: Regular Touro members, their spouses and children, and children of deceased regular Touro members are eligible. Applicants must attend an accredited institution of higher learning on a full time basis for the 2007-2008 academic year. Awards will be based on criteria as outlined in the application. Please note that grant applicants or the parents of grant applicants must have been a member of the Association for at least two years. Please look for our early March letter detailing the specific application processes.

Inside This Issue From the Chairman .............2 Social Scene...........................2 Nu? ......................................3 Touro "Member-fits".............4 Trivia Champs.......................4 Touro's Hallowed Halls.........6 Bruce Lang............................6

"Mal"velous, see page 3 ~ ~

"...and we'll have fun, fun, fun 'til ..." see page 5

From the Chairman by Robert Miller

ne’s perception is another’s reality. Who said that? Do you know? Was it someone famous or did I just make that up? No, actually it’s based on many different people and their interpretations over the years. It is grounded in psychological principles that date back farther than most of us can or want to remember. So, how does this relate to Touro? Recently, as I am sure most of you are aware by now, the Voice/Herald printed an article regarding doing mitzvoth on holidays not pertinent to us. It was our interpretation that they were "picking on us" because we chose to eat and go to a movie and not to perform mitzvoth on this particular day. We chose to respond and let them know that we do plenty of mitzvoth and that we consider bringing 200 Jews of our Touro family together, for a meal and some entertainment, a mitzvoth in itself. Now, the Voice/Herald insists that they meant no disrespect and that they were trying to say that this was a good thing; however I am still unable to find anyone else who feels the same. Again, we are dealing with perception. Then last night at PPAC, during intermission while speaking with several brothers, the conversation turned to the old guard. You know, the perception that we can’t change or do anything because the old guard will get upset. It seems that, these young folks (where does that leave me) don’t want to get involved or for that matter say anything for fear of upsetting the old guard. Guys, you could not be more misinformed. We encourage you to get involved. We encourage you to bring up your ideas. We encourage you to try again and again, even if you get turned down. How do you think the current leadership got where they are? How many times do you think they got turned down and came back again and again and...... Touro puts on many affairs today that would have never come into existence if it were not for the brother who stood up and put the idea out there…old guard or not. PPAC, PAWSOX, RADISSON, FOXWOODS,VENUS, TRIVIA NIGHT, OPEN HOUSE, ETC…… To all the brothers who have an idea or something to offer and have yet to come forth I leave you with this thought…... IF YOU THINK YOU CAN or YOU THINK YOU CAN”T…… YOU’RE RIGHT!!!!! Fraternally, Robert D. Miller, Chairman Board of Directors

Mazels, Mitvahs & Milestones ...to brother Judah and Dorothy Rosen celebrating their 61st anniversary December 2nd. ...to brother Jerry and Ruth Hodosh who will be celebrating their 60th anniversary on March 16. ...to brother Edward and Evelyn Wasser who will be celebrating their 60th anniversay on March 16 ~ ~

Social Scene by Steven White

xcitement! There is plenty of excitement going on at the Touro social events and also at the first Wednesday of the month Social Committee meetings at Touro Hall. Lots of new brothers are coming and we are all happy to meet to become your friend. Here are some of the upcoming events planned for this winter. Please be sure to attend. You won’t want to miss them. February 28th – Harmony Lodge will present Chief Sachem Thomas. This event will be held at Julio’s Restaurant in North Providence. March 7th – Nominations of officers and Board members, plus make your own Ben & Jerry’s sundae. March 21st – New Member Open House March 24th – Two-fer at the new Catch a Rising Star Comedy Club. This event will be held at Lincoln Park's own comedy club with three fabulous comedians. After the show, bring your dancing shoes and we all will have a lot of fun. April 14 th – Dancing lessons with guest instructor Tracey, Jerry Tebrow’s daughter. Learn how to swing. After learning some of the swing moves, join us for some dessert and smoozing. April 18 th – Pool Tournament at Boston Billiards. Join in a pool tournament, food, drinks and camaraderie. April 25th – Friendship Lodge/Initiation. Guest speaker from Save the Bay. A very informative evening sure to make you think about our precious environment. Excitement! Join us. Meet your other brothers. Lots of fun!!

www.tourofraternal.org When you see this icon at the end of an article, go to Touro's website to view more photographs.

