They say you can’t go home again yet Ted Sharkis did. Born in 1972, in Laurelton Queens, Ted became one of the youngest family members of the former Laurelton Jewish Center at that time. In 1974, Ted along with his sister Barbara, oh and their parents decided to move to East Meadow, NY. Once the move was complete, Ted and the family then proceeded to join the East Meadow Jewish Center (EMJC). His father joined and became an active member of the Men’s Club. When Ted was 5yrs old he started Hebrew School at EMJC. That very year and for the next two years after that, Ted won the Purim costume contest which at that time was run and judged by the Men’s Club. Who knew that some 40+ years later, he would become the president of Men’s Club? Certainly not Ted. Ted went on to go through grade school and was an active member of East Meadow Jewish Center’s USY chapter even becoming its president in his senior year. When Ted went to college, he worked for several USY chapters as an advisor including East Meadow. When Ted got married to his lovely wife Amy, they had their daughter Emily and settled in Levittown. When it was time for Emily to start Hebrew school, Ted and his family joined East Meadow Jewish Center.
As Ted was back in his old stomping grounds more often, Amy encouraged him to get involved in the Men’s Club. Ted slowly started to get involved and while at a Kiddish lunch one Shabbat, Ted was asked if he wanted to start on the path towards Men’s Club president. Ted decided to accept the nomination as the 3rd Vice President and started on the journey. Along the way, he took on running the annual Chanukah party for the kids using his creativity and knowledge of A/V to create new, interactive games for not only the kids but the parents as well.
In 2020, when the pandemic hit, Men’s Club made it a mission to help keep the members of the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center (by that time Temple Beth-El in North Bellmore had consolidated with East Meadow Jewish Center) together since we could not do programs in person. Ted quickly became a Zoom expert and promoted and ran various programs on Zoom which were open to anyone in the Synagogue community to participate. This continued throughout 2020 and 2021.
In the Summer of 2021, Ted had made it to President of Men’s Club. Ted spent the next two years overseeing the entire operation while continuing to run the events he was asked or volunteered to do. He was very much hands on and helped lead the Club with new programs and standard favorites that have become staples in the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center Men’s Club year.