Tourography: Malvern Ross By Jed R. Brandes

or Touro’s lodge officers, it’s a rite of passage; a mini-SocialCommittee-meeting, if you will. Inevitably, at any given lodge meeting, Malvern Ross will take one of them aside and offer his two cents on other events that he feels should be arranged for the membership. Or he’ll suggest a speaker for a future meeting. Or a way to improve a meeting. With most any other brother, this discussion would be pre-empted with the officer suggesting that the opinions be voiced at the next Social Committee meeting. Mal’s approach is so disarming, though, that he usually wriggles off that hook and gets to make his point. But, he has earned that privilege. Early on, Mal served for two years in the Army’s Quartermaster Corps at Camp Lee in Virginia. During his stint, he tested new equipment before it was distributed to the troops. He recalls marching for ten miles on the base to qualify new boots the army was considering. He was also provided training in truck driving. After the army, Mal married Eleanor. They have a son and grandson. He also started a long career in sales. This served as the root for a long life of socializing. Mal was an “installment engineer” who provided the goods necessary to keep a household in good order. In the 1950s, since most families had one car that was used by the husband, it was difficult for a housewife to get

out to the stores. Mal was able to deliver everything from clothing to furniture and slipcovers. This led to a 29-year career as owner of Lewis-Williams Furniture Company. Afterwards, Mal went into semi-retirement. He became a “free agent” working in a variety of part-time jobs. This freed him to pursue a variety of interests in the social realm. Among his great passions is one of the most social of sports: golf. For several years, Mal served as president of the Rhode Island Jewish Bowling Congress. He also organized social events at Crestwood Country Club. Currently, he is president of the Cranston Senior Guild, a member of the Masonic Redwood Lodge and Temple Beth El. All of these have provided Mal with opportunities to hone his skills as a social event coordinator. Of course, Mal has been a Touro brother for over 50 years. He particularly appreciates being affiliated with a great charitable organization. But, moreover, he cherishes the opportunity to set aside life’s trials and tribulations to meet regularly with his “ole friends.” Mal has devoted his life to social interaction, and his brothers at Touro reap the benefits. If the lodge officers get their ears bent, it is all for a good cause. And with his wealth of experience, nobody would dare argue the point.

Nu?

By Jed R. Brandes, Friendship Lodge President

ne of my mother’s great regrets is that neither I nor my brothers ever became fluent in Yiddish. Lord knows, she tried, and with some success. We did learn many phrases through the years. Sometimes, I’ll hear her voice in my head uttering some perfectly appropriate Yiddish idiom (she would note that if I would only call, I could hear her real voice). This was the case as I prepared to write this article. The deadline for Tourogram submissions is tomorrow, and I have been struggling for weeks to come up with something worthwhile for the President’s column. Suddenly, out of the blue, I hear my mom saying: “Nu?” Over and over again, “Nu?” Until “Nu” became “new.” Now I have a topic. Many times I have heard brothers dismiss new ideas. The rationale? “Touro has been around since 1918, and we have always done things the way we do things now. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But things can stagnate. I, for one, would not miss the grey hamburgers under the red tent at McCoy Stadium, if we were to stop going. Sometimes it’s important to do things a new way. I’m sure that every Brother has a pet peeve about Touro, something they would like to see changed.

Luckily, Touro has a lot of new things going on lately. Here’s a short list. Friendship Lodge has a new vice president, Jeff Horovitz. Along with Jeff are the many new members who have recently joined (mostly due to Jeff ’s incredible recruiting efforts). The Social Committee has worked hard to come up with new ideas for events. This past November, we had a wildly successful Two-fer at the Radisson Hotel, featuring the Beach Boys cover band, The Driftwoods. Our next Two-fer will also be new: a dinner and comedy show at Catch a Rising Star, the new club at Lincoln Park. Other new events that are around the corner: dance lessons at the hall, a billiards tournament, and new, interesting speakers for upcoming lodge meetings. Our members are the association’s lifeblood. We need to energize them and continue to attract new ones. I find these new developments to be particularly encouraging. I sense a new excitement around the hall. And it’s spreading. Not just amongst our members, but also to the public at large that hears about all the great, new things we’re doing. Let’s keep this momentum going. It can only lead to great things for our association. Nu? New. ~ ~

Touro Goes Native for Chanukah by Barry Jay Schiff

n Sunday December 17th, Touro Hall was filled with all manners of slithering and crawling beasties. Regal Reptiles highlighted our annual Chanukah party. From tarantulas to scorpions to albino boa constrictors, our youngsters held and petted monsters that would make our adult toes curl. Our kids were fearless, probably due to being well fed by our hot dog, pizza strip and potato latke lunch. Everybody had a good time and I can assure you, Touro Hall is once again monster-free!

Slide Aside for New Trivia Champs!

Touro “Member-fits” By Arthur Poulten

By Adam G. Smith

When it comes to listing the benefits of Touro membership, such things as a mortuary benefit, a cemetery plot or a discount on long term care insurance really aren’t at the top of the list for most young people. As a matter of fact, many members may not even be aware of everything they are entitled to as a member. This is the first installment of a new regular Tourogram feature in which a particular benefit will be highlighted. Long Term Care Insurance (LTC) provides funds for long term care costs when you need it and helps protect the retirement savings and assets you and your family have accumulated. The costs of long-term care services usually are quite high and could be a financial drain. The amount of coverage you get depends solely on what you feel might suit your needs. The premiums are based on your age at the time you take out the policy and the amount of coverage you select. And that’s where your membership in Touro comes into play. Regular and social members and their immediate families earn special premium discounts on long-term care insurance provided by John Hancock Insurance Company. And they could be significant savings. Long-term care insurance picks up where health and disability insurance leaves off. It provides help paying for daily activities such as eating, bathing or dressing over extended periods. It can also include help for those suffering from a severe cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease. LTC is provided in the patient’s home, an assisted living facility, or a nursing home. John Hancock was one of the first companies to offer long term care insurance for groups and individuals. Its first policy was issued in 1987. With more than 850,000 long-term care insurance policyholders today, John Hancock is one of the leaders in the LTC insurance marketplace. Brother Alan Lury is our liaison with John Hancock’s representative C. Martin Warburton. If you’d like further information or have any questions, contact Alan at 401-949-1040. Long Term Care Insurance – another way membership in Touro Fraternal Association pays dividends! ~ ~

Pictured above are the Trivia Winners: Brothers Edward and David Mossberg

anuary 24th’s trivia night, hosted again by Brother Jerry Tebrow, was a fun contest following a tasty meatloaf dinner. For those who have never attended a trivia night, the way it works is Touro brothers get into teams of two and answer a myriad of questions on a different topic. This year, it was just one question over the course of 50 slides: Who is that Rhode Islander? Some were easily identifiable, like Buddy Cianci and Alan Shawn Feinstein. Others, like the 47 I didn’t get, were a more difficult collection of sports heroes, politicians, and even a couple of “Survivor” contestants. 1st place team splits $100. 2nd Place splits $60 and 3rd place splits $40. First place and coveted title of “Champions of Nearly Useless Trivia” went to the team of Brother Edward Bochner and Brother David Mossberg. There was a tie for 2nd place with the father and son team of Brothers Aaron and Phillip Sherman and the team of Chairman Bob Miller and Steven Waldman. Reigning champions, the nearly unbeatable duo of Brother Barry Schiff and Brother Jed Brandes, were split apart when Brother Brandes wasn’t able to attend. Guess we know who carries that team.

The Beach Boys tribute band, The Driftwoods, brought on Summer fun without sand and sun at the Fall Two-fer.

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Mike Stenhouse Visits Touro’s Hallowed Hall

Bruce Lang Enlightens Touro on the State of RI

By Howard Custis

By Lester Nathan

"R O

hode Island’s a great state, but our government is terrible.” Those words, spoken by guest speaker Bruce Lang at Touro’s October 29th lodge meeting, expressed both pride in our community and despair over RI’s elected officials. With elections only nine days away, his visit was a timely presentation to our members. After the monthly meeting, initiation ceremony and bountiful breakfast buffet, Mr. Lang, himself a long-time Touro member, was introduced by brother Andy Lamchick. As a cofounder of Operation Clean Government, Bruce Lang has been an active participant in fighting corrupt and unethical behavior at various levels of our government for 13 years. He has also participated in Arlene Violet’s roundtable for many years. Bruce’s opening remarks described Rhode Island as heavily taxed and spending much of its budget on education and welfare assistance. In his opinion, the most powerful branch of government is the state legislature; its most powerful individuals are the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. They are elected by a small constituency, yet have enormous influence over the whole state, while the governor, elected in a state-wide election, has relatively less power because of his minority party membership. Lang’s partiality on this issue evolved during his service on the RI Separation of Powers Committee. The other big player in state politics, according to Mr. Lang, is the public employee union, with large membership and political contributions. He felt this union puts its own interests ahead of the state, thus placing a lot of power in the hands of a few. To counteract this, two of Operation Clean Government’s goals are to approve a voter initiative bill, which many other states have, and non-binding referenda on the ballot. Bruce predicted a voter turnout in the 50% vicinity in the upcoming election and expected most incumbents to be reelected. His hand-outs included the names of 13 recommended candidates who had agreed in principle to four key reform issues supported by the Peoples’ Alliance for Better Government: constitutional amendment for tax and expenditure limits, voter initiative, education reform and bringing a higher ethical standard to state government. Questions from Touro members covered the casino referendum, “slippage” (i.e. permission for more slot machines at Lincoln and Newport), government reform and pre-election polls. In conclusion, we had a good meeting, a great meal and a timely lesson in state politics.

Mike Stenhouse

n Nov. 29, 2006, Friendship Lodge sponsored an American chop suey dinner with Cranston native and former Boston Red Sox left fielder, Mike Stenhouse, as guest speaker. Mike, a Harvard graduate and member of the Sox 1986 American League championship team, also played ball for several other clubs, giving him a unique insight into his baseball years. Back in the sixties, his father also played in the majors. Examples of those experiences included: Manager John McNamara’s World Series debacle of October 25, 1986; Kirby Puckett, was the best teammate ever; Tom Seaver, the most intellectual by virtue of doing the NY Times crossword puzzle every day; Wade Boggs, the hardest working player who never let up; the best batting coach, Ted Williams; and Pete Rose, the best baseball player ever, despite his gambling problems. A Q&A session followed his remarks and covered: The Baseball Hall of Fame and its relationship with the baseball writers, the Commissioner of Baseball, high player salaries and the influx of Japanese players into the major leagues. The skillset Mike acquired during his years in the major leagues has allowed him to make a nearly seamless transition to the presidency of his own company, CMIT Solutions. C M I T ’s m u l t i f a c e t e d product enables small businessmen to increase their productivity and their customer base. Few have spoken at Touro who have engaged their audience as well as Mike. We look forward to seeing him soon again. ~ ~

Seven New Brothers Initiated

Six New Brothers Initiated

Surrounded by our guest, Bruce Lang (center) are 7 new brothers who were initiated that evening. They are: (Listed alphabetically.) Jeffrey Bookbinder, Marc E. Charren, Marc Gertsacov, Joel C.Licker, William F. McLaughlin, Milton Pierce and Harold Rosenberg.

Our December 20 meeting featured the initiation of six new brothers. They are: (listed alphabetically) Howard Blustein, Walter H. Horowitz, Jonathan W. Jaffe, Steven M. Kaplan, Aaron Lewis and David Sheer.

October 29, 2006

December 20, 2006

New Touro Brothers 2006

In Memoriam

Arnold J. Bauman Jeffrey Bookbinder Howard Blustein Marc E. Charren Bernard Feld Adam Freedman Marc B. Gertsacov Brent Goldberg Walter H. Horowitz Jonathan W. Jaffe Andrew Kaplan Steven M. Kaplan

Brothers Who Have Passed Away in 2006 Alan Axelrod Allan Bida Louis Bilow Oscar A. Dressler Jack L. Epstein Horace Fabricant Louis Friedman Edward Gershman Harold L. Gerstein Seymour H. Golden

Robert P. Hackett David Hochman Morton L. Katz Louis Lazaroff Samuel L. Levine Morris Miller Philip Rosenfield Harold M. Sadler Bernard Schuster

Gary Kaufman Abraham Levine Aaron Lewis Joel C. Licker William F. McLaughlin Larry Meyerson Marc E. Miller Milton Pierce Harold Rosenberg Arthur H. Sheer David Sheer Bruce A Wasser Peter U. Wolff

Moe...Larry...Curly...Bruce??? Touro welcomes our new vice-president of Friendship Lodge, Jeff Horovitz

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Nyuk...Nyuk...Nyuk. Brother Bruce Wasser gets into character as Touro's December meeting concludes with a Three Stooges Movie Night.

TOURO FRATERNAL ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 3562 CRANSTON, RI 02910

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Providence, RI Permit #719

Visit Touro's Website at www.tourofraternal.org

HARMONY • FRIENDSHIP • BENEVOLENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS • 2006-2007

February 2007 Editor: Bruce Weisman Columnists: Jed Brandes Howard Custis Edward Deluty Andrew Lamchick Richard Levenson Lester Nathan Arthur Poulten Barry Schiff Adam Smith Gerald Tebrow Touro Fraternal Association 45 Rolfe Square, P.O. Box 3562, Cranston, RI 02910 Phone: 401-785-0066 Fax: 401-941-8781 E-Mail: tourofratl@aol.com Website: www.tourofraternal.org HARMONY LODGE Barry Schiff, President Steven White, Vice President Adam Smith, Secretary Peter Hodosh, Treasurer

Robert Miller, Chairman Andrew Lamchick, Vice Chairman Gerald D. Hodosh, Treasurer Gerald Tebrow, Secretary Judah Rosen, Chaplain Arthur Poulten, Chairman Emeritus Jed Brandes Milton Bronstein Morton Coken Jeffrey Davis Steven Dinerman Stevan Labush Rodney Locke Alan Lury Nathan Lury Lester Nathan Barry Schiff Barry Shaw Dr. Aaron Sherman Stuart Solup Michael Smith Bruce Weisman

Touro's Membership Open House Wed. • March 21• 6:30 PM Touro Hall, 45 Rolfe Square, Cranston, RI

Guest Speaker

Steve Grogan Former New England Patriots Quarterback

Watch your mail for the flier or visit www.tourofraternal.org

FRIENDSHIP LODGE Jed Brandes, President Jeff Horovitz, Vice President Adam Halpern, Secretary Steven Waldman, Treasurer

For additional information contact Touro at 785-0066 ~ ~